JONESBORO, Ark. – In the first of four wildcard appearances for the Sun Belt Conference on a linear ESPN network this season, the App State Mountaineers (11-7, 5-2 SBC) will play on national television for the first time this season in Jonesboro, Ark., against the Sun Belt's preseason favorite Arkansas State Red Wolves (14-5, 5-2 SBC) on Thursday. It will be App State's fourth appearance on national television since the start of last season. Tipoff from First National Bank Arena is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET (8 p.m. CT) and will be broadcast on ESPN2.
With Thursday's game being flexed to national television, the Mountaineers will play their fourth game in front of a national TV audience since the start of last season. Last year, App State went unbeaten in games played on a linear network, posting two wins at home against Auburn and James Madison and a road win at Marshall.
The Mountaineers enter play in Jonesboro with the Sun Belt's longest active winning streak, which stands at five games. During the Mountaineers' five-game winning streak, they have posted four wins by at least 10 points and have outscored their opponents by 81 points. Because of the recent hot stretch, App State is up to No. 108 in the KenPom rankings as of Thursday, which is the team's highest ranking of the season.
Since the start of last season, the Mountaineers have posted 21 wins in their last 25 regular-season games against Sun Belt opponents (84 percent win percentage). App State is the Sun Belt's reigning regular-season champions after playing to a 16-2 record in league play a season ago, making it one of 12 teams in the nation to win at least 16 conference games a year ago.
The Matchup
- Who: App State at Arkansas State
- Where: First National Bank Arena // Jonesboro, Ark.
- When: Thursday, Jan. 23 // 9 p.m. ET (8 p.m. CT)
Tune In
- Watch: Watch (ESPN2) | Matt Schick (PxP), Sean Harrington (Color)
- Listen: FLAGSHIP 97.3 (North Wilkesboro), 96.3 (Winston-Salem/Greensboro), 1350/96.1 (Asheville), 1250/103.9 (Marion), 790/93.7 (Johnson City) | Matt Present (PxP)
- Live Stats: appstatesports.com
Last Time Out
Using clutch shots late and stellar defense all game long, the Mountaineers ran their win streak to five, defeating the James Madison Dukes on their home floor in a defensive slugfest, 58-50. Despite enduring a 12-2 run to close the first half, the Mountaineers outscored the Dukes by eight points in the final half to close out a season sweep of James Madison for the second consecutive season.
Dior Conners stepped up huge in the win over James Madison as he tallied 18 points on a season-best six made 3-pointers. Conners accounted for each of App State's first nine points and delivered the dagger with just two minutes to play to seal the victory. Conners' six made threes are the third-highest tally in a game by a Sun Belt player this season.
On top of the performance from Conners, the Mountaineers made 10 3-pointers as a team against the Dukes on just 20 attempts, marking the fourth time in the last five games that App State has drilled 10 or more threes. During App State's five-game winning streak, it is shooting 48-104 from deep which is good for a 48 percent clip. Saturday also marked the Mountaineer's eighth game this season with at least 10 3-pointers, the most instances since the 2022-23 season.
Scouting the Mountaineers
App State has done a little bit of everything during its winning streak as they have thrived both offensively and defensively over the past five games. Since Jan. 4, the Mountaineers are outscoring their opponents by an average of 16.2 points a game. Defense and 3-point shooting has been a major factor in App State's dominance over the last five games as they are allowing 54 points a game on defense while shooting 46 percent from the long line since Jan. 4.
Stifling defense has continued to be the story for App State this season as they enter play on Thursday with the Sun Belt's second-best scoring defense and the nation's 11th-best scoring defense, allowing just 62.2 points a game. App State hasn't let an opponent get over 70 points in each of its last 10 games, which is the longest streak in which App State has held its opponents below 70 points since it held 13 straight opponents under 70 in the 2021-22 season.
Although they shoot the three at the second-lowest clip in the Sun Belt Conference (402 attempts), App State touts one of the most efficient 3-point shooting percentages in the country entering its game against the Red Wolves as it enters play shooting 37.1 percent from the long line. Entering play on Thursday, the Mountaineers are one of just eight teams in the country to boast a top-50 3-point field-goal percentage defense and a top-50 3-point field-goal percentage offense, and one of four teams with a top-15 3-point percentage defense and a top-50 3-point percentage offense.
One of the best duos in the conference resides in Boone, N.C., as both
Myles Tate and
CJ Huntley head into Thursday's game against the Red Wolves in the top 10 in the league in scoring. Tate leads the way entering Thursday, averaging 15.7 points a game while Huntley scores 14.9 points a night. These averages are good for the third- and seventh-best tallies in the conference, respectively. The two have combined to tally each of the Mountaineers' 12 20-point scoring games this season and 28 of App State's 50 10-point scoring games.
Scouting the Red Wolves
Arkansas State also enters play on Thursday on a lengthy winning streak of three games and has posted two straight wins of at least 20 points against Georgia State and Louisiana. The Red Wolves were the Sun Belt's preseason favorites after receiving 12 of a possible 14 first-place votes in the preseason coaches poll.
The Red Wolves are the lone remaining unbeaten team at home in the Sun Belt Conference, boasting a 9-0 record thus far at the First National Bank Center, and have won 12 straight home games since the start of last season. Entering play on Thursday, Arkansas State is averaging 81.2 points a game on its home floor.
Arkansas State boasts a prolific offense as they lead the Sun Belt in scoring as of Thursday, averaging 79.1 points a game. One of the top scorers in the league resides in Jonesboro in Taryn Todd, who scores at the second-best clip in the league with 16.3 points a game. Overall, three players average double figures entering Thursday with Kobe Julien, the SBC's Preseason Player of the Year, and Joseph Pinion joining Todd.
Series History
The Mountaineers and Red Wolves will meet in Jonesboro for the first time in nearly three years on Thursday. It will also be the 19th meeting between the two programs overall and the third meeting in the past 10 months. Entering Thursday, App State owns a slight 10-8 advantage in the all-time series.
App State and Arkansas State met twice last March, splitting the two contests. The Mountaineers claimed a win in Boone on March 1, which secured the Mountaineers' first regular-season conference title since the 1978-79 season, but the Red Wolves knocked the Mountaineers out of the Sun Belt Tournament with a buzzer-beating win in Pensacola a week later.
Making a senior night start against the Red Wolves, Huntley played a huge role in helping App State secure a regular-season conference championship in Boone a season ago, pouring in 12 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Huntley tallied his 12 points on an efficient 5-7 shooting. Thursday's game in Jonesboro will be Huntley's fifth career game against the Red Wolves.
Next Up
Capping off its season-long four-game road trip, App State will head to Monroe, La., for a matchup with the ULM Warhawks on Saturday. Tipoff from Fant-Ewing Coliseum is slated for 3 p.m. ET (2 p.m. CT) and can be streamed on ESPN+.
The 2024-25 men's basketball season is presented by Foscoe Companies.
