BOONE, N.C. – Continuing a season-long four-game homestand, the App State Mountaineers (6-7, 0-2 SBC) return to the Holmes Center for a Saturday matinee contest against the Texas State Bobcats (8-6, 1-1 SBC). Saturday's game will mark the third consecutive contest in which the Mountaineers will play against a Sun Belt West opponent to open conference play. Tipoff from Boone is slated for 1 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.
App State has won nine of its last 10 games against Sun Belt opponents at the Holmes Center. Of those nine wins, seven have come by double digits. Since Kerns took over the program in 2019, the Mountaineers are 31-16 at home against Sun Belt opponents. Furthermore, the Mountaineers have also won six of their last seven home contests against Sun Belt West opponents.
The Mountaineers opened the month of January on Thursday, marking the first of nine games to open 2025. In the Kerns era, App State has found great success in January, posting a 31-14 record. Since the 2021-22 season, the Mountaineers are 21-5 in January, which includes a 7-1 mark in 2023-24. Kerns' 31 wins in January is the only month in which he has at least 30 wins in his coaching career.
Over his first five years as the head coach, Kerns is 22-23 against current Sun Belt West Division opponents. Last year, the Mountaineers' lone losses in conference play came against Sun Belt West opponents in Troy and Texas State, with both coming away from home.
The Matchup
- Who: App State vs. Texas State
- Where: Holmes Convocation Center // Boone, N.C.
- When: Saturday, Jan. 4 // 1 p.m.
Tune In
- Watch: Watch (ESPN+) | Corey Hodges (PxP), John Reisterer (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
In a back-and-forth contest that saw the lead change hands eight times, a late 12-4 run from the Trojans helped them pull away and secure a 69-61 win over App State in Boone on Thursday. The Mountaineers saw their offense go cold in the final minutes while Troy found its footing to pull away.
App State saw two players reach double figures against the Trojans in
Myles Tate and
Jalil Beaubrun. Tate tallied 20 points, his second consecutive game scoring at least 20 points and fifth of the season, while Beaubrun added 12 points and seven rebounds. Despite the effort from the starting five, the Mountaineer bench struggled to add help as they accounted for just four of App State's 61 points.
Troy shot it well from behind the arc on Thursday, making a season-best 12 threes. The Trojans came into the game against the Mountaineers shooting 28.5 percent from three, but two crucial shots from the long line late propelled them ahead.
Scouting the Mountaineers
App State has turned the Holmes Center into one of the Sun Belt's toughest venues under Kerns as it is 19-2 since the start of last season on its home floor, which includes 15 wins by at least 10 points. Additionally, the Mountaineer offense has thrived at the Holmes Center as since the start of last season, they are scoring 81.4 points a game at home opposed to 71.3 points away from Boone.
As has been the trend of the last three seasons, App State hangs its hat on its defensive prowess as it enters Saturday's game with the second-best scoring defense in the Sun Belt Conference. The Mountaineers hold their opponents to just 65 points a game entering their contest against Texas State and have held each of their previous five opponents below 70 points. App State has paced the conference in scoring defense each of the past three seasons.
A large part of App State's staunch defense over the last three years has come from keeping its opponents from finding rhythm from the floor. The Mountaineers have kept up that aspect of their defense as they keep opponents to just 39 percent from the floor, which is the third-best mark in the conference as of Saturday. Additionally, the Mountaineers are one of just 47 teams in the country to keep their opponents to less than 40 percent from the field entering Saturday.
CJ Huntley and
Myles Tate lead the way offensively for the Mountaineers as they both enter the game against the Trojans in the top 10 in the Sun Belt in scoring. Tate and Huntley are the only duo in the Sun Belt Conference to each be in the top 10 in scoring as each average greater than 14 points per contest. The two combine to score 28.5 of App State's 69 points a game.
Scouting the Bobcats
Texas State is 8-6 entering Saturday's game against the Mountaineers and have lost three of their last four games. The Bobcats started the season hot, winning seven of their first 10 games, but haven't found that same success as of late.
The Bobcats boast one of the best duos in the conference in Tylan Pope and Tyrel Morgan. Both Pope and Morgan sit in the top 15 in scoring heading into Saturday's game while Morgan is the reigning Sun Belt Player of the Week. Additionally, four players enter Saturday averaging at least 10 points a game as Kaden Gumbs and Coleton Benson join Pope and Morgan as double-figure scorers.
Head coach Terrence Johnson boasts one of the Sun Belt's most efficient offenses entering Saturday as they sit first in the Sun Belt in field-goal percentage, 3-point percentage and free-throw percentage. Texas State's 76.6 points a game rank second in the conference as of its game against App State.
Series History
The Mountaineers and Bobcats will square off for the 19th time on Saturday with Texas State holding a slight 10-8 advantage in the all-time series. The two programs have split the last four meetings, but each game has been decided by fewer than 10 points.
The Bobcats' visit to Boone will mark the second time in the Kerns era that Texas State will visit the Holmes Center. In the last meeting between the two teams in Boone, which came back in Feb. 2023, the Mountaineers claimed a high-scoring 82-75 win.
In last year's meeting in San Marcos, a slow offensive night plagued the Mountaineers as they netted a season-worst 56 points which led to a 63-56 loss. Tate was one of three double-digit scorers in last year's game as he poured in 11 points on 4-8 shooting.
Next Up
App State is set to welcome its first Sun Belt East opponent to the Holmes Center next Wednesday in the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. Wednesday's game will be the first of four consecutive games against Sun Belt East opponents. Tipoff from Boone is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.
The 2024-25 men's basketball season is presented by Foscoe Companies.
