BOONE, N.C. – Kicking off the month of February, the App State Men's Basketball team (12-9, 6-4 SBC) will look to rebound off a tightly contested loss to Old Dominion on Wednesday as they welcome the Georgia State Panthers (8-14, 4-6 SBC) to the Holmes Center on Saturday. The Mountaineers' matchup with the Panthers on Saturday will mark the first of four meetings for App State with teams from the state of Georgia this month. Tipoff from Boone is scheduled for 1 p.m. and the contest can be streamed on ESPN+.
App State returned to the Holmes Center for the first time since Jan. 11 on Wednesday, a place where it has won 22 of its last 25 contests since the start of last season. The Mountaineers' 22-3 mark on their home floor is tied for the best home winning percentage in the Sun Belt Conference since the start of last year (88 percent). Additionally, the Mountaineers boast the fewest home losses in the league since last season with three.
Georgia State's trip to Boone will be the Mountaineers' second consecutive Sun Belt East opponent to enter the Holmes Center. Heading into action on Saturday, the Mountaineers have won 17 of their last 18 games against their foes from Sun Belt East schools and are outscoring them by 12.5 points a game. Since 2019, App State is 39-16 against the Sun Belt East (71 percent win percentage).
Additionally, App State has won 22 of their last 28 games against league opponents. Of the team's 22 regular-season Sun Belt wins since the start of last season, 14 have come by double digits, which includes four already this season. This mark also includes six wins by at least 20 points with two of those coming this season. App State is one of only three teams in the Sun Belt Conference with at least 20 league wins since the start of last season (Troy and James Madison).
The Matchup
- Who: App State vs. Georgia State
- Where: Holmes Convocation Center // Boone, N.C.
- When: Saturday, Feb. 1 // 1 p.m.
Tune In
- Watch: Watch (ESPN+) | David Jackson (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 tightly contested game that saw the lead change hands nine times, a strong close to the opening half and a solid start to the second half helped the Monarchs pull themselves back into it despite being down by as much as 12 points and beat App State in Boone on Wednesday 78-77. The Mountaineers' 77 points were their most in a game since Jan. 11.
Old Dominion, a team that came in with the Sun Belt's worst team 3-point field goal percentage, hurt the Mountaineers on several occasions from deep in the game, drilling nine 3-pointers at a 42 percent clip. It was the first time since Nov. 4 against Miami (Ohio) that the Mountaineers have allowed a team to shoot at least 40 percent against them. ODU saw two players, Robert Davis Jr. and Sean Durugordon, make at least three 3-pointers in the game.
For the 12th straight game,
Myles Tate recorded a double-figure outing, scoring 23 points, his ninth 20-point game of the year. His 12 straight double-digit scoring games is the longest streak by a Mountaineer since Adrian Delph in the 2021-22 season.
Alonzo Dodd followed right behind Tate with 16, his most points against a Division I opponent this season. Dodd was efficient with his shot and picked his spots well, making five of his eight attempts.
Jalil Beaubrun was the third Mountaineer in double figures with 14, his eighth double-digit scoring game since Dec. 20.
Scouting the Mountaineers
Winners of six of its last eight contests, App State heads into Saturday's game against the Panthers with a 12-9 record overall and a 6-4 conference record. Over the past eight games, the Mountaineers have posted four double-digit victories and are outscoring their opponents by 78 points (+9.8 scoring margin). According to EvanMiya.com, the Mountaineers are the 20th-most improved team in the country over the last 30 days, jumping up 50 spots since Jan. 1.
Stifling defense has continued to be the story for App State this season as they enter play on Saturday with the Sun Belt's second-best scoring defense and the nation's 12th-best scoring defense, allowing just 62.9 points a game. The Mountaineers have let just five opponents eclipse 70 points against them this season and have kept 12 of their last 13 opponents below 70 points. Since Jan. 4, App State is allowing just 59 points a game.
The Mountaineers have been especially stellar at defending the three this season, keeping their opponents to just 145 made threes on 517 attempts, which is good for a 28 percent mark. App State boasts the sixth-best 3-point defense in the country as of Saturday. The Mountaineers have let only two opponents shoot over 40 percent from behind the arc against it this season and have held 13 opponents below 30 percent from the long line entering Saturday.
Although they shoot the three at the fifth-lowest clip in the Sun Belt Conference (478 attempts), App State touts one of the most efficient 3-point shooting percentages in the league entering its game against the Panthers as it enters play shooting 35.6 percent from the long line. This is good for the second-best mark in the Sun Belt Conference, trailing only Texas State. App State has made at least 10 3-pointers in nine games this season, the most instances in a single season since the 2021-22 season (13 times), and has drilled at least 50 percent of its threes four times, the most in a season since 2018-19.
Scouting the Panthers
Georgia State enters play in Boone having lost four of its last five games, with the lone win coming in its last contest on Thursday at Marshall. Three of the Panthers' last five contests have come on the road, and they have won only two games away from home this season (2-8 record).
The Panthers see three players who each average greater than 13 points a game in Cesare Edwards, Toneari Lane and Zarique Nutter. All three also find themselves in the top 15 in the league in scoring. Entering Saturday, the high-scoring Panther trio scores 60 percent of Georgia State's 73 points per contest.
Crashing the glass is something the Panthers hang their hats on as they come into Saturday's contest with a top-65 rebounding mark in the country. Georgia State also averages 12.7 offensive rebounds a game, good for the fifth-most in the Sun Belt as of Saturday.
Series History
The Mountaineers and Panthers are set to square off for the first of two meetings in 2025 and the 24th time overall on Saturday. Last season, App State and Georgia State met twice, once in Boone and once in Atlanta. The Mountaineers swept last year's season series.
App State has dominated the series against the Panthers in recent history as App State has claimed four straight wins over Georgia State and all have come by at least eight points. Kerns will coach against Georgia State for the 14th time in his career on Saturday, owning an 8-5 record against the Panthers, but he has yet to lose against current Georgia State head coach Jonas Hayes (4-0).
Saturday will mark
CJ Huntley's 10th career game against the Panthers. In the previous 11 matchups with Georgia State, he is scoring five points a game, which includes a 14-point night against the Panthers in 2023. Tate scored 23 points in the two meetings with Georgia State last year and pitched in 10 assists.
Next Up
Concluding the team's three-game homestand, App State will play host to the Southern Miss Eagles on Wednesday. It will be just the fourth meeting all-time between the two programs and the Golden Eagles' first trip to the Holmes Center in program history. Tipoff on Wednesday is slated for 6:30 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.
The 2024-25 men's basketball season is presented by Foscoe Companies.
