STATESBORO, Ga. – With play entering the final week of the regular season, App State Men's Basketball (17-11, 10-6 SBC) kicks off a two-game road trip at Georgia Southern (14-15, 6-10 SBC) on Tuesday in what will be the second meeting between the two teams in the past five days. Tuesday's trip to the newly constructed Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center will be App State's first game played in Georgia Southern's new arena. Tipoff from Statesboro is slated for 7 p.m. and the game can be streamed on ESPN+.
The Mountaineers are set to wrap up their regular season with a two-game road trip that will see stops in Statesboro on Tuesday and a nationally televised bout on Friday against Marshall. Although the team didn't claim a win in a true road game until Jan. 16 against Old Dominion, the Mountaineers enter play on Tuesday as winners of five of their last seven road games. Two of the last three road victories have come by double-digits (Ohio and Coastal Carolina).
Of App State's five road wins this season, four have come in Sun Belt play. The Mountaineers have relied heavily on their defense to win games on the road this season and specifically in Sun Belt play. Over the last seven games played away from home, App State is allowing just 55.9 points a game. This mark includes allowing 46 points at Coastal Carolina on Feb. 13 and 43 points at Old Dominion on Jan. 16. App State's 43 points allowed against the Monarchs in January was its fewest given up against a Division I opponent since 2015.
The Mountaineers tallied their 10th Sun Belt win last Thursday against the Eagles, marking the second straight season that the Mountaineers have won at least 10 league games. The last time App State recorded back-to-back seasons with at least 10 or more league wins was 2009-10 and 2010-11. The Mountaineers have recorded four 10-win seasons in conference play since Kerns took over the program in 2019.
The Matchup
- Who: App State at Georgia Southern
- Where: Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center // Statesboro, Ga.
- When: Tuesday, Feb. 25 // 7 p.m.
Tune In
- Watch: Watch (ESPN+) | Danny Waugh (PxP), Jaylin Pinder (Color), Skye Taylor (Sideline
- 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
On a day that the App State Men's Basketball team honored its five seniors and retired Darryl Robinson's jersey at halftime, the Mountaineers dropped their final home contest of the season 69-59 against the Marshall Thundering Herd on Saturday. Marshall used a big run to open the second half and didn't look back to claim the win in Boone.
The Mountaineers led at halftime in what was a tight opening frame but struggled to shoot the ball coming out of halftime, which allowed the Thundering Herd to pull ahead. The Mountaineers trailed by as much as 10 points in the final stanza but pulled back within one by the 7:04 mark. Despite the flurry by the Mountaineers, the Herd composed themselves and pulled away as App State finished the game by missing eight of its final nine shots.
After being recognized for all his contributions to the program before the game,
CJ Huntley matched his career high against Marshall on Saturday with 27 points. The senior from Huntersville electrified the Holmes Center crowd of 4,310 in the first half as he scored 17 points and shot 4-4 from 3-point land.
Jalil Beaubrun and
Myles Tate, who were also honored before the game, joined Huntley in double figures as Beaubrun scored 13 and Tate tallied 10.
Scouting the Mountaineers
Despite dropping their last contest to Marshall, App State enters play on Tuesday in Statesboro six games above .500 and is 10-6 in league games. The Mountaineers are one of just six teams in the conference with 10 conference wins entering Tuesday. The Mountaineers started their league schedule with two consecutive losses to Troy and Louisiana, but enter Tuesday having won 10 of its last 14 conference games. Over those last 14 games, the Mountaineers are outscoring their opponents by 92 points.
Stifling defense has continued to be the story for App State this season as they enter play on Tuesday with the Sun Belt's best scoring defense and the nation's 14th-best scoring defense, allowing just 63.3 points a game. The Mountaineers have let just eight of their 28 opponents eclipse 70 points against them this season and have kept 16 of their last 20 opponents below 70 points. App State has led the Sun Belt Conference in scoring defense each of the past three seasons and has yet to finish outside of the top two in the league in Kerns' tenure.
Opponents have had trouble all season generating open looks from the field against the Mountaineers, which plays a large role in App State's gaudy defensive numbers. Coming into play against the Eagles, App State owns the nation's eighth-best field-goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 38.8 percent against it. The Mountaineers are one of just 11 teams in NCAA Division I to keep their opponents to less than 39 percent from the field as of Tuesday. App State has held all but 12 of its 28 opponents this season to less than 40 percent from the field and is 14-2 when doing so this season.
Tate and Huntley enter the final week of the regular season both in the top five in the league in scoring average (Tate is second and Huntley is fifth). The Mountaineers haven't seen two players both crack the top 10 in the league in scoring in the Sun Belt era. Additionally, both players enter the final week of regular-season play averaging greater than 15 points a game, which hasn't been done by a Mountaineer duo since Ronshad Shabazz and Justin Forrest tallied 18.3 and 16.2 points a game in 2018-19. Tate sits just 0.1 points away from the No. 1 spot in scoring average. He is looking to become App State's first scoring champion since Donald Sims in the 2009-10 season.
Scouting the Eagles
Georgia Southern enters Tuesday's contest on a bit of a skid as it has lost three of its last four games. However, the Eagles have done well at home this season, playing to a 9-3 home record. The Eagles opened their newly constructed home arena, Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center, on Dec. 7 and are 6-2 in their home arena since it opened.
The Eagles shoot the 3-pointer at one of the highest rates in the country entering Tuesday as they hoist up nearly 28 shots from the long line every game. As a result, the Eagles make nearly 10 threes a game, which is the best clip in the Sun Belt Conference. Georgia Southern has made at least nine threes in 20 games this season.
Head coach Charlie Henry boasts one of the highest-scoring bench units in the country as the Eagles enter play on Tuesday with the 16th-best scoring bench in NCAA Division I. Two of the Eagles' top three scorers come off the bench in Bradley Douglas and Nakavieon White.
Series History
Meeting for the second time of the season on Tuesday, App State and Georgia Southern will renew one of the longest series in program history as Tuesday will be the 66th meeting all-time between the two programs. This will also be the fifth meeting between the Mountaineers and Eagles since the start of last season.
The Mountaineers have won each of the previous four contests against Georgia Southern, but the past three meetings have needed an extra period to be decided. Kerns has had great success against Georgia Southern in his career as he is 12-3 against the Eagles as the head man.
In last Thursday's contest at the Holmes Center, Tate and Huntley did something that no other duo in the Kerns era has ever done as both players scored 25 points in the overtime affair. Tate tallied 26 points to lead the team and Huntley scored 25 points.
Luke Wilson also played a big role in securing the win against the Eagles as he scored seven points, grabbed five rebounds and blocked two shots. He helped spark the 8-0 run to help the Mountaineers pull away in overtime with his defensive presence.
Next Up
App State will wrap up its regular-season schedule on Friday by visiting the Marshall Thundering Herd for a rematch from last Saturday on national television. Friday's game will be the Mountaineers' fifth game on national television since the start of last season. Tipoff from the Cam Henderson Center is slated for 9 p.m. and the contest will be broadcast on ESPNU.
The 2024-25 men's basketball season is presented by Foscoe Companies.
