TROY, Ala. - Looking to extend its winning streak to four games, the App State men's basketball team (14-9, 7-4 SBC) is set to head to Troy, Ala., to face the reigning Sun Belt Tournament and co-regular season champion Troy Trojans (15-7, 8-2 SBC) to cap off a brief two-game road trip on Saturday. Saturday's game at Trojan Arena will be a matchup between the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the Sun Belt in league wins this season (Troy - 8 and App State - 7). Tip off is slated for 4:33 p.m. ET (3:33 p.m. CT), and the game will broadcast on ESPN+.
The Mountaineers enter Saturday's game against Troy with a 25-22 record against teams from Sun Belt West schools in the
Dustin Kerns era. The Mountaineers enter play on Saturday with a 3-0 record against Sun Belt West schools this season. A win on Saturday over Troy would be App State's most wins against teams from Sun Belt West schools in a season since 2023-24 (four).
App State will wrap up its January schedule with its two contests at Troy on Saturday, which will be the Mountaineers' ninth game this month. Under Kerns, the Mountaineers have been great in January, as they own a 42-19 record since 2019 in January (69 percent winning percentage). Kerns' 42 wins in his App State career in January mark his most in a month as App State's head coach, and are 14 clear of his next highest tally (28 in November).
App State enters Saturday's game with the most conference wins of any team in the Sun Belt since 2019 with 72. This mark is four clear of the next closest team (South Alabama - 68). App State enters Saturday as one of two teams with at least seven wins in Sun Belt play this season (Troy is the only team with more) and needs just three wins to post its third consecutive 10-win season in Sun Belt play. If it gets to 10 wins in league play, it would mark the first time that App State has posted three straight 10-win seasons in league play since 1997-2000.
The Matchup
- Who: App State at Troy
- Where: Trojan Arena // Troy, Ala.
- When: Saturday, Jan. 31 // 4:33 p.m. ET (3:33 p.m. CT)
Tune In
- Watch: Watch (ESPN+) | Barry McKnight (PxP), Jerry Miller (Color
- Listen: FLAGSHIP 97.3 (North Wilkesboro), 950 AM/92.7 FM (Greensboro), 790 AM/93.7 FM (Johnson City) | Matt Present (PxP)
- Live Stats: appstatesports.com
Last Time Out
Clinging to a one-point lead with 6:47 to play in regulation, App State looked to pull away late. It did just that as a 9-3 run, spearheaded by seven straight points by
Michael Marcus Jr., helped the Mountaineers to a seven-point lead, which they held for the duration of the game to post a 70-63 road win over Southern Miss.
Thursday's contest was tightly contested throughout, as the two teams swapped the lead five times. But once Marcus Jr. threw down a thunderous two-handed dunk with 2:44 to play in the final half, the Mountaineers took control and never let their foot off the gas pedal. The win was punctuated by a
Jalen Tot 3-pointer that he banked in while falling into his bench with just over a minute left to play.
App State was stout defensively against Southern Miss, holding it to just a 36.2 percent clip from the field. It marks the third straight contest that App State has held its opponent below 40 percent from the field. Additionally, the Mountaineers allowed just three Southern Miss 3-pointers, which matched App State's season low for 3-pointers allowed in a game.
Scouting the Mountaineers
App State enters play on Saturday with a 14-9 record and a 7-4 record in Sun Belt play, which places it in sole possession of third place in the league standings. The Mountaineers sit just one game back from the Sun Belt's leader, Troy, in the win column, and are one of just two teams with at least seven wins in league play as of Saturday. App State has won 10 of its last 14 games entering Saturday and has won three in a row entering the game against Troy.
When App State goes on the road, it relies heavily on its defense to win games. Coming into play on Saturday, App State has held five opponents below 70 points in road games, and since the start of last season, App State has held its opponent below 70 points 14 total times. In each of the Mountaineers' last three road games, they have held their opponent below 70 points (Georgia State - 50, Coastal Carolina - 67 and Southern Miss - 63).
The Mountaineers continue to be one of the best defensive teams in the Sun Belt Conference and the country entering Saturday as they pace the league in scoring defense, allowing 65.4 points a game, which is 2.4 points ahead of the next closest team (South Alabama - 67.8). The Mountaineers enter play on Saturday having held two of their last three opponents below 60 points (Louisiana - 58 and ULM - 43), which marked the 19th and 20th times since the start of last season that App State has held an opponent to 60 points or fewer.
Three players enter Saturday averaging at least 10 points in
Kasen Jennings (14.7),
Alonzo Dodd (12.8) and Wilson (10.6). Jennings and Dodd each tallied 23 points on Jan. 15 against JMU, marking the first time this season that two or more Mountaineers have eclipsed 23 points in the same game. Dodd has been especially hot since Sun Belt play opened, as he is averaging a team-best 14.6 points a game, which is the 22nd-highest tally in the league. Jennings enters play on Saturday having scored at least 17 points in four of his last five games.
Scouting the Trojans
Rated as the best team in the Sun Belt Conference according to both the NET rankings and KenPom, Troy enters Saturday as the Sun Belt's leader in the standings, boasting a 15-7 overall record and an 8-2 league record. Troy had won five games in a row entering Thursday, but James Madison gave the Trojans their first setback since Jan. 7 with a 73-64 win on Thursday.
Troy is an experienced team, as they rank 38th in the country in minutes continuity from last season (44.3 percent). All four of their top scorers this season shined at Troy last season. Victor Valdes enters Saturday as the Trojans' leading scorer, averaging 16.5 points per game, but the Trojans see five players who score at least 10 points a game.
The Trojans are one of the best scoring teams and one of the best rebounding teams in the country. Entering Saturday, Troy ranks 29th nationally in scoring offense (85.5 points per game) and 44th in rebounds per game (39.4). Thomas Dowd enters Saturday as the Sun Belt's top rebounder, grabbing 10.5 per contest, and owns the most double-doubles in the league (12).
Series History
The Mountaineers and Trojans are slated to meet each other for the 24th time on Saturday in what will be the fifth game between the two teams in Troy since 2021. Troy owns a 7-3 edge in games played at Trojan Arena, but App State owns the advantage in the all-time series with a 12-11 record.
Troy has won each of the last two meetings against App State, posting an eight-point win last January in Boone and a four-point win at home two years ago.
The Mountaineers are looking for their first win at Troy since 2019.
Next Up
App State will return home to open up a two-game homestand by hosting the South Alabama Jaguars on Wednesday at the Holmes Center. Wednesday's game is a gold out, and gold replica jerseys will be handed out to fans at the entrance of the building. Tip off against the Jaguars is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
