STATESBORO, Ga. - Owners of the longest active win streak in the Sun Belt Conference, the App State men's basketball team will look to extend its season-long win streak to seven games when it visits the Georgia Southern Eagles in Statesboro, Ga., on Wednesday. This will be the Mountaineers' second visit to the Jack and Ruth Ann Convocation Center since the building opened last December (first game was Feb. 25, 2025). Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
The Mountaineers enter Wednesday's game against Georgia Southern on a season-long six-game winning streak. It's App State's first six-game winning streak since posting eight straight wins from Feb. 10 to March 9, 2024, and just the fifth winning streak of at least six games in the
Dustin Kerns era. A win on Wednesday over Georgia Southern would mark just the fourth winning streak of at least seven games for the Mountaineers since 2010 (each of the previous three came in 2023-24).
Due to its recent success, App State jumped into the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 on Monday, checking in at No. 24 in the poll. It marks the first time since the final poll of the 2023-24 season that the Mountaineers have been ranked in the poll. The Mountaineers have been ranked in at least one of the Mid-Major polls in three different seasons since Kerns took over the program in 2019 (2020-21 and 2023-24). App State is one of two Sun Belt teams ranked in this week's poll (Troy - 18th).
App State enters Wednesday's conference bout at Georgia Southern with nine Sun Belt wins, meaning they need just one more to post a 10-win conference season. A win on Wednesday would mark App State's third straight 10-win season in Sun Belt play. The last time the Mountaineers recorded back-to-back-to-back seasons with at least 10 wins in conference play was 1997-00, which culminated in the team's second NCAA Tournament appearance.
The Matchup
- Who: App State at Georgia Southern
- Where: Jack and Ruth Ann Convocation Center // Statesboro, Ga.
- When: Wednesday, Feb. 11 // 8 p.m.
Tune In
- Watch: Watch (ESPN+) | Daniel Waugh (PxP), Blaine Baillargeon (Color), Capers Childs (Sideline)
- 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
Leading by just four points with eight minutes to play,
Eren Banks buried a momentum-shifting 3-pointer from the corner after
Jalen Tot swiped the ball away from Eastern Michigan on the other end of the floor. This Banks 3-pointer turned the tide fully in favor of the App State men's basketball team, as it pulled ahead by as many as nine points down the stretch and secured a 65-60 win over the Eagles as part of the MAC-SBC Challenge. The win was App State's sixth in a row.
App State secured the win after
Alonzo Dodd drove toward the basket for a layup through contact to push the Mountaineers ahead by seven with 1:09 to play in the game. Once he cemented his three-point play at the free-throw line, the App State faithful knew it had clinched another home win.
The Mountaineers' strong defense did enough to overcome a less-than-stellar offensive performance, as they allowed just 60 points to the Eagles, marking the third straight game that the Mountaineers have held their opponent to less than 60 points. App State kept the Eagles to a 39.7 percent field-goal percentage and a 6-22 mark from behind the arc.
Scouting the Mountaineers
App State enters play on Wednesday with a 17-9 record and a 9-4 record in Sun Belt play, which places it in sole possession of second place in the league standings, and just a half game out of first place. The Mountaineers have won 13 of their last 17 games dating back to Dec. 3, and are one of just two teams (Troy) with nine Sun Belt wins entering Wednesday. App State also enters the game against the Eagles as one of three Sun Belt teams with at least 17 wins overall this season (Troy and South Alabama).
A huge reason why App State has won six games in a row is due to suffocating defense. Since Jan. 22 when the win streak started, the Mountaineers haven't allowed more than 63 points to any opponent (most during this stretch was 63 points at Southern Miss on Jan. 29). App State has held four opponents (Louisiana, ULM, Troy and South Alabama) below the 60-point threshold, while also keeping the Sun Belt's best offense (Troy) to its worst scoring output of the season on Jan. 31 (44 points).
Offensive rebounding has become a major emphasis for App State this season, as it enters Wednesday as the Sun Belt's fourth-ranked team in offensive rebounding (12.0 per game). App State has grabbed at least 10 offensive rebounds in 10 of its last 12 games entering Wednesday. The Mountaineers see two players ranked in the top 10 in the Sun Belt in offensive rebounding in
Michael Marcus Jr. (T-fourth - 2.7 per game) and
Luke Wilson (T-fourth - 2.7 per game). App State hasn't seen two or more players finish in the top 10 in the league in offensive rebounding in the Kerns era.
The Mountaineers are led by a trio of double-digit scorers entering Wednesday in
Kasen Jennings (15.0), Dodd (13.3) and Wilson (10.2). Additionally, Tot has been a nice addition to the starting lineup as of recently, as he has scored in double figures six times since entering the starting lineup on Jan. 8 against Georgia State. This includes two 20-point games (Jan. 22 and Feb. 4).
Scouting the Eagles
Georgia Southern enters Wednesday with a 14-11 record on the season, and a 6-6 Sun Belt record. This places it in a tie for seventh place in the Sun Belt standings. Georgia Southern enters the game vs. App State having lost five of its last six contests after starting its league slate with a 5-1 record.
The Eagles play fast and shoot the 3-pointer at one of the highest rates in the country. Entering Wednesday, the Eagles rank 27th in the country in 3-point attempts per game (28.9), while getting a shot off just 15.9 seconds into the shot clock on average (ranked 31st in the nation).
On defense, Georgia Southern is great at forcing turnovers, as it comes into play on Wednesday forcing 14.1 turnovers per game. This mark leads the Sun Belt and ranks 50th nationally. Entering Wednesday, the Eagles have forced double-digit turnovers in all but one game (Jan. 3 vs. Old Dominion).
Series History
The Mountaineers and Eagles are slated to meet for the 67th time on Wednesday in a series that dates back to Jan. 20, 1949. App State and Georgia Southern have been conference foes since the 1991 season, when Georgia Southern first joined the Southern Conference in men's basketball.
App State enters Wednesday's contest with a 38-28 advantage in the series and has won four of the last five contests against the Eagles.
Despite App State owning the edge over the last five games between the two teams, each game has been decided by 10 or fewer points, and three have needed overtime to declare a winner. The two teams have split the 28 matchups in Statesboro since the series began (14-14).
Next Up
App State will next head to Harrisonburg, Va., for its second meeting this season with the James Madison Dukes on Saturday. Tipoff from the Atlantic Union Bank Center is set for 4 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
