SAN MARCOS, Texas - Needing a win to clinch at least a share of the Sun Belt regular-season championship, the App State men's basketball team (19-11, 11-6 SBC) is set to wrap up regular-season play with a road matchup at Texas State (18-12, 10-7 SBC) on Friday night. App State currently stands in a tie for first place with three other teams (Marshall, Troy and South Alabama), with each team having one game left on its regular-season schedule. Tipoff from Strahan Area is slated for 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT), and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
An App State win on Friday night will clinch at least a share of the Sun Belt regular-season title, which would mark the second time in the last three seasons that the Mountaineers won at least a share of a Sun Belt championship (won the outright regular-season title back in 2023-24). If App State were to win the regular-season crown outright, it would need to win and see losses from Marshall (plays Georgia Southern on Friday), Troy (plays ULM on Friday) and South Alabama (plays Southern Miss on Friday).
With a win on Friday, App State would clinch at least a share of its third Sun Belt title in the
Dustin Kerns era (won the Sun Belt Tournament in 2021 and the regular-season championship in 2023). A win would clinch App State's second regular-season Sun Belt championship since 2023-24, which would mark the first time that it has won at least a share of a conference title two times in three seasons since 1997-2000 (won a share of the SoCon regular-season championship in 1997-98 and 1999-2000).
The Mountaineers are looking to secure their 12th Sun Belt win on Friday night, which would mark the third time in the Kerns era that they have won at least 12 conference games. The last time App State posted at least 12 league wins three times in a seven-year stretch was from 2004-10, when it posted at least 13 wins three times in a seven-year stretch. App State has won at least 10 Sun Belt games in five of Kerns' seven seasons as head coach.
The Matchup
- Who: App State at Texas State
- Where: Strahan Arena // San Marcos, Texas
- When: Friday, Feb. 27 // 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT
Tune In
- Watch: Watch (ESPN+) | Bill Culhane (PxP), Suzanne Fox (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
On a day when it honored its three seniors before the game, a clutch
Eren Banks 3-pointer with just over a minute to play helped cap off a crucial 13-4 run over the final three minutes, which helped turn just a six-point lead into an 89-74 win for App State in its home finale. App State closed the game on a 25-14 run over the final seven minutes to clinch its 11th win at the Holmes Center.
After a pair of dunks by Banks and
Kasen Jennings late in the game, the Mountaineers' group of seniors (
Jalen Tot,
Alonzo Dodd and Jennings) were subbed out, which led to a huge ovation from the Holmes Center crowd. All three seniors scored in double figures in the game, while Dodd tallied his third double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 assists.
Georgia Southern threatened to come back in the contest after trailing by seven at halftime by starting the final half on a 22-15 run to tie the score at 55 by the under-12 timeout. But
Luke Wilson helped calm the storm by asserting himself with a pair of dunks and good free-throw shooting. Wilson also posted a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds, which marked his second double-double in his last three games.
Scouting the Mountaineers
App State enters play on Friday with a 19-11 record and an 11-6 record in Sun Belt play, which places it in a tie for first place in the Sun Belt standings with one game remaining in the regular season. App State enters play against the Bobcats having won eight of its last 10 games, and 15 of their last 21 games dating back to Dec. 3. App State is one of four teams in the Sun Belt Conference with 11 or more Sun Belt wins entering Friday, while also being one of five Sun Belt teams with at least 19 wins overall this season.
A huge reason why App State has won eight of its last 10 games entering Friday is due to suffocating defense. Since Jan. 22, the Mountaineers have allowed just two of their opponents to score more than 70 points. App State has held four opponents (Louisiana, ULM, Troy and South Alabama) below the 60-point threshold since Jan. 22, while also keeping the Sun Belt's best offense (Troy) to its worst scoring output of the season on Jan. 31 (44 points). Since Jan. 8, App State has kept all but three of its opponents below 70 points (Old Dominion - 75 on Jan. 17, Marshall - 94 on Feb. 19 and Georgia Southern - 74 on Feb. 21).
Over the last nine games, the Mountaineers' defense against the 3-pointer has been especially stout, as they have allowed just 74 of their opponents' last 249 3-pointers to drop, which is good for a 29.7 percent rate. App State enters play on Friday with the second-best 3-point percentage defense in the Sun Belt, and the 54th-best 3-point defense in the country, allowing just 31.3 percent of its opponents' 3-pointers to fall.
The Mountaineers are led by a trio of double-digit scorers entering Friday in Jennings (15.4), Dodd (13.8) and Wilson (10.7). Jennings enters Friday having posted two 30-point games over his last seven outings after tallying 31 at Georgia Southern on Feb. 11, while Dodd has scored at least 18 points in five of his last six games. Additionally,
Michael Marcus Jr. provided a spark on Feb.11 at Georgia Southern with a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double, which was his second 20-point, 10-rebound double-double of the year. He trails only Jennings (eight) and Dodd (six) for the team lead in 20-point games this season.
Scouting the Bobcats
Texas State enters Friday's regular-season finale with an 18-12 record, which includes a 10-7 mark in Sun Belt play. The Bobcats are one of seven teams within one game of first place in the Sun Belt standings entering Friday with just one game to play. Texas State has won seven of its last eight games heading into the game against App State, but saw its seven-game winning streak end in its last game against Louisiana.
Strahan Arena has been one of the toughest places in the Sun Belt Conference to play this season, as the Bobcats are 15-1 at home this season. Texas State's 15 home wins are the most in the league. The Bobcats' last loss at home was Dec. 17 against Arkansas State.
Texas State is one of the best teams in the Sun Belt at forcing turnovers, as it ranks second in the league in turnovers forced per game (13.1) and first in steals per game (8.6). Texas State has tallied double-digit steals 11 times this season.
Series History
App State and Texas State will meet for the first time this season on Friday, and the 20th time overall. This will be the Mountaineers' third road game against a team from a Sun Belt West school this season.
App State and Texas State last met on Jan. 4, 2025, in Boone, which saw the Mountaineers post a 72-61 win over the Bobcats. Friday's contest in San Marcos will be the first time the two teams have met at Strahan Arena since Feb. 7, 2024.
App State is looking for its first win in San Marcos since Feb. 3, 2018, when it posted a three-point victory. The Mountaineers have won just two times in nine previous games played at Strahan Arena.
Next Up
The Sun Belt Tournament sits next on the schedule for App State, which begins March 3 in Pensacola, Fla. The Mountaineers won't play earlier than Thursday in Pensacola. All games at the Sun Belt Tournament will be broadcast on ESPN+, with the championship game on Monday, March 9, set to air on ESPN or ESPN2.
