PENSACOLA, Fla.– Texas State and Appalachian State meet again in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament quarterfinals round set for 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 6 at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola.
Like last season, the Bobcats earned a bye to the quarterfinal round, while the Mountaineers battled in the first round. TXST defeated App State in a wire-to-wire 85-68 decision in the tournament last season at Strahan Arena in front of 6,308 fans in San Marcos, Texas.
The Bobcats (18-6) hoisted their first Sun Belt Conference regular-season championship title after completing the sweep over ULM in San Marcos, Texas. TXST enters the tournament on a seven-game winning streak and boasts a 10-3 record when playing away from Strahan Arena. The maroon and gold jumped to No. 15 in the CIT Mid-Major Top 25 Poll and have climbed the ranks due to their defensive presence that ranks No. 10 in the country in holding their opponents to 61.1 points per game. In addition to their scoring defense, the Bobcats rank inside the top 100 of the NCAA in five defensive categories, including forcing 15.21 turnovers per game (No. 56 in the NCAA and No. 2 in the Sun Belt). Offensively, TXST averages 66.1 points per game behind a 46.4 field goal percentage. They also rank No. 26 in the NCAA and lead the Sun Belt with a 38.0 3-point field goal percentage.
Junior guard Mason Harrell leads the Bobcats with 13.7 points per game, has a 46.1 field goal percentage, including a .420 clip from the 3-point line. Harrell is also shooting 80.6 percent from the free-throw line and contributes 3.3 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game.
Junior guard Caleb Asberry follows with 13.2 points per game and is shooting 49.2 percent from the floor and 41.4 percent from behind-the-arc. Asberry concluded conference play by leading the Bobcats with 13.8 points per game and is shooting 96.3 percent from the free-throw line (16-of-17).
Senior forward Isiah Small averages 10.7 points per game and leads the Bobcats with 5.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. Small also ranks No. 85 in the NCAA with 28 total blocks and shoots 55.1 percent from the field and 43.8 from the 3-point line.
SCOUTING APPALACHIAN STATE
App State (14-11) who is the fourth seed in the East Division, knocked off the No. 5 seed from the West Division Little Rock, 67-60 Friday night at the Hartsell Arena in Pensacola. The Mountaineers dropped six of their last seven games to close the regular season and entered the tournament averaging 70.8 points per game, and has the second-best scoring defense in the league behind the Bobcats, allowing just 64.1 points per game.
Before Friday night's game, junior guard Adrian Delp led the team in scoring with 12.4 points per game, shooting 42.0 percent from the floor, 37.4 percent from deep, and 89.2 percent from the stripe. Delph also had 13 blocks on the year. Senior guard Justin Forrest followed with 11.7 points, on average, and has 3.4 rebounds per game to go along with 2.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Sophomore guard/forward Donovan Gregory and graduate guard Michael Almonacy average 11.6 and 11.4 points per game, respectively, and junior forward James Lewis Jr. is the team's leading rebounder (5.6/game) and blocker (19 total blocks).
In the win over Little Rock, Forrest paced the Mountaineers with 24 points (8-of-18) and knocked down five of the team's 12 3-pointers. He led three other players in double-figure scoring, including Delph (14), Almonacy (13), and Gregory (11).
ALL-TIME SERIES
Texas State leads Appalachian State in the all-time series 8-6 and has won four of the five last meetings. They only have one neutral game in the series, which was the very first game between the two clubs. It was a 79-68 win for the Bobcats on Dec. 23, 2010.
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