BOONE, N.C. – Appalachian State University men's basketball will return home for the first time in over a month and will look to snap a four-game losing streak when it hosts in-state rival and regional foe Charlotte at the Holmes Center on Saturday. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m.
The Mountaineers (2-7) have been trending upward offensively and will look to apply that to a 49er team that has allowed 85.6 points per game this season. Over the last five games, App State is shooting 45.0 percent from the floor, 48.0 percent from long range and 77.0 percent from the charity stripe.
Senior guard Frank Eaves leads the Sun Belt and is 27th nationally with 20.4 points per game. Eaves poured in 20 points in the Mountaineers' 12-point loss at Texas on Tuesday and scored 12 points in just 4:57 seconds during a hot stretch in the second half.
SERIES HISTORY
• In Appalachian's 34 all time meetings with Charlotte, the Apps are 13-21 and currently on a two-game losing streak in the series.
• However, App State is 9-7 in games played in Boone.
• The previous eight meetings (dating back to 1997-98), the Mountaineers are 3-5. Their last win came on Nov. 19, 2008 - an 87-84 2OT victory in Boone.
• Appalachian State is 40-51 all time against current members of Conference USA. The Apps' most common C-USA opponent is Marshall (18-32), though the vast majority of those meetings came when the Thundering Herd was a member of the Southern Conference.
SCOUTING THE 49ERS
• Charlotte enters the game sporting a 1-8 overall mark this season.
• The 49ers' lone win this season came in a 77-68 win over in-state foe Furman on Nov. 19.
• Thus far, the 49ers have played a rather challenging non-conference slate of games which has included losses to Syracuse (L, 83-70), Michigan (L, 102-47), Washington (L, 71-66), Davidson (L, 109-74) and Miami (Fla.) (88-60).
• Bernard Sullivan leads the Niners in scoring and is the only student-athlete that boasts a double-figure scoring output (11.0 ppg).
• Charlotte has struggled to shoot the basketball and has shot 37.1 percent from the field and 29.7 percent from long range.
• Coupled with the shooting woes, Charlotte has averaged 68.0 points per game, but has allowed a whopping 85.6 points per game to its opponents.
• The Niners have allowed opponents to shoot 50.4 percent from the field and 43.8 percent from the three-point line.
• Joseph Uchebo has been the most active 49er on the boards and averaged a team-best 8.3 rebounds per game, including a total of 28 rebounds on the offensive glass.
• Uchebo posts 8.0 ppg., while shooting a team-high 51.8 percent from the floor.
UP NEXT
• Following its home contest against Charlotte, App State will play its last game before Christmas at No. 3 North Carolina on Monday, December 21. The game will be aired on ESPN2.
• Tipoff from Chapel Hill is slated for 7 p.m.
