Appalachian State returns for its home debut in Sun Belt Conference play beginning on Saturday, Jan. 7 when it hosts Little Rock. Tipoff between the Mountaineers and Trojans is slated for 3:30 p.m. inside the Holmes Center.

Saturday's contest can be heard live locally on WATA 1450 AM in Boone and Blowing Rock. It will also be carried on Appalachian State's flagship station, WKBC 97.3 FM, as well as, WZGV 730 AM, WCOG 1320 AM, and online/worldwide on appstatesports.com and via the TuneIn app.

LAST TIME OUT
• Appalachian State fell to UTA 84-69 in its second Sun Belt game of the conference play opening weekend.

• Despite getting out to a 13-6 lead in the first half and holding an advantage over the Mavericks for over 15 minutes, the Mavs were able to turn the tables and lead by as many as 18 at one point.

• Appalachian cut the deficit to just eight points behind heroic performances from Patrick Good, Isaac Johnson and Griffin Kinney.

• Good tied his career high (21 points) and Johnson set a new career high (14 points), while also grabbing a team-best eight rebounds.

• On the heels of back-to-back double-doubles, Kinney posted eight points and seven rebounds for the Apps.

• 44 of the Mountaineers' 69 points were scored by freshmen.

• Ronshad Shabazz netted his 30th career double-figure scoring game and 12th this season in 13 games (11 points).

TOP HEADLINES AND SERIES HISTORY
• Appalachian State and Little Rock will match up for just the seventh time in program history today.

• The Mountaineers trail the all-time series to the Trojans, 4-2.

• Last season both teams split the season series with the Mountaineers and Trojans both winning on their home floor.

• Late in the season, Little Rock came to Boone as the No. 35 RPI ranked team in the nation with an overall record of 27-3 and 17-2 in Sun Belt play. and App State prevailed 69-63.

• Appalachian got 22 points from Ronshad Shabazz and 10 points from Jake Babic in the winning effort.

• Last time out against UTA, Patrick Good hit seven 3-pointers and finished 7-for-11 from long range.

• Good's seven threes are tied for the 12th-most by an individual player in a single game in program history.

• With help from his hot shooting, Good tied his career high with a game-high 21 points.

• Finishing with 11 points, Shabazz netted his 30th career double-figure scoring game and 12th this season out of 13 games.

• Three different Mountaineers registered career highs at UTA: Griffin Kinney: 4 blocks, Kelvin Robinson: 6 assists, Isaac Johnson: 14 points.

• Of the Black and Gold's 69 points at UTA, 62 were attributed by freshmen.

• Through two conference games the Mountaineers have three players averaging double-figures in scoring: Shabazz: 15.0 ppg, Kinney: 10.5 ppg, Good: 10.5 ppg.

• Kinney also leads the Mountaineers in rebounding in those two games with 9.0 per contest.

• I. Johnson is on the cusp of a double-digit scoring average with 9.0 per game, while also grabbing 6.5 boards per game.

• According to KenPom, App State is ranked the 12th-youngest team in the nation in terms of experience (339/351).

• Also according to KenPom, the Mountaineers' strength of schedule sits at 66th in the country.

• App State is currently 144-76 (.655) all time inside the Holmes Center on its home floor.

2016-17 APP STATE BASKETBALL
HOME vs. ROAD
Category	Home	Road
Points Per Game	89.8	69.9
Field Goal Percentage	.490	.392
3-Point Percentage	.439	.297
Free Throw Percentage	.732	.647
Rebounding	40.6	38.2
Turnovers	59	124
Assists	105	93

SCOUTING THE TROJANS
• Little Rock enters today's game with a 10-5 overall mark, including a 1-1 record in Sun Belt play.

• The Trojans are most recently coming off of a 69-52 loss at Louisiana on Monday.

• Little Rock currently posts five in double-figures with Marcus Johnson, Jr. leading the way with 13.3 points per game.

• As a team, the Trojans are shooting 45.3 percent from the floor and 35.3 percent from 3-point land.

• On the glass, Little Rock holds a +3.7 rebounding margin, while also producing a +1.7 turnover margin this season.

WHAT'S NEXT?
• Appalachian State will play its second Sun Belt game of the weekend when it hosts Arkansas State on Monday, Jan. 9.

• Tipoff between the Mountaineers and Red Wolves is set for 7 p.m.