Appalachian State vs Old Dominion Game Preview

The (22-5) Appalachian State Mountaineers take on the (6-21) Old Dominion Monarchs in a Sun Belt Conference showdown on Thursday. Tip-off is set for 7:00 pm ET as the Mountaineers look for their conference-leading 13th win of the season.

The Appalachian State Mountaineers are coming into this matchup winners of four of their last five games and are currently on a three-game winning streak. Most recently, the Mountaineers defeated Louisiana by a final score of 85-73, and leading the way offensively for Appalachian State was Jordan Marsh who had 23 points on 6/9 shooting from the field.

The Old Dominion Monarchs are coming into this matchup losers of five games in a row and have had a lot of trouble during February. In their most recent game, the Monarchs fell to Georgia State where they lost by a final score of 68-65. Leading the way offensively for Old Dominion was Chaunce Jenkins who had 22 points on 6/16 shooting from the field.

Appalachian State Looks For Fourth Consecutive Win

The Appalachian State Mountaineers have done a lot of winning this season and although their offense has been terrific, their defense has done a lot of the talking. Coming into this game, the Mountaineers are allowing their opponents to score 66.8 points per game which ranks 50th in all of college basketball. Furthermore, their opponents are shooting just 38.9% from the field which ranks sixth in the country, while also shooting just 31.6% from beyond the arc which ranks 55th. This is a team that has a balanced attack on the defensive side of the ball fueled with a great interior and perimeter attack that forces turnovers and consistently gets their offense going on the other end. Not only do they force turnovers and play extremely well around the perimeter, the Mountaineers are also ranked third in the country in defensive rebounds and are number one in the country in blocks, which fuels their team on the low block and throughout the interior. On the offensive side of the ball Appalachian State has found a lot of success as well, as they are scoring 78.6 points per game while shooting 47.7% from the field as a team.

According to kenpom.com, the Appalachian State Mountaineers are ranked 87th in the country in terms of overall efficiency, and have an adjusted efficiency margin of +9.57. Offensively, they have a rating of 108.2 which ranks 134th and they have a defensive rating of 98.6 which ranks 39th.

Injuries: No injuries to report.

Old Dominion In Danger Of Losing Sixth Straight Game

It has been a season to forget for Old Dominion who is coming into this game with a record of 6-21 and a conference record of 2-12 which currently puts them ten games back of first place in the conference and in the basement of the Sun Belt conference standings. Offensively, the Monarchs have struggled tremendously and are currently scoring just 70.5 points per game which ranks 269th in all of college basketball this season. Furthermore, the Monarchs are shooting 42.3% from the field as a team while also shooting just 31.6% from beyond the arc, which makes a ton of sense when you look at the speed and overall pace this team plays with on the offensive end. Currently, Old Dominion is ranked 62nd in the country in adjusted tempo, never relying on their half-court sets to get shots and instead, uses their defense to create offense, especially when running in transition and converting on fast break opportunities.

Defensively, the Monarchs are allowing their opponents to score 75.9 points per game this season and are also defending the three-pointer extremely well, but need to work on their interior defense which has been a problem for them all season. The Monarchs have a lot of catching up to do and need to string together a couple of wins, more importantly, they need to end their current losing streak which is in serious jeopardy of extending to six games if they can't get a win at home.

Appalachian State is coming into this matchup with a record of 15-10 against the spread and Old Dominion has a record of just 6-19 against the spread this season which has been a huge disappointment for a team that has had a brutal month of February. The Mountaineers have a road record of 6-4 this season while Old Dominion has a record of 4-9 at home this season, only hitting the money line in seven of their last 29 games, whereas the Mountaineers have hit the money line in 21 of their last 28 games. I like Appalachian State to get it done and cover the -8.5 spread in this matchup!

Article can also be found at StatSalt.com