Week 12 Men’s Basketball Preview: App State

Due to the impeding winter weather, App State, and most of the Sun Belt conference, had to move up their schedules to accommodate travel schedules. As such, their game with Louisiana has already gone final as of Thursday afternoon. The game with ULM has been moved to Friday at noon eastern.

Louisiana at App State

With the travel being moved up and the game time moved to noon, it was always going to be an uphill battle for the Cajuns in Boone. The Mountaineers would win the first of the early games 72-58 over Louisiana.

The game got off to a slow start, with the Cajuns leading just 5-0 after the first three minutes of the contest. App went 0-for-7 from the three point line early, allowing the Cajuns to building a 14-7 lead, which would be their largest of the day. Michael Marcus Jr. would hit the first three of the day that would help spark a 5-2 run for the Mountaineers and give them a 20-18 lead with about 6:30 left in the first half.

Big Shot Zo 💥#TakeTheStairs pic.twitter.com/xFZvJvLbQM

— App State Basketball (@AppStateMBB) January 22, 2026

The game would see 12 more lead changes before App would finally garner control at home with Kasen Jennings layup to make it 47-46 with 10:05 left in the game.

Louisiana would have just two players score in double figures, with De’Vion Lavergne going for 13 and Dorian Finister ending with 16. On the opposite side, App State would finish with four players with double digit points, including Jalen Tot, the games leading scorer with 21.

Center Luke Wilson flirted with a double-double but fell just one rebound short, finishing with 11 points and nine rebounds.

LUUUKEE! 🗣️#TakeTheStairs pic.twitter.com/2sOmiu95ae

— App State Basketball (@AppStateMBB) January 22, 2026

ULM at App State

The Mountaineers are 5-0 against the Warhawks of ULM in their previous five meetings. App State will try and wrap up their four game road stand with a win and move to a 9-6 all time vs the Warhawks.

ULM will travel to Boone after being handed a 55 point loss to the Thundering Herd of Marshall. In that loss, the Warhawks surrender 52 three point attempts. Marshall took advantage by making 26 of those shots. ULM themselves only shot 19% from three point range and was just 17-of-59 from the field.

This may look and feel like an easy win for App after looking at the records and recent games, but ULM’s top two scoring guards would lead App State’s current roster. Krystian Lewis and MJ Russell both score over 15 points per game while App’s top scorer, Kasen Jennings, falls just under that at 14.8.

Both teams also score just under 73 points per game, with ULM at 72.8 while App sits at 72.9. The difference in stats really stands out with the Mountaineers defense. They allow an average of just 66.6 points per game while ULM gives up 84.

As ULM doesn’t have a true center on their team, expect to see a strong performance from App State big man Luke Wilson. ULM forward Renars Sondors and Wilson both score at a similar clip but Wilson is quite a bit stronger in the rebound department.

Look for the both teams to shoot better in the back-to-back situation but for defense to be the difference in this one.

App State will be looking to string together two Sun Belt conference wins for the first time this season. Meanwhile, ULM will be looking for their first Sun Belt victory at all.

Tipoff: Friday, Jan. 22, 12 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN+

Radio: App State Sports Network

For more information, please call the App State Athletics Ticket Office at 828-262-7733 or visit them at 425 Jack Branch Drive between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission and parking are free for both games.