Wednesday, December 21, 2022

UCSB vs Appalachian State Game Preview, by gauchodan

Game 11
UCSB at Appalachian State
Wednesday, December 21, 2022, 3:00 pm PST
Phoenix, Ariz.
 
Quick Bite
The Gauchos (8-2) wrap up the non-conference season by playing in the opening game of a tripleheader at Footprint Center in Phoenix.  The Jerry Colangelo Classic also features Wyoming vs. Saint Mary's and Colorado State vs. USC.  UCSB has a nice little 4-game winning streak going, with road wins at Pepperdine and Portland State peppered in.  Ajay Mitchell had his best game of the season in the Rose City, taking over in the 2nd half to carry the Gauchos to victory over the gritty Vikings.  Santa Barbara had one of its best games at the free throw line, but three-point shooting continues to be a sore spot.

The Mountaineers (7-5) are playing their first game out of the Eastern time zone, but they've been pretty good travelers already.  They can boast of wins at Louisville and ETSU and were right in it to the end in losses at Wake Forest and Charlotte.  Their stumbles have come at home, where they have Quad 4 losses to Campbell and Kennesaw State.  Donovan Gregory is their leading scorer and was named to the Pre-Season All-Sun Belt Second Team.  The Mountaineers were picked by Sun Belt coaches to finish 7th in the 14-team conference. 

UCSB-Appalachian State History
UCSB leads the series 1-0.
1940-41: W 36-29 in the Quarterfinals of the NAIA Tournament in Kansas City.  UCSB lost in the semifinals to Murray State and lost in the 3rd-place game to West Texas State.  San Diego State won the NAIA national championship that season.

The Arena
Footprint Center
Capacity: 17,071
Built in the regional population center of the southwestern United States, the arena opened on June 6, 1992, at a construction cost of $89 million.  It is currently the home arena for the NBA's Phoenix Suns, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and the Indoor Football League's Arizona Rattlers.  The ECHL's Phoenix RoadRunners also played there from 2005 until they ceased operations at the conclusion of the 2008–2009 season.  Additionally, the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes (now the Arizona Coyotes) played their first 7-plus seasons at the arena following their arrival in Phoenix on July 1, 1996.  The multi-purpose arena was formerly known as America West Arena, US Airways Center, Talking Stick Resort Arena and Phoenix Suns Arena.

Head Coach
Dustin Kerns
overall: 92-83 (.526)
Portland State: 61-46 (.570) 
Kerns is in his 4th season at Appalachian State.  In his 2nd season at the helm, the Mountaineers won the Sun Belt Conference Tournament and advanced to the First Four in Dayton.  He was hired at ASU after a successful 2nd season at Presbyterian, taking the Blue Hose as far as the CIT Quarterfinals.

Appalachian State Roster
Donovan Gregory #11 SR G, 6-5 190, Charlotte, NC -- 12.5 Pts, 4.0 Reb, 3.8 Ast
Tyree Boykin #30 SR G, 6-1 190, Clarksville, TN -- 10.5 Pts, 2.8 Reb, 1.6 Ast
Terence Harcum #23 SO G, 6-3 190, Butner, NC -- 10.3 Pts, 2.2 Reb, 1.3 Ast
CJ Huntley #15 JR F, 6-10 190, Huntersville, NC -- 9.1 Pts, 5.8 Reb, 0.7 Ast
Christopher Mantis #2 SO F, 6-7 185, Lowell, IN -- 8.9 Pts, 1.8 Reb, 1.2 Ast
Dibaji Walker #35 SR F, 6-9 200, Columbus, OH -- 7.6 Pts, 3.7 Reb, 0.6 Ast
Justin Abson #21 FR F, 6-9 235, Pompano Beach, FL -- 5.9 Pts, 5.9 Reb, 1.4 Ast
Xavion Brown #0 JR G, 6-3 180, Sacramento, CA -- 3.8 Pts, 2.3 Reb, 1.4 Ast
Tamell Pearson #3 SR F, 6-10 223, Chicago, IL -- 4.4 Pts, 5.0 Reb, 0.5 Ast
Carvell Teasett #12 SO G, 6-1 190, Baton Rouge, LA -- 3.3 Pts, 1.0 Reb, 1.4 Ast
MIchael Eads #10 JR G, 6-4 200, Orlando, FL -- 2.4 Pts, 1.1 Reb, 1.0 Ast
Zocko Littleton Jr.. #4 FR G, 6-3 175, Albany, GA -- 5.3 Pts, 2.3 Reb, 1.3 Ast
Andrew Muse #5 SR G, 6-2 165, Winston-Salem, NC -- 4.7 Pts, 2.0 Reb, 1.0 Ast
Quinn Hafner #24 FR F, 6-3 170, Centerville, OH -- 2.3 Pts, 0.7 Reb, 0.3 Ast
Bryant Greene #14 SR G, 6-1 175, Boone, NC -- 6.0 Pts, 1.0 Reb, 0.0 Ast

UCSB Roster
Ajay Mitchell #13 SO G, 6-4 180, Sainte Marie Namur (Belgium) -- 14.7 Pts, 3.0 Reb, 4.7 Ast
Miles Norris #5 SR F, 6-10 220, San Diego, CA -- 13.1 Pts, 6,5 Reb, 1.9 Ast
Andre Kelly #2 SR F, 6-8 255, Stockton, CA -- 10.0 Pts, 8.0 Reb, 1.2 Ast
Josh Pierre-Louis #1 SR G, 6-4 185, Plainfield, NJ -- 10.4 Pts, 3.8 Reb, 2.3 Ast
Cole Anderson #4 SO G, 6-4 185, Fresno, CA -- 7.6 Pts, 1.5 Reb, 0.8 Ast
Calvin Wishart #10 SR G, 6-1 180, Delano, MN -- 7.0 Pts, 3.1 Reb, 3.1 Ast
Ajare Sanni #3 SR G, 6-3 170, Houston, TX -- 7.7 Pts, 2.3 Reb, 1.1 Ast
Jakov Kukic #14 JR F, 6-10 230, Split, Croatia -- 2.3 Pts, 3.0 Reb, 0.1 Ast
Zach Harvey #11 SO G, 6-5 195, Topeka, KS -- 2.2 Pts, 0.6 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Koat Keat Tong #00 FR F, 6-9 215, Bentiu, South Sudan -- 1.0 Pts, 2.1 Reb, 0.1 Ast
Evans Kipruto #12 JR F, 6-8 250, Nairobi, Kenya -- 1.0 Pts, 1.3 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Matija Belic #32 FR G, 6-7 205, Belgrade, Serbia -- 0.3 Pts, 1.0 Reb, 0.2 Ast
Gage Gomez #50 JR G, 6-3 190, Arroyo Grande, CA -- 1.0 Pts, 0.0 Reb, 1.0 Ast
David Pickles #40 SO F, 6-10 235, Seattle, WA -- 1.0 Pts, 1.0 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Ariel Bland #23 SO F, 6-7 215, Eden Prairie, MN -- 0.0 Pts, 1.5 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Henry Hartwell #51 FR G, 6-5 180, Oceanside, CA -- 0.0 Pts, 0.5 Reb, 0.0 Ast
Max Sheldon #53 SO G, 5-11 180, Santa Barbara, CA -- 0.0 Pts, 0.0 Reb, 0.0 Ast
 
Appalachian State National Ranking Outliers
Team
Bench points per game: 18 (31.58)
Blocks per game: 33 (5.1)
Effective FG pct: 62 (.546)
Fastbreak points: 74 (12.83)
Field Goal Percentage Defense: 25 (.383)
Fouls per game: 36 (14.3)
Rebounds (defensive) per game: 16 (29.17)
Scoring defense: 64 (63.7)
Scoring margin: 16 (16.0)
Scoring offense: 51 (79.7)
Steals per game: 65 (8.4)
Three Point attempts per game: 53 (25.7)
Three Pointers per game: 59 (8.9)
Turnover Margin: 62 (+3.0)
Player
Justin Abson -- Blocks: 17 (28), Blocks per game: 19 (2.33)

UCSB National Ranking Outliers
Team
Fastbreak points: 69 (13.00)
Field Goal percentage: 33 (.488)
Free Throw attempts per game: 66 (20.4)
Rebound margin: 24 (+7.8)
Rebounds (defensive) per game: 57 (27.70)
Three Point attempts per game: 337 (16.5)
Three Pointers per game: 325 (5.5)
Winning percentage: 41 (.800)
Players
Ajay Mitchell -- Assists per game: 67 (4.7)
Andre Kelly -- Rebounds (defensive) per game: 51 (6.30), Rebounds per game: 85 (8.0)

Prediction
Appalachian State is an above-average team in just about every statistical category.  What stands out to me is a combination of their field goal percentage defense and fouls committed.  They must be solid defensively to pull off that feat.  On offense, they will launch the three.  As always, we'll need to box out and not give up too many long rebounds.  UCSB continues to be a really good rebounding team.  I'm really looking forward to the Gauchos stepping out against an unknown entity in a cavernous arena that I expect will be mostly empty.  It could be a clang-fest.  UCSB 65, Appalachian State 61

Official Site:  https://appstatesports.com/sports/mens-basketball
Hey Guys!:  http://www.yosefscabin.com/forum/viewto ... 36bff4c8b0
How to Watch:  https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/ ... 6e0deec3c1
Live stats:  http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=434942

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