# Appalachian State Mountaineers men's basketball

The Appalachian State Mountaineers men's basketball team is the college basketball team at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, United States. The Mountaineers compete in the Sun Belt Conference after having competed in the Southern Conference from 1972 to 2014. They are currently a Division I member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Appalachian State plays their home games at the Holmes Center.
Notable past coaches include Buzz Peterson, Press Maravich, and Bobby Cremins. The Mountaineers have appeared in the NCAA tournament three times, 1979, 2000, and 2021. They also appeared in the National Invitation Tournament in 2007 and 2024. The Mountaineers also reached the semifinals of the 2010 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.

## Conference championships
### Regular Season

| Year | Conference | Record | Coach |
| 1939–1940 | North State | 19–3 | Flucie Stewart |
| 1940–1941 | North State | 22–3 | Clyde Canipe |
| 1942–1943 | North State | 16–5 | Belus Smawley |
| 1947–1948 | North State | 20–8 | Francis Hoover |
| 1949–1950 | North State | 21–9 | Francis Hoover |
| 1966–1967 | Carolinas | 21–8 | Bob Light |
| 1977–1978 | Southern | 9–3 | Bobby Cremins |
| 1978–1979^ | Southern | 11–3 | Bobby Cremins |
| 1980–1981♦ | Southern | 11–5 | Bobby Cremins |
| 1997–1998♦* | Southern | 13–2 (North) | Buzz Peterson |
| 1998–1999 | Southern | 13–3 (North) | Buzz Peterson |
| 1999–2000^ | Southern | 13–3 (North) | Buzz Peterson |
| 2002–2003♦ | Southern | 11–5 (North) | Houston Fancher |
| 2006–2007 | Southern | 15–3 (North) | Houston Fancher |
| 2007–2008♦ | Southern | 13–7 (North) | Houston Fancher |
| 2009–2010 | Southern | 13–5 (North) | Buzz Peterson |
| 2010-2011 | Southern | 10–8 (North) | Jason Capel |
| 2011-2012 | Southern | 7-11 (North) | Jason Capel |
| 2012-2013 | Southern | 10-8 (North) | Jason Capel |
| 2013-2014 | Southern | 5-11 | Jason Capel |
| 2014-2015 | Sun Belt | 9-11 | Jim Fox |
| 2015-2016 | Sun Belt | 7-13 | Jim Fox |
| 2016-2017 | Sun Belt | 4-14 | Jim Fox |
| 2017-2018 | Sun Belt | 9-9 | Jim Fox |
| 2018-19 | Sun Belt | 6-12 | Jim Fox |
| 2019-2020 | Sun Belt | 11-9 | Dustin Kerns |
| 2020-2021^ | Sun Belt | 7-8 | Dustin Kerns |
| 2021-2022 | Sun Belt | 12-6 | Dustin Kerns |
| 2022-2023 | Sun Belt | 9-9 | Dustin Kerns |
| 2023-2024 | Sun Belt | 16-2 | Dustin Kerns |
| Total | Total | 16 | 16 |
| ♦ Denotes first place and/or conference regular season champion ||||
| ^ denotes conference tournament champion, and NCAA Tournament Bid ||||
| * The Southern Conference split into North and South divisions beginning with the 1994–95 season ||||

### Conference Tournament Champions

| Year | Conference | Record | Coach |
| 1978–1979 | Southern | 11-3 | Bobby Cremins |
| 1999–2000 | Southern | 13-3 | Buzz Peterson |
| 2020–2021 | Sun Belt | 7-8 | Dustin Kerns |
| Total | Total | 3 | 3 |
| Source ||||

## Postseason results
### NCAA tournament results

The Mountaineers have appeared in the NCAA tournament three times. Their combined record is 0–3.
| Year | Seed | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 1979 | 6 | Second Round | (3) LSU | L 57–71 |
| 2000 | 14 | First Round | (3) Ohio State | L 61–87 |
| 2021 | 16 | First Four | (16) Norfolk State | L 53–54 |

### National Invitation Tournament results

The Mountaineers have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament two times. Their record is 0–2.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 2007 | First Round | Mississippi | L 59–73 |
| 2024 | First Round | Wake Forest | L 76–87 |

### CollegeInsider.com results

The Mountaineers have appeared in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament one time. Their record is 2–1.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 2010 | First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals | Harvard Marshall Pacific | W 93–71 W 80–72 L 56–64 |

### The Basketball Classic results

The Mountaineers have appeared in The Basketball Classic one time. Their record is 0–1.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 2022 | First Round | USC Upstate | L 74–80 |

### NAIA tournament results

The Mountaineers have appeared in the NAIA Tournament five times. Their combined record is 5–5.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 1940 | First Round Second Round | Bemidji State San Diego State | W 43–34 L 46–68 |
| 1941 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinals | Baker Baltimore Santa Barbara State | W 63–42 W 48–36 L 29–36 |
| 1943 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinals | Simpson (IA) Kansas Wesleyan Northwest Missouri State | W 48–31 W 54–40 L 34–46 |
| 1948 | First Round | Lawrence Tech | L 48–76 |
| 1950 | First Round | Brooklyn | L 75–79 |

## Coaching history

| Coach | Years | Seasons | Record | Pct. | Conf. Record | Pct. | Conf. Titles | NIT App. | NCAA App. |
| No Coach | 1919–20/1925–34 | 9 | 86–33 | .723 | | | | | |
| Eugene Garbee | 1934–35 | 1 | 8–11 | .421 | | | | | |
| Flucie Stewart | 1935–40/1946–47 | 6 | 67–38 | .638 | 48–24 | .667 | 1 | | |
| Clyde Canipe | 1940–42 | 2 | 38–7 | .844 | 22–5 | .815 | 1 | | |
| Belus Smawley | 1942–43 | 1 | 16–5 | .762 | 9–0 | 1.000 | 1 | | |
| Harold Quincy | 1943–44 | 1 | 0–7 | .000 | | | | | |
| G. P. Eggers | 1944–45 | 1 | 6–13 | .316 | 7–5 | .583 | | | |
| Francis Hoover | 1945–46/1947–57 | 11 | 133–127 | .512 | 91–87 | .511 | 2 | | |
| Bob Light | 1957–72 | 15 | 212–178 | .544 | 94–85 | .525 | 1 | | |
| Press Maravich | 1972–75 | 3 | 14–63 | .182 | 5–30 | .143 | | | |
| Bobby Cremins | 1975–81 | 6 | 100–70 | .588 | 51–31 | .622 | 3 | | 1 |
| Kevin Cantwell | 1981–86 | 5 | 61–78 | .439 | 33–47 | .413 | | | |
| Tom Apke | 1986–96 | 10 | 139–147 | .486 | 70–82 | .461 | | | |
| Buzz Peterson | 1996–2000/2009–10 | 5 | 103–52 | .665 | 60–17 | .779 | 4 | | 1 |
| Houston Fancher | 2000–09 | 9 | 137–136 | .502 | 79–73 | .520 | 3 | 1 | |
| Jason Capel | 2010–2014 | 4 | 53–70 | .431 | 32–35 | .478 | | | |
| Jim Fox | 2014–2019 | 5 | 56–99 | .361 | 35–59 | .372 | | | |
| Dustin Kerns | 2019– | 2 | 35-27 | .565 | 18-17 | .514 | 1 | | 1 |
| Totals | 1919–present | 96 | 1229–1101 | .527 | 635–562 | .530 | 17 | 1 | 3 |

## Rivalries

Appalachian's primary basketball rivals are the East Tennessee State Buccaneers and the Georgia Southern Eagles. Appalachian State is only 55 miles from Johnson City, TN. East Tennessee State has dominated the series over the past two decades, winning 14 games and losing 3. After being highly competitive in Division I-AA Southern Conference from the late 1990s to the late 2000s, Appalachian State and Georgia Southern have rekindled a rivalry series in the Sun Belt conference. Since the transition in 2014, the Mountaineers are 6–7 against the Eagles, winning each of the last four meetings.

## Mountaineers in the NBA

One former Appalachian State player has played in the NBA.
| Name | Years Played | Teams |
| Belus Smawley | 1947-1952 | St. Louis Bombers, Syracuse Nationals, and Baltimore Bullets |

### NBA draft

Five former Appalachian State players have been drafted into the NBA.
| Year | Round | Pick | Player |
| 1950 | 8 | 91 | Charles Hope |
| 1978 | 8 | 163 | Tony Searcy |
| 1979 | 4 | 78 | Darryl Robinson |
| 1979 | 8 | 158 | Renaldo Lawrence |
| 1984 | 8 | 181 | Dale Roberts |