# 2023–24 Appalachian State Mountaineers men's basketball team

The 2023–24 Appalachian State Mountaineers men's basketball team represented Appalachian State University in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Mountaineers, led by fifth-year head coach Dustin Kerns, played their home games at the Holmes Center in Boone, North Carolina as members in the Sun Belt Conference.

## Previous season

The Mountaineers finished the 2022–23 season 16–16, 9–9 in Sun Belt play to finish in a tie for seventh place. The Mountaineers lost to South Alabama in the first round of the Sun Belt tournament.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Carvell Teasett | 12 | G | 6'1" | 180 | Sophomore | Baton Rouge, LA | Transferred to Angelo State |
| Michael Eads Jr. | 10 | G | 6'4" | 200 | Sophomore | Orlando, FL | Entered Transfer Portal |
| Zocko Littelton | 4 | G | 6'3" | 175 | Freshman | Marietta, GA | Transferred to Chipola College |
| Quinn Hafner (Walk-on) | 24 | G | 6'3" | 170 | Freshman | Centerville, OH | Unknown |
| Tamell Pearson | 3 | F | 6'10" | 223 | Senior | Chicago, IL | Graduated |
| Tyree Boykin | 30 | G | 6'1" | 190 | GS Senior | Clarksville, TN | Graduated |
| Dibaji Walker | 35 | F | 6'9" | 200 | GS Senior | Columbus, OH | Graduated |

### 2023 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Joshua Hayes PF | Gainesville, FL | The Rock School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Sep 19, 2022 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Etienne Strothers PG | Newport News, VA | Menchville High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Aug 23, 2022 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

### 2024 recruiting class
## Preseason
### Preseason Sun Belt Conference poll

The Mountaineers were picked to finish in second place in the conference's preseason poll. Graduate forward Donovan Gregory was named to the preseason All-SBC First Team. Senior forward CJ Huntley was named to the conference preseason third team.
Coaches poll :
| Predicted finish | Team (1st place Votes) |
| 1 | James Madison - 176 (7) |
| 2 | App State - 159 (2) |
| 3 | Old Dominion - 154 (1) |
| 4 | Southern Miss - 148 |
| 5 | Louisiana - 136 (2) |
| 6 | South Alabama - 129 (2) |
| 7 | Marshall - 119 |
| 8 | Troy - 91 |
| 9 | Arkansas State - 84 |
| 10 | Texas State - 72 |
| 11 | Georgia State - 69 |
| 12 | Coastal Carolina - 59 |
| 13 | Georgia Southern - 42 |
| 14 | ULM - 32 |

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 7, 2023* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Oakland City | W 87–49 | 1–0 | 16 – Spillers | 12 – Abson | 5 – Tied | Holmes Center (2,010) Boone, NC |
| November 11, 2023* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Northern Illinois MAC-SBC Challenge | L 78–91 | 1–1 | 16 – Mantis | 9 – Spillers | 4 – Brown | Convocation Center (1,071) DeKalb, IL |
| November 14, 2023* 10:00 p.m., P12N | | at Oregon State | L 71–81 $^{OT}$ | 1–2 | 18 – Harcum | 10 – Abson | 4 – Tied | Gill Coliseum (2,766) Corvallis, OR |
| November 21, 2023* 12:00 p.m. | | vs. UNC Wilmington Fort Myers Tip-Off Event | W 86−56 | 2–2 | 15 – Spillers | 13 – Abson | 6 – Marsh | Suncoast Credit Union Arena (512) Fort Myers, FL |
| November 22, 2023* 12:00 p.m. | | vs. Murray State Fort Myers Tip-Off Event | W 67–57 | 3–2 | 16 – Gregory | 7 – Spillers | 3 – Tied | Suncoast Credit Union Arena (310) Fort Myers, FL |
| November 26, 2023* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Austin Peay | W 78–58 | 4–2 | 20 – Spillers | 7 – Tied | 5 – Brown | Holmes Center (1,298) Boone, NC |
| November 29, 2023* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | East Tennessee State | W 72–61 | 5–2 | 15 – Spillers | 11 – Spillers | 5 – Tate | Holmes Center (1,813) Boone, NC |
| December 3, 2023* 1:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Auburn | W 69–64 | 6–2 | 18 – Tate | 6 – Gregory | 4 – Gregory | Holmes Center (7,037) Boone, NC |
| December 5, 2023* 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Central Penn | W 111–35 | 7–2 | 18 – Hayes | 16 – Brown | 7 – Greene | Holmes Center (1,978) Boone, NC |
| December 13, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Queens | W 93–81 | 8–2 | 22 – Tied | 10 – Spillers | 5 – Tied | Curry Arena (1,532) Charlotte, NC |
| December 16, 2023* 4:00 p.m. | | vs. Gardner–Webb | W 80–59 | 9–2 | 16 – Spillers | 8 – Huntley | 5 – Tied | Novant Health Fieldhouse (423) Greensboro, NC |
| December 21, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UNC Asheville Hickory Hoops Classic | L 63–76 | 9–3 | 18 – Gregory | 7 – Spillers | 3 – Tied | Tarleton Complex (1,825) Hickory, NC |
| Sun Belt Conference regular season |||||||||
| December 30, 2023 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Louisiana–Monroe | W 67–55 | 10–3 (1–0) | 18 – Spillers | 9 – Spillers | 4 – Tate | Holmes Center (2,065) Boone, NC |
| January 4, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at South Alabama | W 91–84 $^{OT}$ | 11–3 (2–0) | 23 – Spillers | 9 – Spillers | 4 – Tied | Mitchell Center (1,646) Mobile, AL |
| January 6, 2024 4:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Troy | L 62–66 | 11–4 (2–1) | 13 – Huntley | 10 – Abson | 4 – Tate | Trojan Arena (2,673) Troy, AL |
| January 11, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Coastal Carolina | W 70–45 | 12–4 (3–1) | 13 – Tate | 9 – Abson | 3 – Tied | HTC Center (1,838) Conway, SC |
| January 13, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at James Madison | W 59–55 | 13–4 (4–1) | 15 – Tate | 10 – Spillers | 4 – Tate | Atlantic Union Bank Center (7,761) Harrisonburg, VA |
| January 17, 2024 6:30 p.m. | | Georgia State | W 76–68 | 14–4 (5–1) | 23 – Spillers | 13 – Spillers | 6 – Tate | Holmes Center (2,534) Boone, NC |
| January 20, 2024 4:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Coastal Carolina | W 88–59 | 15–4 (6–1) | 18 – Spillers | 9 – Spillers | 6 – Gregory | Holmes Center (3,174) Boone, NC |
| January 25, 2024 6:30 p.m, ESPN+ | | Georgia Southern | W 84–74 | 16–4 (7–1) | 23 – Harcum | 9 – Tied | 3 – Marsh | Holmes Center (3,136) Boone, NC |
| January 27, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | James Madison | W 82–76 | 17–4 (8–1) | 21 – Spillers | 11 – Abson | 6 – Gregory | Holmes Center (8,052) Boone, NC |
| February 1, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Georgia State | W 81–71 | 18–4 (9–1) | 22 – Harcum | 16 – Abson | 6 – Brown | Georgia State Convocation Center (3,127) Atlanta, GA |
| February 3, 2024 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Georgia Southern | W 85–84 $^{OT}$ | 19–4 (10–1) | 26 – Harcum | 11 – Spillers | 5 – Tate | Hanner Fieldhouse (2,412) Statesboro, GA |
| February 7, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Texas State | L 56–63 | 19–5 (10–2) | 13 – Harcum | 9 – Spillers | 5 – Tate | Strahan Arena (1,498) San Marcos, TX |
| February 10, 2024* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Toledo MAC-SBC Challenge | W 109–104 $^{OT}$ | 20–5 (10–2) | 24 – Gregory | 7 – Tied | 4 – Tied | Holmes Center (5,437) Boone, NC |
| February 15, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Marshall | W 73–58 | 21–5 (11–2) | 19 – Gregory | 14 – Spillers | 5 – Tate | Holmes Center (3,804) Boone, NC |
| February 17, 2024 4:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Louisiana | W 85–73 | 22–5 (12–2) | 23 – Marsh | 8 – Spillers | 4 – Tate | Holmes Center (6,587) Boone, NC |
| February 22, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Old Dominion | W 82–67 | 23–5 (13–2) | 22 – Harcum | 11 – Tied | 5 – Tate | Chartway Arena (6,157) Norfolk, VA |
| February 24, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Marshall | W 65–58 | 24–5 (14–2) | 25 – Tate | 11 – Spillers | 5 – Tate | Cam Henderson Center (5,711) Huntington, WV |
| February 28, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Old Dominion | W 89–64 | 25–5 (15–2) | 18 – Spillers | 16 – Spillers | 4 – Gregory | Holmes Center (4,785) Boone, NC |
| March 1, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Arkansas State | W 80–57 | 26–5 (16–2) | 15 – Tied | 15 – Spillers | 4 – Gregory | Holmes Center (7,074) Boone, NC |
| Sun Belt tournament |||||||||
| March 9, 2024 12:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (1) | vs. (9) Georgia Southern Quarterfinals | W 85–80 $^{OT}$ | 27–5 | 22 – Gregory | 12 – Abson | 4 – Tied | Pensacola Bay Center (1,763) Pensacola, FL |
| March 10, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (1) | vs. (4) Arkansas State Semifinals | L 65–67 | 27–6 | 15 – Harcum | 7 – Abson | 4 – Gregory | Pensacola Bay Center (1,621) Pensacola, FL |
| NIT |||||||||
| March 20, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at (1) Wake Forest First Round - Wake Forest Bracket | L 76–87 | 27–7 | 16 – Huntley | 10 – Spillers | 5 – Tate | LJVM Coliseum (6,733) Winston-Salem, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. |||||||||
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