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 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 3Source
Postseason results
NCAA tournament results The Mountaineers have appeared in the NCAA tournament three times. Their combined record is 0–3.
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.
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.
2010 First RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinals HarvardMarshallPacific W 93–71W 80–72L 56–64
The Basketball Classic results The Mountaineers have appeared in The Basketball Classic one time. Their record is 0–1.
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.
1940 First RoundSecond Round Bemidji StateSan Diego State W 43–34L 46–68 1941 First RoundSecond RoundQuarterfinals BakerBaltimoreSanta Barbara State W 63–42W 48–36L 29–36 1943 First RoundSecond RoundQuarterfinals Simpson (IA)Kansas WesleyanNorthwest Missouri State W 48–31W 54–40L 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 Eugene Garbee 1934–35 1 8–11 Flucie Stewart 1935–40/1946–47 6 67–38 48–24 1 Clyde Canipe 1940–42 2 38–7 22–5 1 Belus Smawley 1942–43 1 16–5 9–0 1 Harold Quincy 1943–44 1 0–7 G. P. Eggers 1944–45 1 6–13 7–5 Francis Hoover 1945–46/1947–57 11 133–127 91–87 2 Bob Light 1957–72 15 212–178 94–85 1 Press Maravich 1972–75 3 14–63 5–30 Bobby Cremins 1975–81 6 100–70 51–31 3 1 Kevin Cantwell 1981–86 5 61–78 33–47 Tom Apke 1986–96 10 139–147 70–82 Buzz Peterson 1996–2000/2009–10 5 103–52 60–17 4 1 Houston Fancher 2000–09 9 137–136 79–73 3 1 Jason Capel 2010–2014 4 53–70 32–35 Jim Fox 2014–2019 5 56–99 35–59 Dustin Kerns 2019– 7 114-79 65-42 2 11 Totals 1919–present 96 1229–1101 635–562 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. Belus Smawley1947–1952St. Louis Bombers, Syracuse Nationals, and Baltimore Bullets
NBA draft Five former Appalachian State players have been drafted into the NBA. 1950891Charles Hope19788163Tony Searcy1979478Darryl Robinson19798158Renaldo Lawrence19848181Dale Roberts
Current NBA players C. J. Huntley – Phoenix Suns
References
External links