It has been a long season for the Mountaineers in Jim Fox’s first season as head coach. Wins have been scarce, sometimes coming in streaks, and that is exactly how Appalachian hopes to finish the season. Prior to last Saturday’s win over first place UL-Monroe, Appalachian had not won a game in three weeks, dating back to a 65-62 win over Troy on February 7th.
The Mountaineers won four games in a row in January in an eight day span. However, that streak was preceded by a four game losing streak and followed by back to back losses. All in all, seven of Appalachian’s ten wins were split by a three-game and four-game winning streaks.
Throughout the season, the trend in Mountaineer wins has been the play of Frank Eaves. In each and every Appalachian win, Eaves has been the leading scorer for the Mountaineers and has averaged 23 points per game in those contests. In the previous game against Texas State, Eaves scored a career high 31 points.
This season, Appalachian is 10-15 against the spread. The Mountaineers have been better on the road this season than in the Holmes Convocation Center. The Apps are only 3-6 ATS at home, with all wins coming against Sun Belt competition. Conversely, Appalachian has straight up wins in all of those matchups, against South Alabama, Georgia State and UL-Monroe.
Appalachian is currently a 1.5 point underdog in tonight’s matchup against Texas State. Texas State was a 7 point favorite earlier in the year when they lost to the Mountaineers. The Bobcats are also 3-6 on the road against the spread and 1-7 ATS when the total is in the 120’s. App seems like a safe pick getting a couple points at home.