App State faces CCU in Sun Belt semis

App State (15-11, 9-8) vs. Coastal Carolina (16-6, 10-5)

Sun Belt Conference Tourney Semifinals, Pensacola Bay Center, Pensacola, Florida; Sunday, 9 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: A spot in the Sun Belt championship game is on the line as App State and Coastal Carolina are set to square off. Coastal Carolina earned an 86-68 win over Troy in its most recent game, while App State won 76-73 in overtime against Texas State in its last outing.

SAVVY SENIORS: App State's Michael Almonacy, Justin Forrest and James Lewis Jr. have combined to score 44 percent of all Mountaineers scoring this season, although the trio's production has dropped to 28 percent over the last five games.

CREATING OFFENSE: Almonacy has made or assisted on 42 percent of all App State field goals over the last three games. The senior guard has accounted for 16 field goals and 12 assists in those games.

ASSIST-TO-FG RATIO: The Mountaineers have recently gotten buckets via assists more often than the Chanticleers. Coastal Carolina has an assist on 41 of 84 field goals (48.8 percent) across its previous three outings while App State has assists on 34 of 67 field goals (50.7 percent) during its past three games.

STIFLING DEFENSE: Coastal Carolina has held opposing teams to 38.7 percent shooting from the field this year, the lowest percentage among all Division I teams. Over their four-game winning streak, the Chanticleers have held opposing shooters to 34.9 percent.

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