Troy and Appalachian State square off in conference matchup

Appalachian State Mountaineers (14-9, 7-4 Sun Belt) at Troy Trojans (15-7, 8-2 Sun Belt)

Troy, Alabama; Saturday, 4:33 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Alonzo Dodd and Appalachian State take on Thomas Dowd and Troy in Sun Belt action Saturday.

The Trojans have gone 7-2 in home games. Troy has a 3-1 record in one-possession games.

The Mountaineers are 7-4 in conference play. Appalachian State ranks fourth in the Sun Belt with 25.1 defensive rebounds per game led by Grant Clayton averaging 6.0.

Troy makes 45.7% of its shots from the field this season, which is 6.8 percentage points higher than Appalachian State has allowed to its opponents (38.9%). Appalachian State averages 72.1 points per game, 4.0 fewer than the 76.1 Troy gives up.

The Trojans and Mountaineers match up Saturday for the first time in conference play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Dowd is averaging 15.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals for the Trojans. Victor Valdes is averaging 15.2 points over the last 10 games.

Jalen Tot is shooting 35.7% from beyond the arc with 2.5 made 3-pointers per game for the Mountaineers, while averaging 8.8 points. Dodd is averaging 14 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Trojans: 8-2, averaging 81.3 points, 34.5 rebounds, 16.3 assists, 8.0 steals and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting 45.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 71.5 points per game.

Mountaineers: 6-4, averaging 69.3 points, 35.1 rebounds, 11.6 assists, 4.1 steals and 3.7 blocks per game while shooting 42.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 65.2 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.