BOONE, N.C. — Coastal Carolina opens its 10th season of Sun Belt Conference play Thursday, visiting Appalachian State at Holmes Convocation Center. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

The Chanticleers (6-5) have alternated wins and losses over their last six games and are coming off an 82–61 loss at Grand Canyon on Saturday. Appalachian State (7-5) enters league play on a three-game winning streak that includes road victories over East Carolina and High Point.

Defense headlines the match-up. Coastal Carolina (.367) and App State (.385) rank first and second in the Sun Belt in field goal percentage defense. The Chanticleers have held five opponents under 32 percent shooting and have yet to allow a team to shoot 50 percent, while the Mountaineers have limited five opponents to under 36 percent.

Coastal responded in the second half at Grand Canyon, outscoring the Lopes 36–30 while shooting 44.1 percent after halftime. Joshua Beadle led CCU with 18 points and six assists, and AJ Dancler added 13.

The Chanticleers rank in the top 20 nationally in field goal percentage defense, defensive rebounds and total rebounds per game, and lead the Sun Belt in three-point percentage defense (28.7). CCU has held opponents under 40 percent shooting in all six wins this season.

App State, led by seventh-year head coach Dustin Kerns, is 4-1 at home this season and owns the Sun Belt's best assist-to-turnover ratio. South Florida transfer Kasen Jennings leads the Mountaineers at 15.5 points per game, followed by Alonzo Dodd (11.1) and Luke Wilson (10.3), who also averages a team-high 6.1 rebounds and ranks among the league leaders in blocks.

A Coastal win would be its first Sun Belt opening victory since 2022-23 and its first conference-opening road win since 2019. App State has won 14 of the 18 meetings since Coastal joined the league, including four in a row.