Prior to bringing in head coach Dustin Kerns at the conclusion of the 2019 season, App State men’s basketball had tallied eight straight losing seasons. In his first season with the program, Kerns led the Mountaineers to 18 wins, their most since 2009-10, including 11 Sun Belt victories, their most conference wins ever. In his second season at the helm, App State won its first Sun Belt conference title and earned its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2000.
Entering the Sun Belt Conference tournament tied for seventh place in the Sun Belt standings, and having lost six of their final seven regular-season games, the Mountaineers secured four victories in four days, including consecutive overtime battles against regular-season league champion Texas State, and East No.