Saturday, March 1st, 3:30 p.m. (et).

FACTS & STATS: Site: Holmes Center (8,325) -- Boone, North Carolina. Television: None. Home Record: WCU 8-6, ASU 8-4. Away Record: WCU 1-11, ASU 7-7. Neutral Record: WCU 1-1, ASU 2-1. Conference Record: WCU 6-12, ASU 12-7. Series Record: Appalachian State leads, 102-56.

GAME NOTES: Arch rivals are set to collide in North Carolina today, as the Appalachian State Mountaineers welcome the Western Carolina Catamounts to the Holmes Center for a Southern Conference tilt. Western Carolina has struggled plenty this season, but the Catamounts have managed to string together some wins of late, winning two straight and three of their last five overall. A narrow 62-57 victory over Wofford on Thursday night improved the Catamounts to 10-18 on the season, and 6-12 in SoCon play. As for Appalachian State, it has been in a bit of a tailspin lately, dropping two in a row and four of its last five. ASU most recently suffered a 68-55 setback at Davidson on Wednesday, falling to 17-12 on the year and 12-7 in conference. ASU owns a commanding 102-56 lead in the all-time series between the two programs.

Western Carolina shot 47.2 percent from the floor in Wednesday's five-point victory over Wofford, and the Catamounts held the Terriers to a meager 37.2 percent shooting from the field. The Catamounts won the battle on the boards by a 38-24 margin, and outscored the Terriers in the paint, 34-18. Jake Robinson scored 17 points and grabbed five rebounds to pace WCU, while Richie Gordon and Negus McKenna tallied 11 points apiece in the win. The Catamounts average only 64.7 ppg this season, and are shooting just 40.2 percent as a team. Brandon Giles represents the lone Catamount to own a double-digit scoring average, checking in with 15.3 ppg.

The Mountaineers shot an impressive 50.0 percent from the floor, but committed 19 turnovers in Wednesday's loss to Davidson, negating a solid defensive effort in which ASU held the Wildcats to just a 39.7 percent shooting effort. Appalachian State hit just 4-of-14 from beyond the arc, and tallied only nine points from 13 trips to the charity stripe. Donte Minter scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds to pace ASU, while Ryann Abraham added 15 points in the losing effort. Minter, with his 14.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game leads the Mountaineers this season, while Donald Sims and Brand also own double-figure averages with 11.4 and 10.1 ppg, respectively.

ASU is clearly the better squad here, and the Mountaineers should have little trouble prevailing over the Catamounts in front of the hometown faithful.

Predicted Outcome

Appalachian State 76, Western Carolina 60