GAME NOTES: Two long-time rivals meet for the first time in a non-conference clash as the Appalachian State Mountaineers face the Furman Paladins Wednesday at Timmons Arena.

Appalachian State moved over to the Sun Belt Conference in the offseason after spending years as a member of the Southern Conference, where Furman plays. The Mountaineers got off on the wrong foot Saturday as they lost to Ohio, 73-47.

Furman is in the same boat following after a 75-40 defeat at the hands of College of Charleston Friday. The Paladins have a stretch of two more home contests before they hit the road to take on Duke.

The series history between Appalachian State and Furman runs very deep. The Paladins own the all-time series lead, 45-39, in what has been a highly contentious and even rivalry over the years.

Appalachian State returns four starters from last season's campaign, but that sounds much more glorious than it truly is. The Mountaineers finished the 2013-14 campaign at a dismal 9-21 overall, which was the lowest win total for the program since the 2004 season. It was also the third time the team didn't reach 10 wins over the past 20 seasons. But with the sad finish in the Southern Conference comes hope for this upcoming campaign, since plenty of App State's players were able to see the floor and gain valuable playing experience.

The team was defeated by the Mid-American Conference Ohio Bobcats over the weekend, and badly at that. Tommy Spagnolo and Chris Burgess each contributed 11 points in the defeat, and were the only two teams to have a double-digit point total. Spagnolo nearly missed a double-double with nine rebounds in the contest. The Mountaineers came out in the second half very flat, shooting 27.6 percent from the field, which includes a 1-of-4 mark from 3-point distance.

It was certainly a down year for Furman and first-year coach Niko Medved in 2013-14, but the young Paladins may be pulling it together this time around. Junior guard Stephen Croone was the only Furman player to average a scoring total in double digits last season (19.1 ppg), and the all-around guard made strides in other areas as a sophomore (4.4 rpg, 112 assists, 50 steals). This year Croone is expected to compete for a possible SoCon Player of the Year award, assuming he can cut back on the ghastly number of turnovers he committed in 2013 (108). The young Paladins also return second-leading scorer Kendrec Ferrara (9.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg), third-leading scorer Larry Wideman (9.0 ppg) and add a host of freshman talent.

That talent certainly didn't help the Paladins in their season-opening contest as they trailed College of Charleston at home by 11 points at halftime (32-21), and then continued to lose a ton of ground in the second half. Not one player on Furman's roster registered a scoring total in double figures, as Ferrara and Daniel Fowler each netted eight points to pace the team. The Paladins turned the ball over 16 times, and had just two assists in the entire 40 minutes of play. Furman shot 24.4 percent from the field during the game, which severely needs to improve. Croone missed the first contest of the year with a concussion, and is questionable to play against Appalachian State.

When Croone gets healthy the Paladins will certainly be improved with him on the floor. If he plays against Appalachian State, the Paladins have the advantage at home.