GAME NOTES: The Ohio University Bobcats begin their quest to get back toward the top of the Mid-American Conference Saturday, as the team hosts the Appalachian State Mountaineers in a season-opening non-conference bout at the Convocation Center.

Appalachian State is making its Sun Belt Conference debut this season after most recently playing in the Southern Conference. The Mountaineers finished the 2013-14 campaign with a dismal 9-21 overall record, but get four starters back from a year ago.

Ohio ended last season with a 25-12 overall record, and an 11-7 mark in MAC play. The Bobcats were one of the favorites to take the league title, but bowed out of the conference tournament early. This year, the team must rebound from the loss of several key pieces in the offseason.

These two programs have only met once on the court in their series history, with Ohio coming away with the victory during the 1991-92 season.

Appalachian State's nine wins last season were the fewest since 2004, which was just the third time in the last 20 years the Mountaineers haven't reached double-digit wins. At the very least, the team gets back four starters from last year's squad, with Tab Hamilton (12.7 ppg) leading the way. The 6-foot-3 guard was the only player on Appalachian State last season to average a scoring total in the double digits. Add in Michael Obacha (5.4 ppg, 8.7 rpg) as a strong presence underneath the basket, and Appalachian State may have a promising foundation.

Obacha was a large part of the reason the Mountaineers finished ranked third in the Southern Conference in rebounding (36.4 rpg). Tommy Spagnolo (8.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg) and Chris Burgess (7.1 ppg) will both be key in helping Appalachian State reach the next level. In the team's exhibition game against Lees-McRae last week, it was guard Frank Eaves (22 points) that led the team in scoring, with Mike Kobani (11 points, seven rebounds) next. Spagnolo brought down a team-best 13 boards in the team's 71-69 victory.

The Bobcats had a bumpy road last season after suffering from several untimely losses when the team seemed poised to make a run toward the top of the conference. The offseason wasn't too kind to Ohio either, as the team lost top scorer Nick Kellogg (15.5 ppg, team-best 109 assists) and role player Travis Wilkins (6.6 ppg). But it certainly wasn't all bad for the Bobcats, who hired former North Dakota State coach Saul Phillips to the same position. Phillips is fresh off a record season at NDSU, which beat fifth-ranked Oklahoma in the NCAA Tournament's second round.

The excitement Phillips brings into Athens is multiplied with the return of All-MAC preseason selection Maurice Ndour. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 13.8 ppg, 7.0 rpg and had a team-best 55 blocked shots in 2013. He returns to the lineup with guard Stevie Taylor (7.2 ppg, 2.4 apg) and pure shooter Javarez Willis, a Texas Tech transfer that started 12 games for the Bobcats last season.

Although Ohio must learn to live without the services of Kellogg, who was the go-to player and scorer for the Bobcats a year ago, the team has several solid pieces to build around in 2014-15. Ndour can easily be an all-conference player who should improve his stats this season. The Bobcats won't have much difficulty against the Mountaineers here.