Appalachian State and UNC Greensboro are heading to the NCAA tournament By Matthew Stephens | The Charlotte Observer | March 8, 2021 at 11:03 PM EST - Updated March 8 at 11:03 PM CHARLOTTE, N.C. (The Charlotte Observer) - The first two tickets from North Carolina to the NCAA tournament have been punched, and no one saw the second team coming. Moments after conference favorite UNC Greensboro topped Mercer for the SoCon championship, fourth-seeded Appalachian State upset top-seed Georgia State, 80-73, on Monday night to win Sun Belt tournament. The win secures the first trip to the NCAA tournament for the Mountaineers (17-11) since 2000. It will be only the school’s third all-time trip to the big dance, and the Mountaineers have Michael Almonacy to thank. The graduate transfer from Southern New Hampshire University had the best game of his torrid tournament, dropping in six 3-pointers and a career-high 32 points to lead Appalachian State, which trailed by a pair at the half, but used steady offense and lock-down defense to shock Georgia State.