Game 26 - At ULL Notes

Setting the scene
Date: Feb. 18 2010
Location: Lafayette, La.
Tipoff: 7:05  p.m. (CST)
Arena: Cajundome
Arena Capacity: 11,500
Webcast: www.RaginCajuns.com

TIPPING IT OFF
Arkansas State will play its final regular season road game of the season, traveling to Lafayette, La. with a matchup against the Ragin' Cajuns. ASU beat ULL earlier this season 62-60 at home. Tipoff at the Cajundome is set for 7:05 p.m.

THE OPPONENT
Louisiana-Lafayette stands at 11-14 overall with a 8-6 league record and is 7-0 in league home games. The Ragin' Cajuns have three players scoring in double-figures led by senior forward Tyren Johnson scoring 17.8 in all games and 19.9 in Sun Belt games. Johnson is also leading the Cajuns with an 8.4 rebounding average, 80 assists and 43 steals. Junior forward Chris Gradingo ranks second on the squad scoring 14.7 ppg and averaging 3.8 rebounds per game. In conference games, Gradingo is scoring 15.9 ppg. Senior guard Randell Daigle ranks third on the team scoring 11.4 ppg and is second on the team with 60 assists. Daigle is averaging 11.0 points in Sun Belt games. As a team the Ragin' Cajuns are averaging 69.4 points per game for all games while allowing 67.8 ppg by opponents. ULL has not dropped a home game since losing to Centenary 68-73 on Dec. 28. Robert Lee is in his sixth season as head coach at ULL owning a career record of 78-97.

SERIES VERSUS LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE
ASU trails the all-time series against the Ragin' Cajuns 22-38 which dates back to the 1963-64 season. ASU beat ULL earlier this season 62-60 at the Convocation Center on Jan. 28.

LAST TIME VERSUS ULL
Freshman guard Brandon Reed scored a game-high 19 points to help the Arkansas State men's basketball team maintain its position atop the Sun Belt Conference standings with a 62-60 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette on Jan. 28 at the Convocation Center.
    The Red Wolves improved to 12-8 overall and 7-2 in league play, winning for the fifth time over their last six games.  ASU also improved to 7-3 at home and 4-1 against SBC West Division opponents.  Arkansas State holds its best conference record through nine game since the 2000-01 season when it held a 7-2 league record as well.  The Red Wolves snapped Louisiana-Lafayette's two-game winning streak, dropping the Ragin' Cajuns overall record to 8-12 and conference mark to 5-4.
    Reed, who has now scored at least 18 points four of the last five games, was joined in double figures by freshman guard Trey Finn with 13 points, just one shy of his career high.  Sophomore forward Martavius Adams added nine points for ASU and pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds, narrowly missing his second double-double of the season.
    ASU, which never trailed, raced out to a 16-2 lead less than five minutes into the game and held its largest lead of the game at 17 points, 31-14, with 6:11 left in the first half.  The Red Wolves held a double-figure lead for much of the second half before the Ragin' Cajuns made a late run to put the outcome in question.
    ASU held a 56-42 advantage with 9:10 remaining in the game, but UL Lafayette outscored the Red Wolves 18-6 the rest of the way and, after ASU missed the front end of three consecutive 1-and-1 opportunities, had a chance to win on a well-defended three pointer from the left wing by Raymone Andrews that sailed long.
ASU finished the game just 10-of-21 at the charity stripe, but shot 45 percent from the field and 36 percent from beyond the arc. The Red Wolves held the Ragin' Cajuns to a .368 field goal percentage and 3-of-17 shooting from three-point range.  ASU also blocked nine shots, led by Adams, Brandon Peterson and Jeremy Thomas with two rejections each.
    UL Lafayette finished with a 44-38 advantage on the boards and took advantage of 17 offensive rebounds it turned in to 13 second-chance points.
    ASU took a 35-26 lead into the break and led by as much as 15 points, 43-28, early in the second half.  The Ragin' Cajuns were led by Tyren Johnson with 19 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.  Chris Gradnigo added 15 points and Travis Bureau 12 for UL Lafayette.

REED - ONE OF TOP FRESHMAN IN SCHOOL HISTORY
Not only has Arkansas State freshman guard Brandon Reed been one of the keys to the Red Wolves success this season and one of the most productive freshman in the Sun Belt this season, but he is the third-most productive freshman in ASU's school history. With 74 points, Reed ranks behind only John Dickson and Jerry Rook for most productive freshman in school history. Dickson had 388 points his freshman year (1963-64) while Rook had 416 points as a freshman (1961-62). Reed is averaging 15.0 points per game in all-games and is scoring 17.4 in Sun Belt only games. Reed also ranks second on the team with 59 assists and fourth with 18 steals.

YOUNG PACK
With Arkansas State starting three freshman, a sophomore and a junior college transfer and some of the first reserves coming off the bench being a freshman and sophomore, ASU is one of the youngest teams in the NCAA. In fact, ASU is the third least experienced team in the nation according to KenPom.com.

LAST FOUR
ASU is in the backstretch of their regular season with four games remaining on the schedule. ASU hosts WKU, UNO and Troy at the Convocation Center and plays its final road contest at ULL this Thursday. ASU holds a 51-96 combined record against those four schools int he teams' all-time series. This season, ASU holds a combined 2-1 record in action against those teams this year and only WKU (15-12) and Troy (14-11) have winning marks this season.

TOURNAMENT PICTURE
With ASU sitting in a tie with MTSU at the top of the Sun Belt Conference and holding the tiebreaker over the Blue Raiders, the Red Wolves would enter tournament play as the top-seed if tournament play began today. ASU would await the winner of the No. 8/No. 9 game. If play began today, Denver would be the No. 8 seed and South Alabama would be the No. 9 seed. ASU split the regular-season series with Denver and downed USA.

WINNING WAYS
The Red Wolves have not lost back-to-back Sun Belt Conference games this season and have won 10 of 14 games in league play this season. ASU has not lost multiple games in a row since dropping four in a row in nonconference action earlier this season.

PETERSON PULLING IT DOWN
ASU freshman Brandon Peterson had his 12th start of the season at WKU last Thursday and recorded his second double-digit rebounding game of the season. Peterson had a career-high 13 boards against the Hilltoppers, it was the most he has posted since pulling down 12 in his career debut against MacMurray College.

ADAMS RECORDS BACK TO BACK DOUBLE-DOUBLES
ASU had four players score in double figures, led by sophomore forward Martavius Adams at UALR who posted 17 points and 11 rebounds for his second career double-double. Adams is the only player for ASU this season to record more than one double-double. Reed also had 17 at UALR followed by Rashad Allison who had 14 and JeJuan Brown who had 12 points. Allison also recorded a career-high 8 rebounds. Adams followed up his performance with a 13 point and 13 rebound contest at New Orleans on Saturday, recording his third double-double.

REED PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Brandon Reed was named the Sun Belt Player of the Week after his performance against Denver and ULL last week. Reed scored a career-high 34 points in ASU's win over Denver Saturday night. Reed, who scored at least 20 points in a game for the fourth time this season against Denver, was responsible for the most points by an ASU player since Tevoris Thompson dropped in 41 against Lyon College on Dec. 7, 2002. Against Denver, Reed was 12-23 connecting on 52-percent of his shots from field, was 4-9 from three-point range and 6-7 from the charity stripe. Earlier in the week, Reed led ASU with 19 points past Louisiana-Lafayette. Reed has led ASU in scoring a team-high nine times this season, including breaking double-digits on 16 occasions. Over the two-game stretch Reed led ASU averaging 26.5 points per game and 3.0 rebounds per game and broke the 300-point barrier against Denver.

WIN TOTAL
At 15-10 the Red Wolves have already matched their total win output from last season. With ASU currently sitting atop the West Division of the Sun Belt Conference and holding the best league record at 10-4. ASU's best season in Sun Belt action was the 1997-98 season when they went 14-4 and captured a co-regular season SBC Championship.

FINISHING UP AT HOME
ASU has four games remaining on its schedule and three of those last four games will be played at the Convocation Center including the final three games of the season against Western Kentucky, New Orleans and Troy.

DEFENDING THE HOME FLOOR
ASU is 9-3 at home this season and 6-0 in conference games at the Convocation Center. The Red Wolves have always had a strong history of defending their home floor. Over the 22 years that ASU has competed in the ASU Convocation Center, the Red Wolves have compiled a 222-86 record (.720). Arkansas State has gone undefeated twice during a single season at the Convocation Center; they were a perfect 14-0 in 1988-89 and went 13-0 in 1990-91.

ON THE ROAD
During their last four-game SBC roadtrip the Red Wolves won three-straight conference games for the first time since the 1997-98 season. ASU is 4-5 on the road this season and holds a 3-2 SBC record in games on the road.

ALLISON DEALING THE ROCK
ASU junior Rashad Allison has an assist/turnover ratio of 2.0 in all games this season ranking third in the SBC. In conference only games Allison has a 2.3 assist/turnover ratio, ranking second. Allison also ranks fifth in the conference and leads ASU with 106 assists. Allison recorded 11 assists versus ULM tying his career high.

BRYANT BACK WITH FIRE
After sitting out four games with an injury, ASU's sophomore guard Daniel Bryant came back with a vengence hitting back-to-back three-pointers in his first minute of action at North Texas. Bryant finished the game 4-5 from the floor and 3-3 from three-point range, including knocking down 2-2 from the charity stripe for 13 points.

SEASON SWEEP
With their 83-70 win at North Texas, the Red Wolves swept the single-season series from North Texas for the first time since the 2006-07 season.

RECORD WATCH
Freshman forward Brandon Peterson recorded his 47th block against WKU which pushed him into sole posession of the No. 8 spot on the single-season block chart at ASU. Peterson needs one more to move into a tie with Jeff Clifton at No. 7. Jason Jennings set the single-season block record during the 2000-01 season with 102 swats.

ALLISON BUZZER BEATER BESTS MTSU
Junior Rashad Allison hit four free-throws in the final 42-seconds of action against Middle Tennessee and hit the game winning shot on a jumper in the paint with 0.7 seconds on the clock to give ASU the 69-67 advantage. Allison led the team in scoring with 15 points on the night.

ALL SCORED
ASU had eight players play against MTSU with all eight of them getting in the scoring column, Allison led the team in scoring with 15 while Reed and Peterson had 13, Adams had nine, Finn had eight, Thomas had six, Sterrenberg had four and Butler sank a free throw.

PETERSON HAS CAREER GAME AT LAMAR
Freshman Brandon Peterson had his best game in an ASU uniform at Lamar scoring 21 points in his second start for the Red Wolves. He also had eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Peterson is averaging 7.1 ppg and 4.9 rebounds per game this season. Peterson ranks second in the league in blocks per game averaging 2.2 per contest.

ADAMS=EFFICIENT
Sophomore forward Martavius Adams has been extremely efficient for ASU this season ranking seventh in the league in field goal percentage and leading ASU with a .574 mark. Adams scored 12 points in just 12 minutes of action against Central Baptist and was perfect from the floor at MVSU going 6-6. Adams has scored in double-digits 11 times this season.

STRONG DEFENSE AT DENVER
ASU held the hot-shooting Denver Pioneers to shooting just 21.4-percent from the three-point arc in their last contest and held the Pioneers scoreless from three in the second half. Denver was averaging 43.6-percent from three entering the contest.

FINN DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Freshman guard Trey Finn was the fourth player to record a double-double when he scored 13 points and led ASU on the boards with 13 rebounds. Finn is one of the most versatile players on ASU's roster, averaging 7.5 ppg and leading the team in rebounding (7.2) and steals (21).

SIX IN DOUBLE-DIGITS PAST CBC
ASU had six players record double-digit scoring performances against Central Baptist College with freshman Brandon Reed leading the way scoring 14. Brandon Peterson, Trey Finn and Jeremy Thomas had 13 each while Martavius Adams and Adam Sterrenberg had 12.

THOMAS SHOWS UP BIG
Over the last two games junior reserve forward Jeremy Thomas has shown up for the Red Wolves. Against MVSU Thomas recorded a season-high 10 points against all of which were dunks. Thomas then scored another season high in points with 13 against Central Baptist.

BRADY WINS 300th GAME
ASU head coach John Brady picked up his 300th career win when the Red Wolves downed Central Baptist, 98-60 Tuesday at the Convocation Center. Brady currently owns a 300-238 (.558) career mark and a 19-22 record over the last two seasons at the helm of the ASU program.

HOT SHOOTING
Against MVSU the Red Wolves had three players that shot perfect from the field and two that were perfect from the line. Adams (6-6), Thomas (5-5) and Allison (4-4) were perfect from the floor while Finn (8-8) and Adams (2-2) were perfect form the charity stripe. As a team, ASU had its best shooting game of the season, connecting on 55.1-percent of its shots (27-49).
ADAMS DOUBLE-DOUBLE SHINES VERSUS MEMPHIS
Sophomore forward Martavius Adams recorded his first double-double at Memphis scoring 11 points and pulling down a career-high 12 rebounds. It was the third time an ASU player has recorded a double-double, with Brown notching one at SEMO and Peterson recording one against MacMurray College. On the season, Adams is averaging 9.6 ppg and pulling down 5.3 rebounds per contest.

ALLISON AT THE LINE
Junior point guard Rashad Allison posted a career-high nine points against SEMO, all of which came from the free throw line. Allison went to the line a game-high 12 times, connecting on nine of those shots from the charity stripe. On the season Allison is 63-81 from the charity stripe (.778) which ranks 11th in the SBC rankings.

McRoy Named Top-25 Mid-Major Assistant
Arkansas State assistant coach Elwyn McRoy garnered the no. 23 spot on the recent collegeinsider.com listing of the top-25 mid-major assistant coaches in the country.
    McRoy was described by collegeinsider as “arguably the best junior college recruiter in all of college basketball, much less the Mid-Major level, there is no coincidence that on-court success has followed McRoy throughout his entire career. During a span of five seasons in junior college, McRoy coached 28 players who went on to play Division I basketball.”
    This marks the second year in-a-row that one of Arkansas State's assistant coaches have been recognized as tops in the nation. Associate head coach Chad Dollar was ranked one of the top-10 assistant coaches by Fox Sports in 2008.
    McRoy was the only assistant coach in the Sun Belt Conference named to the list.

Head Coach John Brady
With a Final Four appearance and 281 career victories already to his credit, John Brady was announced as Arkansas State's 15th head men's basketball coach by Director of Athletics Dr. Dean Lee at a Wednesday morning press conference held in ASU's Convocation Center on March 19, 2008.
    During his first season with the Red Wolves, Brady helped lead ASU to one of the best starts in program history and achieved the No. 22 ranking on Collegeinsider.com's Mid-Major Top 25 poll. As a team ASU improved greatly its defending and rebounding finishing near the top of the conference in several statistical categories.
    Brady spent the last 10-plus seasons serving as LSU's head coach, leading the Tigers to six postseason berths, two SEC championships and three SEC Western Division titles. Twice named the SEC Coach of the Year,  Brady is a proven winner who brings a well-documented record of success and a long list of accomplishments with him to Arkansas State.
    Chancellor Robert Potts said that he is very pleased with the selection of Coach Brady as Arkansas State's new head basketball coach.
    Brady's 16-year tenure as a head coach at both LSU and Samford in Birmingham, Alabama, has been decorated with achievements.  He has coached a combined 25 All-TAAC and SEC selections, 48 academic all-conference choices, posted 11 winning seasons and collected five division championships.  Brady piled up the third most wins in LSU history with 192 and left Samford after the 1996-97 season as the Bulldog's all-time leader in coaching victories (89) as well.
    He quickly turned around an LSU's men's basketball program that had suffered four consecutive losing seasons prior to his arrival, leading the Tigers to a 28-6 record, an SEC championship and an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance in just his third season (1999-00) at the helm.  Under Brady's direction, the Tigers recorded six consecutive winning seasons from 2001-02 to 2006-07 while making three trips to the NCAA Tournament and two more to the NIT. The 2005-06 campaign saw LSU post a 27-9 record and advance to the Final Four for the first time in 20 years.
    Not only did Brady coach the Tigers to 23 wins versus ranked opponents, he also led them to victories over two teams ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press Poll (Arizona in 2002-03 and Duke in 2005-06).  Additionally, he orchestrated a 19-game home winning streak over SEC opponents, the third longest stretch in LSU history.
    While at LSU, Brady coached two NBA Lottery picks and six current NBA players.  The Tigers signed nine Parade All-Americans and four McDonald All-Americans under Brady, who also coached three SEC Players of the Year, four players named SEC Freshman of the Year, one SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and 17 All-SEC selections.
    Prior to taking over the reigns at LSU, Brady served as Samford's head coach from 1991-92 through 1996-97.  It didn't take long for him to turn around a Samford program coming off six straight losing seasons, either, guiding the Bulldogs to a 17-10 record in his second season.  He led Samford to three straight winning seasons (1995-97) for the first time since 1982-84, all leading up to a 19-9 record and division title in 1997.  Samford won the TAAC West Division each of Brady's final two seasons at the school for the first time in school history.
    His four winning campaigns at Samford were the first for any coach at the school, and he led the Bulldogs to an 89-77 record after they went 27-83 the four seasons prior to his initial year.  He coached eight All-TAAC and 14 Academic All-TAAC players over six seasons.
    The McComb, Miss., native earned his bachelor's degree in 1976 from Belhaven College, where he was three-year starter and scored over 1,000 points during his college playing career.  Brady was a two-time All-Southern States Conference selection and was later inducted into his alma mater's Hall of Fame.
    He got his coaching start as a graduate assistant with the Mississippi State men's basketball program while earning his master's degree from 1976-77.  Brady took his first head coaching position in Louisiana at Crowley High School in 1977 and led the basketball squad to a 129-49 (.725) record in five seasons.  He was named the 1981 Louisiana Sports Writers Association Class 3-A Coach of the Year.
    Brady returned to the college coaching ranks in 1982 as an assistant coach at Mississippi State.  He spent the next eight years with the Bulldogs, the first four seasons under coach Bob Hoyt and the next four as a chief recruiter for coach Richard Williams.  Following his tenure in Starkville, Brady returned to Louisiana for the second time, this time to serve as an assistant coach at the University of New Orleans.  Brady helped lead UNO to the NCAA Tournament during his only season with the Privateers.