The Records: Arkansas State (18-9, 12-6 Sun Belt West Division). The Red Wolves had their four-game winning streak snapped with a 74-50
conference road setback to North Texas Thursday (2/28) at UNT's The Super Pit
in Denton, Texas. The Red Wolves, who have won seven of their last nine
contests, are 5-8 on the road, 13-2 at home, and 0-0 at neutral sites.
ASU captured its second Sun Belt Conference West Division Championship
title in the last three seasons this 2012-13 campaign.
UALR (16-14, 10-9 Sun Belt West Division). The Trojans ended a four-game losing skid with a 77-68 conference home
triumph over Louisiana-Lafayette Thursday (March 2) at UALR's Jack Stephens
Center in Little Rock, Ark. UALR, which
is 5-5 in its last 10 appearances, is 12-3 at home, 3-10 on the road, and 1-1
at neutral sites this season.
The Coaches: Arkansas State – John Brady (Bellhaven, 1976), 5th season, 79-76 (.509); Career - 360-292 (.552) – (5-6 vs. UALR). Brady was named the 2009-10 SBC Coach of the Year and the District VII Coach of the Year by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). He served six seasons (1991-97) as head coach at Samford and then spent 10-plus seasons (1997-08) in a head coaching capacity at LSU. Brady guided LSU to two SEC Championship titles along with four NCAA Tournament appearances, which included a Final Four appearance in the 2005-06 season.
UALR – Steve Shields (Baylor, 1988), 10th season, 163-142 (.534) – (10-12 vs.
ASU). Shields, who's the all-time winningest coach in UALR's history, has
guided the Trojans to six conference championships and one NCAA Tournament
appearance since being named to his current position in April 2003.
The 2003-04 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year served as an assistant
coach at UALR from 2000-03 after spending 1996-00 as head coach at McLennan
(Texas) Junior College. Shields was tabbed as the Texas Junior College
Coach of the Year and the JUCO Region V Coach of theYear both in 1998. He
had assistant coaching stints at McLennan Community College
(1990-93), Pensacola (Fla.) Junior College (1993-94), and Kilgore (Texas)
Junior College (1995-96).
About UALR: The Trojans snapped a four-game losing skid with a 77-68 conference home
win over Louisiana-Lafayette Thursday (2/28) in Little Rock, Ark. Junior forward Will Neighbour (17 pts.
& 11 rebs.) paced five UALR players in double-figure scoring. Freshman guard Josh Hagins tallied 14 points
while frosh guard John Gillon and sophomore guard Ben Dillard contributed 13
points apiece.
• Will Neighbour (11.0 ppg.), John Gillon (9.8 ppg.), and Josh Hagins
(8.4 ppg.) lead UALR in scoring this season.
Will Neighbour (7.0 rpg.), sophomore forward Michael Javes (3.9 rpg.)
along with freshman forward James White (3.8 rpg.) are the Trojans' top rebound
leaders.
• UALR ranks 121st in three-point field goal percentage (32.5%) among
NCAA Division I national statistical leaders thru Feb. 28 contests. The Trojans are 105th in field goal
percentage defense (42%), 169th in scoring defense (66.4 ppg.), 186th in
scoring margin (0.1), and 202nd in scoring offense (66.5 ppg.). John Gillon
ranks 172nd in free-throw pct. (79.3%) while Will Neighbour is 147th in
double-doubles (five) and 189th in rebounds (7.0 rpg.). Michael Javes ranks 199th in blocked shots
(1.2 bpg.).
• A season ago, UALR finished
15-16 overall record with a first-place 12-4 mark in the Sun Belt Conference's West Division. The Trojans were 6-8 on the road, 9-6 at home, and 0-2 in neutral site games.
All-Time Series: Arkansas State leads UALR 47-28 in a series dating back to the 1927-28 season. The Red Wolves suffered a 36-22 setback to the Trojans in the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
• The Red Wolves are 17-16 on the road, 28-10 at home, and 2-2 at
neutral sites versus the Trojans.
• UALR has won seven of the last 12 meetings, including three of the
last four – 59-52 at SBC Tourney (3/6/11), 63-62 at ASU (1/14/12), and 62-60 at
home (2/25/12).
• ASU claimed an 86-62 win in Jonesboro earlier this season (2/14)
behind Brandon Peterson's game highs in points (20) and rebounds (11). Ed Townsel's 15 points was also among four
with double-digit points.
• ASU is averaging 67.7 points per game (406 pts.) to UALR's 62.2 points
an outing (373 pts.) in the last six meetings between the instate teams. Seven of the last 11 games have been decided
by seven points or less, including four of the last six. ASU is 5-6 in the last 11 matchups – 1-3 on
the road, 3-2 at home, and 1-1 at neutral sites.
• In last season's two contests, Marcus
Hooten (17.0 ppg.) and Trey Finn
(11.5 ppg.) paced the Red Wolves in scoring while Brandon Peterson (8.5 rpg.) along with Finn (6.0 rpg.) led the team in rebounding.
• Marcus Hooten
(13.3 ppg.) and Trey Finn (10.5
ppg.) are ASU's top active career scorers vs. UALR in more than one appearance
while Brandon Peterson (6.9
rpg.) and Finn (6.1 rpg.) are the
Red Wolves' leading rebounders. Peterson has also compiled 12 blocked
shots and Finn has a team-high 11
career steals.
Sun Belt
Conference Games: The Red Wolves are 183-180 (.504) since joining the Sun Belt Conference
(SBC) in the 1991-92 season, which includes a season-best 14-4 (.778) mark in
the 1997-98 campaign.
• A-State sports a 44-18 (.709) record at home and is 17-19 (.472) on
the road since the 2006-07 season.
• ASU head coach John Brady
has registered a 45-42 record (.517) in Sun Belt Conference contests since his arrival
in the 2008-09 season, which consists of a 32-11 home ledger and a 13-31 away
mark.
• The Red Wolves are 5-5 (.500) in conference regular-season finales
since 2002-03 – 2-3 on the road and 3-2 at home. ASU suffered a 62-60 league loss at UALR in
last season's finale (2/25/12) after defeating the Trojans 71-63 at home in the
2011 conference finale (2/26/11).
• A-State posted a fifth-place 6-10 league mark in the 2011-12 season –
5-3 at home and 1-7 on the road.
SBC West Division
Champs:
Arkansas State claimed its second Sun Belt Conference (SBC) West Division title
in the last three seasons with a 58-50 regular-season home finale conference
win over Troy last Saturday (2/23) and a UALR 73-59 loss at Florida Atlantic. The 2010-11 Red Wolves won the West Division
in ASU head coach John Brady's third
season with an 11-5 league ledger (.643 win pct.). A-State has secured the second seed and a
first-round bye for the upcoming 2013 SBC Championship Tournament (3/8-11) in
Hot Springs, Ark. The Red Wolves will
open SBC Tourney play next Saturday, March 9, at 9 p.m. (CT) versus an opponent
to be determined.
What A Season: The Red Wolves'
18 victories this season to date (18-10 record) represents the program's most
since 1998-99 when ASU compiled an 18-12 overall mark. The 18 wins are also the most during head
coach John Brady's tenure at
A-State, surpassing the 17 victories set twice – 17-14 in 2009-10 and 17-15 in
2010-11. The Red Wolves have compiled
double-digit victories in each of their last five seasons to date and 15 times
since the 1987-88 season.
Hot Streak: ASU has won seven
of its last nine contests despite having its four-game winning streak (2/9-23)
come to an end in Thursday's (2/28) 74-50 loss at North Texas. In their last nine contests (5-0 at home),
the Red Wolves have outscored the opposition by a +10.2 points per game margin
(68.9 ppg. to 58.7 ppg.) while forcing their opponent into an average of 14.7
turnovers (132 total) per game.
Finn Earns Weekly
Kudos: Senior
guard Trey Finn was selected as this
week's College Sports Madness
SBC Player of the Week (2/25). Finn, who
also received the honor earlier this month (2/4), tallied 13 points and five
rebounds in the Red Wolves' division-clinching 58-50 home conference decision
over Troy last Saturday (2/23).
Leaders of the
Pack: ASU
presently has three players with double-figure scoring averages – junior guard Ed Townsel (13.5 ppg.), Brandon Peterson (10.5 ppg.), and Trey Finn (10.3 ppg.). The three have combined to generate 49.1% (949-1,932) of
ASU's scoring production this season to date. Ed Townsel (377 pts.) alone
has currently accounted for 19.5% of Arkansas State's points output.
For Pete's Sake:
Brandon Peterson presently ranks 12th among the Sun Belt Conference's all-time leaders with 847 career boards and is 12 caroms away
from moving into an 11th-place tie with Old Dominion's Chris Gatling (1988-91;
859 career rebs.). Peterson is tied for
19th in blocked shots with a 158 total and is three shy of tying Western Kentucky's
Elgrace Wilborn (2002-05; 161 career blks.) for 18th-place honors.
Regular-Season
Finales: The Red Wolves are 8-8 (.500) in their last 16 regular-season finale
tilts dating back to the 1996-97 season.
ASU is 7-4 at home and 1-4 on the road in those 16 encounters. A-State is 1-3 in its last four matchups,
which includes a 62-60 loss at UALR last season (2/25/12), after winning six of
its previous seven outings. ASU is 2-2
versus UALR in regular-season finales since 1996-97 with Red Wolves' victories
coming in a 61-55 road win (2/24/07) and a 71-63 home triumph (2/26/11).
On The Road: ASU is 5-8 in
away outings this season as the Red Wolves are averaging 65.8 ppg. (856 pts.)
while their opponent is scoring at a 67.9 ppg. (883 pts.) clip. Ed
Townsel (11.5 ppg.), Trey Finn
(9.6 ppg.), and freshman guard Cameron
Golden (9.3 ppg.) lead A-State in scoring as the three have combined to
produce 46.1% (395-856) of the Red Wolves' points. Peterson
(8.5 rpg.), junior forward Kendrick
Washington (5.5 rpg.), and Trey Finn
(4.8 rpg.) are ASU's top rebounders and have recorded 55.9% (239-427) of the
squad's output on the glass.
March Matchups: ASU is 10-13
(.435) in March contests dating back to the 1999-00 season. The Red Wolves are 2-0 at home, 0-3 on the
road, and 8-10 at neutral sites. The
2006-07 and 2011-12 A-State teams both registered a program-best 2-1 record for
the month during that span. A season
ago, ASU registered a 70-55 win over Florida Atlantic (3/3) and 64-61 against
Middle Tennessee (3/4) in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament before falling
76-72 to North Texas (3/5) in the tourney semifinals.
Red Wolf Howlings: Trey Finn is 12 assists shy from
matching his career season-high 58 helpers set as a freshman in the 2009-10 season. He also needs four more assists to reach the
50 single-season mark for the third
time in his career ... Brandon Peterson
is five rebounds shy of equalling his career single-season most 267 boards set
last season in 34 games ... Ed Townsel,
who has tallied 127 career treys, is one three-point field goal shy of moving
into an eighth-place tie with Chico Fletcher (1996-00) and Adrian Banks (2006-08) ... Brandon Peterson is seven points shy of tallying his 300th point
this season and is 21 away from matching his career season-most 314 points set
in 34 2011-12 contests ... Ed Townsel's
134 career steals moved him ahead of Jay Hansen's (1980-84) 133 career thefts
for sixth place on the Red Wolves' charts and is now five away from equalling
Antonio Harvey's (1995-98) 139 career thefts for fifth-place honors ...
A-State's top three leaders in steals this campaign – Ed Townsel (49), sophomore guard Rakeem Dickerson (40), and Trey
Finn (39) have combined for 50.9% (128-251) of team's output ... Brandon Peterson is seven points shy of
tying Dewarick Spencer (2003-05; 1,073 career pts.) for 21st place among the
Red Wolves' career points leaders ... Ed
Townsel's 14 points at North Texas (2/28) marked his 19th double-figure
scoring game of this season and his fifth in his last eight appearances.
Board Crasher: Kendrick Washington racked up a
personal single-game second most eight rebounds at North Texas (2/28) for the third time this campaign. Washington, who grabbed eight caroms apiece
at Florida Atlantic (12/1) and at Western Kentucky (2/9), registered a
single-game best seven offensive rebounds against the Mean Green to surpass his
six boards on the offensive end at FIU (11/29).
2012-13 Reference Guide Now Online: The 2012-13 A-State men's basketball reference guide is now available to view online in a PDF format and contains information for all devoted Red Wolves fans. The 110-page publication features such information as 2012-13 student-athlete rosters, season preview, student-athlete biographies, coaching staff bios, 2011-12 season statistics, and all-time series records along with career, season, and game statistical records. The annual publication is a production of the ASU Sports Information Office under the direction of director Jerry Scott along with assistant directors Chris Graddy and Joe Gorby. To view the 2012-13 ASU men's basketball publication online, please visit the respective link - 2012-13 Arkansas State Men's Basketball Reference Guide.
A Season Ago: A-State concluded the 2011-12 campaign at 14-20 overall and posted a fifth-place 6-10 mark in the Sun Belt Conference's (SBC) West Division. The Red Wolves were 10-5 at home, 2-14 on the road, and 2-1 at neutral sites a season ago.
2013 SBC Basketball Tourney Tickets On Sale: Tickets for the 2013 Sun BeltConference Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament to be held March 8-11 at the Summit Arena in Hot Springs, Ark., are now on sale. Tickets are on sale for $93 per booklet. Each booklet includes a ticket to each session for both the men's and women's games covering all four days. If you are interested in reserving your seats to the 2013 Sun Belt Conference Tournament, please call the ASU Box Office at (870) 972-2781, or you may order your tickets online at www.tickets.astate.edu. Hotel packages can be reserved by calling (501) 624-5521.
2013 SBC Championship Tournament: Information regarding the 2013 Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Championship Tournament, which will be held March 8-11 at the Summit Arena in Hot Springs, Ark. is available by clicking on this link.
2013 SBC Championship Tournament Bracket - (PDF)
Tie-Breaking Procedures - (PDF)
Up Next: Arkansas State
received a first-round bye in the 2013 Sun Belt Conference Championship
Tournament (March 8-11) and will open tourney action Saturday, March 9, at 9
p.m. (CT). The Red Wolves will face the
winner of this Friday's, March 8, game two which pits the seven and 10 seeds squaring
off against one another.
