QUICK HITS
A-State registered its sixth win of the season in its 2014-15 Sun Belt Conference opener with a 63-60 victory at South Alabama in overtime despite not leading in most statistical categories. The Red Wolves fought back from a 33-28 halftime deficit to outscore USA 25-20 in the second half and then 10-7 in the extra period.
Arkansas State improved to 6-1 (.857) in SBC openers under head coach John Brady. A-State also improved to 3-4 (.429) its first road conference contest under Brady. A-State increased its series lead over South Alabama to 22-17 and has now won five straight decisions overall.
The Red Wolves trailed for more than 33 minutes in its second straight game by trailing 33:06 against the Jaguars after trailing for more than 34 minutes against Niagara, but A-State was able to come back and win both contests. South Alabama outshot A-State 39.1 percent (25-64) to 35.9 percent (23-64) for the game and outrebounded the Red Wolves 45-41. However, Arkansas State shot 42.3 percent (11-26) in the second half compared to a 32 percent (8-25) mark by South Alabama to get back in the game. Anthony Livingston led A-State with 16 points.
The 2014-15 campaign represents the program's 87th season as the Red Wolves have presently amassed a 1,148-1,081 all-time record (.515 win pct.) dating back their inaugural 1926-27 season. A-State has won at least 20 games in a season five times – 1986-87 (21-13), 1987-88 (21-14), 1988-89 (20-10), 1990-91 (23-9) and 1997-98 (20-9) since joining the NCAA-I ranks in 1970-71.
A-State's 19 victories in the 2013-14 season (19-13 record) tied for the second most single-season wins since 1997-98 and also marked a tie for the highest win total in head coach John Brady's A-State coaching career. The Red Wolves went 19-12 overall in 2012-13, which was the program's most wins since 1997-98 (20-9 record). A-State has achieved 17 wins or more in a campaign five of the last six seasons to date and the Red Wolves have posted a 92-78 record (.541) since the 2009-10 season.
A-State has compiled double-digit victories in 17 of the last 19 seasons after Tuesday's win. The Red Wolves have won at least 15 games or more on 11 occasions, including four of the last five seasons.
Arkansas State's contest with Appalachian State is the first Sun Belt Conference home game for the Red Wolves. Head coach John Brady is 4-2 (.667) in home conference openers at A-State.
A-STATE/APPALACHIAN STATE SERIES HISTORY
A-State and Appalachian State have met two prior times in history as Saturday's contest will mark the third meeting all-time and first as conference foes. The two schools played a home-and-home series in the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons with the home team winning each meeting. Arkansas State won the first contest on Nov. 24, 1990 in Jonesboro by a score of 91-69 in the team's season opener. The win was the first of 23 wins that season, the most in school history. Dewayne McCray led A-State with 25 points, while Bobby Gross (18) and Fred Shepherd (12) also scored in double figures. Ricky Nedd led Appalachian State with 20 points, while Steve Spurlock (14), Broderick Parker (12), and Billy Ross (12) all scored in double digits. The Mountaineers shot 45 free throws, a Convocation Center record at the time, and made 27.
Appalachian State returned the favor the following season by defeating Arkansas State 85-74 on Dec. 7, 1991 in Boone, N.C. The Mountaineers shot 63.8 percent from the field as four players scored in double figures for Appalachian State. Steve Spurlock led all scorers with 19 points, while Bill Ross added 17, Rodney Peel scored 14, and Tim Powers chipped in with 12. A-State was led by Fred Shepherd's 15 points and Jay Cook's 14. Tyrone Hall scored 12 and Vernall Cole added 11 off the bench.
The Red Wolves are 4-2 (.667) in home SBC openers under head coach John Brady. A-State improved 6-1 in Sun Belt Conference openers with Tuesday's victory over South Alabama, but has only opened conference play 2-0 on two different occasions under Brady (2010-11 and 2013-14). Saturday's meeting will also be the first time Coach Brady has faced Appalachian State in his coaching career.
LAST TIME OUT
Arkansas State defeated South Alabama 63-60 in overtime to open conference play on the season and improved to 6-4 overall. A-State is now 6-9 in overtime games under coach John Brady. South Alabama jumped out to a 33-28 lead at halftime, but A-State outscored the Jaguars 25-20 in the second half and 10- 7 in overtime to claim the win.
Anthony Livingston tallied his third straight double-double and fourth of the season with 16 points and 13 rebounds, while Nouhoum Bocoum and Cameron Golden each scored 14 to help A-State in the comeback win. The Sun Belt Conference's assists per game leader PJ Hardwick dished out six assists, right at his average, and also scored eight points, had four steals, and four rebounds. The Red Wolves trailed for 33:06 of the game and were outshot by South Alabama 39.1 percent (25-64) to 35.9 percent (23-64) during the game, but A-State shot 42.3 percent (11-26) to USA's 32 percent (8-25) in the second half to erase the deficit. A-State was also outrebounded for the game 45-41, but had more assists (9-7) and less turnovers (12-16) to help capture the victory. The Red Wolves were 12-16 (75 percent) from the charity stripe, while South Alabama could only manage a 6-12 (50 percent) mark.
The Red Wolves' win over the Jaguars improved A-State to 22-17 (.564) in the all-time series and gives A- State five straight wins over South Alabama. It was A-State's seventh win in Mobile against 13 losses (.350) and head coach John Brady improved to 8-3 (.727) against USA all-time, including a 6-2 (.750) record as A- State's head coach.
SCOUTING APPALACHIAN STATE
The Mountaineers enter the contest with a 3-6 overall mark and will play their first Sun Belt Conference game Saturday against Arkansas State. Appalachian State lost its first two games of the season at Ohio and at Furman before winning three straight over Virgina Tech, Hampton, and Jacksonville. However, the Mountainers are on a four-game losing skid since then with losses to Hofstra, Georgia Tech, Charlotte, and Alabama. Appalachian State took a tough loss against Alabama 60-59 in their last action on Dec. 21.
Frank Eaves leads Appalachian State with a 16.0 PPG mark, while Tommny Spagnolo (11.0 PPG) is the only other player averaging double digits. Spagnolo also leads the team in rebounds (7.7 RPG), but no other player is averaging more than 5.0 RPG. Chris Burgess is averaging 2.6 APG, while Jacob Lawson is leading the team with a 1.0 BPG average. Additionally, Eaves is the team's leader in steals with a 1.1 SPG mark.
Appalachian State's head coach is Jim Fox. He earned his first head coaching gig after spending the last 13 seasons at Davidson as an assistant coach, including the last two as associate head coach. During his time there, the Wildcats compiled a 288-131 (.687) record and advanced to the postseason 10 times.
Double-double Livingston: Sophomore forward Anthony Livingston registered his third straight double-double and fourth of the season with 16 points and 13 rebounds, both team-highs, against South Alabama on Tuesday night. He leads A-State in points per game (16.4), rebounds per game (8.9), field-goal percentage (50 percent), and blocks per game (1.1). The PPG mark ranks as fourth in the conference and 116th in the nation, while the field-goal percentage is fourth in the SBC and 91st in the country. His RPG mark is first in the conference and 38th in the nation, while his defensive rebounds per game average of 6.8 is first in the conference and 21st in the nation. The four double-doubles lead the SBC and rank him 39th in the country.
Passing with PJ: A-State redshirt sophomore point guard PJ Hardwick followed his outstanding game against Niagara (11 assists with zero turnovers) with six assists and no turnovers against South Alabama. He has 17-to-0 assist to turnover ratio over his last two games. He also scored eight points, had four steals, and grabbed four rebounds in the 63-60 win over South Alabama. He leads the team with 48 assists for a 6.0 APG average despite missing the first two games of the year. The APG mark ranks first in the conference and 18th in the nation, while he has a 2.53 assist-to-turnover ratio that ranks third in the conference and 57th in the country. The 48 assists rank third in the conference and 159th in the nation.
The Golden Rule: Junior guard Cameron Golden was tied for second on the squad with 14 points against South Alabama and is second on the team with a 15.2 PPG average. That mark ranks him eighth in the conference. He is team's leader in steals with a 1.9 SPG mark, a total that ranks sixth in the SBC and 94th in the nation. He is second on the team in assists per game with 3.2, an average that ranks seventh in the SBC.
Doubling Up: A-State has had at least three players score in double figures in nine of its 10 games this season, with the only exception being the Purdue contest. A-State had three scorers in double figures against South Alabama as Anthony Livingston led the way with 16. Cameron Golden and Nouhoum Bocoum both added 14 each, while Sean Gardner (9) and PJ Hardwick (8) just missed double digits.
Nouhoum, No Problem: A-State junior center Nouhoum Bocoum has drawn five consecutive starts since coming off the bench in the first five games of the season. He scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds in the 74-69 win over Niagara. Bocoum also has one of the team's double-doubles this season with a 10-point, 10-rebound effort against Purdue off the bench. He is fourth on the team in scoring (8.1 PPG) and second in rebounding (6.2 RPG).
No Rest For the Weary: Cameron Golden, Anthony Livingston, and Sean Gardner are all in the top-six in minutes played in the Sun Belt Conference and top-60 in the nation. Golden is first in the SBC and 21st in the nation with 36:24 per game. Livingston is fourth in the conference and 57th in the nation with 35:06 per game and Gardner is fifth in the SBC and 59th in the nation with 35 minutes exactly per game. PJ Hardwick has also entered the top-10 in the conference with 33:07 per game in the eight games he's played this season.
National and SBC Rankings: Arkansas State ranks fifth in the conference and 32nd in the nation in fewest turnovers with 134 and A-State is also seventh in the nation in fewest fouls with 163. The Red Wolves are fourth in the conference and 70th in the country in three-point field-goal percentage defense with opponents shooting just 30.2 percent. A-State is also fifth in the conference in total rebounds per game and 93rd in the nation with an average of 37.30. Arkansas State is fourth in the conference and 94th in the nation in defensive rebounds per game with a mark of 25.80.
Gardner Earns CSM Award: Redshirt junior guard Sean Gardner was named the College Sports Madness SBC Men's Basketball Player of the Week after scoring 23 points in A-State's 74-69 win over Niagara. He was 9-14 from the field, including 3-8 from three point range, and also had three rebounds and an assist. He scored nine points versus USA. He is third on the team in scoring (14.3 PPG) and is responsible for three of A-State's top-five scoring games this season. His PPG mark ranks 11th in the Sun Belt Conference and he ranks second in the Sun Belt Conference in three-point field-goal percentage at 37.9 percent, a mark that also places him 77th in the nation. He is fourth in the conference in three-point field goals per game at 2.50 and ranks 91st in the country in that category.
20/20: Sophomore forward Anthony Livingston accomplished a feat that no A-State player had done since the 1993-94 season. He scored 20 points and grabbed 20 rebounds against Marshall, while also tying for the team lead with four assists and leading the team with three blocked shots. It was the first time since Jan. 29, 1994 that an A-State player had scored 20 points and had 20 rebounds. On that date, A-State's Jeff Clifton tallied 43 points and had 25 boards against UALR. He was named the College Sports Madness SBC Player of the Week for his efforts in that game and against Mississippi State (eight points and seven rebounds).
Brady's Homecoming A Success: A-State head coach John Brady returned to Mississippi State Wednesday, Dec. 17 and came away with a 69-55 win. He earned his master's degree from Mississippi State and was a graduate assistant coach for the Bulldogs in 1977. After a high school head coaching stint, Brady returned to Mississippi State as an assistant coach and was with the Bulldogs for eight seasons from 1982-90. He served as the primary recruiter for head coach Richard Williams the last four years of his tenure.
Career High For Cali: Sophomore guard Daijon Macklien (nicknamed Cali because his home state is California) played a career-high 21 minutes against Toledo and scored a career-high seven points by connecting on two three-pointers and adding a free throw. He also added two assists and a steal against the Rockets.
Number 100: Arkansas State head coach John Brady recorded his 100th win as A-State's head coach with the 67-49 victory over UCA on December 1. He became the fifth coach to register at least 100 wins at Arkansas State joining John Rauth, Nelson Catalina, Dickey Nutt, and Marvin Adams. Adams is the coach above Brady with 111 wins that he tallied from 1976-84.
