QUICK HITS
A-State fell to 6-6 overall on the season and 1-2 in Sun Belt Conference play with a 70-61 loss at ULM on Monday. The Red Wolves saw career high performances from PG PJ Hardwick and SG Cameron Golden. Hardwick poured in 15 points while Golden scored 25 points.
Arkansas State played their second-consecutive conference foe coming off an open date on the league schedule. The Red Wolves played Appalachian State on January 3rd after the Mountaineers did not play on December 30th. ULM had Jaunary 3rd off and Georgia Southern did not play on Monday, giving A-State three-straight opponents with extra rest. A-State and UL-Lafayette play a Sun Belt Conference high five opponents after a bye date and the Red Wolves play ULM after each of its two bye dates.
The Red Wolves had three players score double figures for the 11th time in 12 games with the career highs by Golden and Hardwick and 10 points from PF Anthony Livingston. It marked the fifth-straight game and 11th on the season in which Livingston had double figures.
The 2014-15 campaign represents the program's 87th season as the Red Wolves have presently amassed a 1,148-1,083 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 92-79 record (.538) since the 2009-10 season.
Thursday's game features five of the top-10 players in minutes played in Sun Belt action thus far. Hardwick leads the league with an average of 41 minutes per game with Livingston third averaging 39.3 minutes per league game. Golden and SF Sean Gardner are tied for fourth averaging 38.7 minutes in league play. Georgia Southern's Jelani Hewitt is sixth in minutes played averaging 38.5 minutes.
A-STATE/GEORGIA SOUTHERN SERIES HISTORY
A-State and Georgia Southern meet for the eighth time on Thursday. The two teams haven't met since the 2005-06 season in which the Eagles won 82-71. Georgia Southern has won the last three meetings to hold a 4-3 series advantage entering the first of two scheduled meetings this season.
Georgia Southern led wire-to-wire in the last meeting on December 17 at the Convocation Center, taking the 82-71 victory. Georgia Southern jumped out to an 11 point lead midway through the first half. Jim Jones led A-State with 20 points while Marcus Ardison added 18 points. The Eagles buried 5-of-16 (31 percent) three pointers in the game while A-State was 1-of-10 (10 percent) from long range. A-State led 34-29 on the boards with Ardison pulling down a team-high seven boards.
In the 1975-76 season, A-State PF Dan Henderson went 14-of-14 from the field against Georgia Southern, an A-State and Southland Conference record that stands to date for best field goal percentage in a game.
LAST TIME OUT
Arkansas State lost at ULM 70-61 in a game that the Warhawks never trailed in. Cameron Golden scored 25 points and PJ Hardwick had 15 points as each set new career highs. Hardwick had a team-high six rebounds to go along with his career high in points.
Golden scored 17 points in the second half on 5-of-12 (42 percent) shooting including 4-of-10 (40 percent) from the arc. Hardwick added nine points in the second half, but the A-State defense allowed ULM to outscore the Red Wolves 40-37 in the half.
A-State pulled to within three (46-43) with 9:28 to play, but the Warhawks pulled away to lead by as many as 11 late in the half. ULM shot 67 percent (16-of-24) in the second half and scored 22 points in the paint to finish with a 42-24 edge in paint points.
SCOUTING GEORGIA SOUTHERN
The Eagles enter the game with an 8-3 record and 1-1 mark in conference play. Georgia Southern has four wins over non-DI opponents this year, but has key non-conference wins over FIU (78-72), South Florida (68-63) and Stetson (76-67). The Eagles nearly pulled off upsets at Illinois (71-80) and Central Florida (59-61) and their three losses have come by a combined 12 points. Georgia Southern opened league play with a narrow 62-61 loss at UT-Arlington before evening the league record with a 40-36 win at home against Texas State.
Jelani Hewitt leads the team in scoring with a 20.3 PPG average and also assists, dishing out an average of 3.7 per game. Hewitt also leads the team with 34 steals thus far, an average of 3.1 per game. Trent Wiedeman is second on the squad averaging 14.3 PPG while leading the team with 7.1 rebounds per game.
Georgia Southern averages 72.5 PPG, ranking third in the league, while limiting opponents to 58.7 PPG, ranking second among Sun Belt schools. The Red Wolves will look to keep the Eagles off the free throw line as Georgia Southern averages 16.4 free throws made per game, first among league schools. The Eagles also lead the league in rebounding margin at +8.0, two rebounds ahead of the next closest foe. Georgia Southern has cleaned up the offensive glass, pulling down an average of 14.9 offensive rebounds per game.
Eagles head coach Mark Byington is in his second season as Georgia Southern's head coach and has compiled a 23-22 record (.511). He has an overall record of 30-26 (.536) in three years after he was the interim head man at College of Charleston in 2012. He played collegiately at UNC-Wilmington, scoring more than 1,000 points while earning All-CAA honors and a spot on the All-CAA Defensive Team as a senior.
Livingston Named Midseason All-Conference: College Hoops Daily announced Wednesday it has named Arkansas State sophomore forward Anthony Livingston to its 2014 Sun Belt all-conference team. The publication announces a midseason all-conference team from each league and bases its selection on performance from the non-conference portion of the schedule. Livingston started in all nine non-conference games and averaged 16.4 points per game and 8.4 rebounds per game. Along the way, Livingston posted three double-doubles, including a 20-point, 20-rebound performance against Marshall on December 20. With his performance, Livingston became the sixth Division I player in last 10 seasons to reach those marks in a game.
Double-double Livingston: Sophomore forward Anthony Livingston registered fourth straight double-doubles from December 20th (vs. Marshall) through January 3rd (vs. Appalachian State) before hauling in just five rebounds at ULM on January 5th. Livingston has five double-doubles on the season and leads the team in points per game (16.3), rebounds per game (8.9) and field-goal percentage (49.3). The PPG mark ranks as fourth in the conference and 123rd in the nation, while the field-goal percentage is 12th in the SBC and 100th in the country. His RPG mark is first in the conference and 38th in the nation, while his defensive rebounds per game average of 6.7 is first in the conference and 21st in the nation. The five double-doubles lead the SBC and rank him 32nd in the country.
Passing with PJ: A-State redshirt sophomore point guard PJ Hardwick dished out 15 assists and scored 10 points against Appalachian State for his first double-double of the year. The 15 assists were just two assists shy of Chico Fletcher's program record of 17 and are the second most in the nation in a single game this season, trailing Ohio State's Shannon Scott, who had 16 in a game. He has a remarkable 38-4 assists-to-turnover ratio over the last four games. He leads the team with 69 assists for a 6.9 APG average despite missing the first two games of the year. The APG mark ranks first in the conference and 8th in the nation, while he has a 3.00 assist-to-turnover ratio that ranks first in the conference and 25th in the country. The 69 total assists rank second in the conference and 53rd in the nation.
PJ Becoming A Scorer: PJ Hardwick has found his touch shooting the ball recently as he has scored double figures in two-straight games. Hardwick had a career high 15 points on Monday at ULM to follow up his 10 point effort against Appalachian State. Hardwick is 9-of-21 (43 percent) from the field in the last two games after starting the season 11-of-34 (32 percent). The Golden Rule: Junior guard Cameron Golden poured in a career high 25 points at ULM for his second career outing with 20-plus points. Golden has scored in double figures in seven-straight games and 11 of the 12 games this season. With an average of 15.7 PPG, Golden ranks 7th in the conference and 155th nationally. He is team's leader in steals with a 1.83 SPG mark, a total that ranks seventh in the SBC and 97th in the nation.
Doubling Up: A-State has had at least three players score in double figures in 11 of its 12 games this season, with the only exception being the Purdue contest. A-State had its second contest with four players in double figures against Appalachian State. Anthony Livingston scored 21 to lead the team, while Sean Gardner scored 17, Cameron Golden scored 11, and PJ Hardwick scored 10.
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 the second most points on the team against Appalachian State with 17. He is third on the team in scoring (14.5 PPG) and is responsible for three of A-State's top-five scoring games this season. His PPG mark ranks 10th in the Sun Belt Conference and he ranks first in the Sun Belt Conference in three-point field-goal percentage at 38.9 percent, a mark that also places him 69th in the nation. He is second in the conference in three-point field goals per game at 2.55 and ranks 86th in the country in that category.
Taking A Team's Best Punch: The Red Wolves have five games against SBC opponents after they come off a bye date in conference play, the most in the conference. Appalachian State had a bye on the first conference date before their game with A-State and ULM has byes before both of its matchups with Arkansas State. Georgia Southern is the third-straight opponent coming off a bye to take on A-State. The Red Wolves also take on South Alabama in Jonesboro on March 5th after the Jaguars have February 28th off. Louisiana-Lafayette also has five opponents on their league schedule after the foe has a bye week. The Ragin Cajuns play all five of their opponents coming off a bye in consecutive games.
Nouhoum, No Problem: A-State junior center Nouhoum Bocoum has drawn seven consecutive starts since coming off the bench in the first five games of the season. He only scored two points against South Alabama but grabbed four rebounds. 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 (6.9 PPG) and second in rebounding (5.6 RPG).
No Rest For the Weary: Cameron Golden, Anthony Livingston, and Sean Gardner are all in the top-five in minutes played in the Sun Belt Conference and top-50 in the nation. Golden is second in the SBC and 24th in the nation with 36:50 per game. Livingston is fourth in the SBC and 43rd nationally with 35.50 minutes per game. Gardner ranks fifth in the conference and 46th nationally with 35.40 minutes per game. Hardwick comes in seventh in the league averaging 34.30 minutes to rank 94th in NCAA.
National and SBC Rankings: Arkansas State ranks fourth in the conference and 48th in the nation in fewest turnovers with 155 and A-State is also 12th in the nation in fewest fouls with 191. The Red Wolves are fourth in the conference and 56th in the country in three-point field-goal percentage defense with opponents shooting just 29.8 percent. A-State is also sixth in the conference in total rebounds per game and 114th in the nation with an average of 36.42.
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).
