The Arkansas State men's basketball team travels to UALR looking to snap a four-game losing skid on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
The last time out, A-State came up short at Georgia Southern, 65-60. Anthony Livingston posted his 11th double-double posting 16 points and 16 rebounds. Nouhoum Bocoum had a career high 18 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for his second career double-double.
After playing 11 games in January, the most in the month since the 1986-87 season, A-State has six games in February, tied for the fewest dating back to the 1959-60 season. The only other time A-State played six games in February was the 2000-01 season.
A-State has amassed a record of 200-200 (.500) since joining the Sun Belt Conference in the 1991-92 season. A-State is now 129-68 (.655) in home SBC games while the road record sits at 71-131 (.351).
A-State is 4-1 in league play, 6-1 on the season, when pulling down 40 or more rebounds. In each of the Red Wolves four conference wins, the opponent shot below 40 percent from the field. The Red Wolves are 9-3 on the season when pulling down 35-plus rebounds. A-State is 8-4 when attempting fewer three-pointers in the second half compared to the first half and 8-3 when shooting a better field goal percentage than their opposition.
A-State is 1-3 this season in game two of the home-and home conference series. Last season, the Red Wolves posted a 6-3 mark. Under head coach John Brady, A-State is 19-25 in game two of a regular season home-and-home conference series.
ARKANSAS STATE/UALR SERIES HISTORY
• A-State jumped out to a 13-point lead over UALR on Jan. 29 at the Convocation Center, but the Trojans trimmed the lead to one by halftime and used a 12-0 second-half run to defeat the Red Wolves 75-65 in the previous meeting.
• Thursday's meeting will be the 81st all-time meeting between UALR and A-State. The Red Wolves hold a 49-31 edge in the series, but four wins, two from the 2005-06 season and two from the 2006-07 season, were vacated by the NCAA due to rules violations.
• A-State is 3-6 (two wins later vacated) against UALR inside the Jack Stephens Center and the Red Wolves are 17-18 (includeing two vacated wins) as the road team in the series. The Red Wolves haven't won at the Jack Stephens Center since the Jan. 29, 2011 meeting (75-64).
• Last season, UALR and A-State split the regular season series with the home team winning each, but the Red Wolves earned a four-overtime win in New Orleans during the Sun Belt Conference tournament.
• UALR defeated A-State 74-67 at the Jack Stephens Center on March 1, 2014. The Trojans shot 56 percent from the field in the second half and scored seven-straight points within a two-minute span late in the game.
SCOUTING UALR
• Like A-State, UALR is coming off a narrow loss to Georgia Southern. The Trojans were dealt a 72-70 overtime loss by Georgia Southern on Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center. UALR led by nine points with less than five minutes to play, but Georgia Southern fought back to force overtime.
• Prior to the overtime loss to Georgia Southern, UALR had won back-to-back games for the first time since November. The Trojans defeated Texas State (69-61) and picked up a road win at Appalachian State (79-74) before Saturday's loss.
• UALR has seen nine different players score in double figures this season and seven different players have led the Trojans in scoring in 25 games. Statisically, Josh Hagins leads the team, averaging 12.0 points per game on 42 percent shooting. Roger Woods (11.7) is the only other player averaging double figures, but UALR has four players averaging five or more points per game.
• As a team, UALR shoots 41 percent from the field and 33 percent from beyond the arc. UALR is shooting 70 percent at the free throw line and pulls down an average of 35.2 rebounds per game. The Trojans average 10.9 turnovers per game and are plus 2.7 in turnover margin this season.
• UALR head coach Steve Shields is in his 12th season with the Trojans, leading UALR to a 189-175 record, 106-93 in conference play.
STAT TRENDS
• A-State is 9-3 this season when grabbing 35 or more rebounds. The two losses with came against Toledo (73-65), UALR (75-65) and Georgia Southern (65-60). A-State is 6-1 overall and in each of A-State's SBC wins the Red Wolves pulled down 40 or more rebounds.
• The Red Wolves are 8-4 on the season when having fewer three-point attempts in the second half than in the first half. Further, in the 12 games in which A-State has fewer three-point attempts in the second half, the Red Wolves have outscored their opponents 406-366 in the second half alone. In the first half of those games, A-State has been outscored 421-356.
• The Red Wolves are 8-5 when 25 or more of their points are inside the painted area. A-State is 8-5 this season when opponents score 30 or fewer points in the paint.
• The Red Wolves are 6-2 this season when earning a trip to the free throw line more than their opponents.
A COMMON THEME
• A-State enters Thursday's game with a 4-10 mark in league play and a few stats stand out when finding what went right for the four wins.
• The Red Wolves are 4-1 in league play when grabbing 40 or more rebounds. A-State is 4-1 in league play when reaching 50 points before their opponent, 8-2 on the season. The lone loss came to Appalachian State on Jan. 3.
• When opponents shoot 40 percent or below from the floor, A-State sports a 7-1 record on the year and 4-1 in league play. Georgia State (35.8 percent) is the only foe to shoot below 45 percent and defeat the Red Wolves.
FEBRUARY OF LOVE
• A-State played 11 games in January for the first time since the 1986-87 season. The Red Wolves will love February though, playing six games, the fewest since the 2001-02 season and fewest of any year dating back to 1959-60.
• Dating back to the 1961-62 season, A-State has a 216-220 record in February. The ledger includes a 143-78 mark on the home floor, a 71-140 record on the road and a 2-2 mark in neutral site games. A-State had won 13-straight on the home floor in February dating back to a 64-57 loss to Troy on February 27, 2010 before the 69-64 loss to Troy on Feb. 5
• Under head coach
John Brady, A-State is 22-24 in February with an impressive 15-5 record at the Convocation Center. The Red Wolves are 7-19 on the road in February, going 2-1 last season.
KEEP CALM AND TRAVEL A LOT
• The Red Wolves have put a lot of mileage on their bodies this season, having traveled 13,094 miles to date. A-State is scheduled to travel 14,372 miles on the season.
• In conference play, the Red Wolves have logged 6,510 miles, including a trip of 1,704 miles to Georgia Southern last week. With trips to UALR and Texas State remaining on the schedule, A-State has 1,278 miles to cover in league play.
• The Red Wolves non-conference schedule included a 2,302 mile journey to Niagara and A-State covered 2,578 miles in their road trip to play at Purdue and Toledo. In the non-conference slate, A-State traveled 4,880 miles.
• A-State will have traveled more than halfway around the Earth, 14,372 miles of 24,859 miles.
DID YOU KNOW?
• The Red Wolves have gone 122-straight games hitting a three-pointer. The last time A-State didn't hit a shot from behind the arc was Feb. 24, 2011 when North Texas held the Red Wolves 0-8 from three at the Convocation Center. A-State would win the game without needing a three-point make, 63-47.
• A-State has gone 579 games since losing a game in which it scored 90 or more points. The loss came in the 1995-96 campaign, a 101-93 loss at Jacksonville on January 22, 1996.
