The Arkansas State men's basketball team has four of its next five games on the home floor beginning with a 7 p.m. matchup with ULM.
Despite a near 20-20 performance by Anthony Livingston, A-State was dealt a fifth-straight loss, 70-57, at UALR on Thursday. Livingston scored 20 points and hauled in 19 rebounds to lead the Red Wolves. Nouhoum Bocoum added 12 points and seven rebounds, but a combined 3-of-20 (15 percent) shooting by the perimeter players hampered A-State.
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 200-201 (.499) 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 71-132 (.350). 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 9-4 on the season when pulling down 35-plus rebounds. A-State is 8-5 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 1-4 this season in game two of the home-and home conference series. Under head coach John Brady, A-State is 19-26 in game two of a regular season home-and-home conference series.
ARKANSAS STATE/ULM SERIES HISTORY
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Cameron Golden scored a career high 25 points and PJ Hardwick added 15 points, but ULM pulled out a 70-61 victory over A-State in the first meeting this season. ULM center Marvin Williams scored 22 points and three others added 10 points for the Warhawks.
• Saturday's game is the 57th all-time meeting between A-State and ULM. A-State is looking to avoid being swept by ULM in the season series for the first time since the 1983-84 season.
• The Warhawks have won two of the last three meetings, but A-State has won eight of the last 10 games. The Red Wolves hold an impressive 23-4 record against ULM on the home floor, including a perfect 9-0 at the Convocation Center.
• A-State has won 12-straight on the home floor against ULM, dating back to a 46-45 loss in the 1983-84 season. Last year, the Red Wolves defeated the Warhawks 64-58 at the Convocation Center behind 17 points by
Melvin Johnson III.
SCOUTING ULM
• As was the case with the first meeting against the Warhawks, ULM is coming off a bye date before their meeting with the Red Wolves. ULM defeated Appalachian State 69-58 on Saturday to remain atop the league standings with a 12-3 mark in conference play.
• ULM is one of six teams nationally that has not allowed 75 points in a single game this season. UT Arlingston has scored the most against ULM in SBC play, putting up 73 points in a 76-73 loss.
• The Warhawks enter Saturday's game on their second six-game win streak of the season, a program first dating back to the 1992-93 season.
• Tylor Ongwae leads the Warhawks in scoring (14.3) and rebounding (7.0) while Majok Deng is the only other player averaging double figures (10.2). ULM has five other players averaging five or more points.
• The Warhawks shoot 44 percent from the field and 30 percent from beyond the arc while holding opponents to 60.1 points per game. ULM leads the league in field goal percentage defense holding opponents to 37.6 percent from the floor.
• ULM head coach Steve Richard (Ree-Shard) is in his fifth season with the Warhawks. Richard has helped the Warhawks post their most wins in SBC play in a season (12) and has a record of 42-98. In his 14 years as a head coach, Richard has a record of 192-215 including a 7-9 mark against A-State (2-7 at ULM/5-2 at Louisiana Tech).
STAT TRENDS
• A-State is 9-4 this season when grabbing 35 or more rebounds. The four losses with came at Toledo (73-65), versus UALR (75-65), at Georgia Southern (65-60) and at UALR (70-57). 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 8-5 when 25 or more of their points are inside the painted area. A-State is 8-6 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 4-11 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.
PERIMETER SHOOTING
• The A-State perimeter shooting has struggled in the last two games, shooting 22 percent (11-49). Thursday at UALR, the perimeter shooters combined to go 3-of-20 (15 percent) after shooting 28 percent (8-29) at Georgia Southern.
• For the season,the Red Wolves perimeter players have shot 38 percent (294-777), including 35 percent (175-494) in conference play.
DID YOU KNOW?
• The Red Wolves have gone 123-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 580 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.
