FOR STARTERS
• The Arkansas State University men's basketball team will begin its quest to claim the 2014 Sun Belt Conference (SBC) Men's Basketball Championship Tournament title this Friday (March 14) at 6 p.m. (CT) as the Red Wolves face the fifth-seeded UALR Trojans at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, La.
A-State's upcoming quarterfinal-round appearance this Friday against UALR will be televised live on the Sun Belt Network and ESPN3. The Red Wolves enter the single-elimination conference tournament as the tourney's four seed.
A-STATE/UALR HISTORY
• A-State leads 48-30 in the all-time series. A-State is 2-2 at neutral sites, 17-18 on the road, and 29-10 at home.
• First Meeting – A-State 36, UALR 22 - (1927-28)
• Last Meeting – at UALR 74, UALR 67 - (3/1/14)
• Last A-State win – at A-State 77, UALR 49 - (1/25/14)
• Last UALR win – at UALR 74, A-State 67 - (3/1/14)
• Last A-State win at neutral site – A-State 89, UALR 82 (3/6/10) – Sun Belt Tournament
• Last UALR winat neutral site – UALR 59, A-State 52 (3/6/11) – Sun Belt Tournament
• 2013-14 Regular Season – A-State won 77-49 (1/25) at home; Lost 74-67 (3/1) at UALR
• Current Streak– UALR, Won 1
• Notes – A-State has won five of the last seven meetings ... Nine of the last 14 games have been decided by seven points or less, including six of the last nine ... A-State is averaging 72.2 ppg. (361 pts.) in last five games to UALR's 65.0 ppg. (325 pts.) for +7.2 ppg. differential.
SCOUTING UALR
• UALR last 10 games– 4-6; last five games – 2-3.
• Top Scorers – senior forward Will Neighbour (16.3 ppg.), sophomore guard Josh Hagins (12.2 ppg.), and sophomore forward James White (11.2 ppg.). Top Rebounders – Will Neighbour (7.0 rpg.), James White (6.0 rpg.)
• NCAA-I National Statistical Leaders (3/9): TEAM: 58th-free throw pct. (73%), 202nd-scoring offense (70.0 ppg.), 257th-scoring defense (73.1 ppg.), 260th-scoring margin (-3.1). INDIVIDUAL: Ben Dillard- 92nd free throw pct. (83.7), Will Neighbour-94th field goal pct. (49.8), 174th points per game (16.3 ppg.), Josh Hagins-207th assists per game (3.6 apg.).
WINNING SEASON
• A-State's 18 victories this season to date (18-12 overall record) represents the second most wins since 1998-99 and the second highest win total in head coach John Brady's A-State coaching career. The Red Wolves have produced double-figure wins now the last seven seasons in a row. A-State has registered 17 wins or more in a campaign four of the last five seasons and the Red Wolves have posted an 85-73 record (.538) since the 2009-10 season. A-State is averaging 17 victories per season dating back to the 2009-10 campaign. The Red Wolves produced a 19-12 record in 2012-13, which was the program's most single-season since 1997-98 (20-9 record).
RECORD THREE POINTERS
• A-State's 264 three-point field goals made this season in 685 attempts (.385) represents a program single-season record, shattering the 241 treys made by the 2002-03 and 2006-07 teams. The Red Wolves set a school mark for most three-point attempts in a season with a 685 total to surpass the 2012-13 squad's 633 triples attempts.
ALL-CONFERENCE RECOGNITION
• Seniors Kirk Van Slyke and Melvin Johnson III each earned 2013-14 All-SBC plaudits as announced Tuesday (March 11) in voting by the league's 10 head coaches and media members. Van Slyke received second-team recognition while Johnson III was tabbed a third-team selection. Van Slyke, a forward, is averaging 14.9 points (447 pts.) and 5.8 rebounds per game (175 rebs.) as a starter in all 30 games. He scored double figures in 23 outings and had three double-doubles this season. A guard, Johnson III has a team-high 14.9 points a game average (456 pts.) along with a squad-most 83 three-point field goals made in 30 appearances this season.
A-STATE IN THE SBC TOURNAMENT
• A-State is 14-21 (.400) in SBC Championship Tournament contests since 1991-92. The Red Wolves are 8-12 in games decided by nine points or less and 6-9 in contests of margins 10 points or more. A-State is averaging 66.0 ppg. (330 pts.) in its last five outings to the opposition's 62.6 ppg. (313 pts.). The Red Wolves are 2-3 against UALR and 1-1 versus Troy in conference tournament play.
PROLIFIC SCORER
• Senior guard Ed Townsel is seven points away from moving into a tie for 17th place on A- State's all-time scoring leaders with Marvin Jarrett (1976-80; 1,150 career points). Townsel has accumulated 1,143 career points in 127 games for a 9.0 points a game average, which includes 276 points scored this season in 30 encounters.
DOUBLE VISION
• Melvin Johnson III has produced double-figure points in 11 of his last 13 appearances and is averaging 17.4 points an outing (226 pts.) in the 13 contests. Johnson III has scored 20 points or more eight times this 2013-14 campaign. He tallied a career-high 28 points versus UL Lafayette in last Saturday's (3/8) regular-season finale, which eclipsed his previous best of 27 points at ULM earlier this season (1/30).
SENIOR LEADERSHIP
• A-State's five leading scorers are all seniors, who have combined to generate 76.8 percent (1,743-2,271) of the Red Wolves' points production this season. Seven A-State upperclassmen have accounted for 84.1 percent (1,911 pts.) of the team's total scoring.
MJ III'S THREE'S
• Melvin Johnson III's team-high 83 three-pointers this season represents the most triples made in a campaign since 2007-08 when Ryan Wedel recorded 90 treys in 224 attempts. Johnson III is 24 three-pointers away from matching Adrian Banks' school season record 97 three-point field goals set in the 2006-07 campaign.
UP NEXT
• Arkansas State with a win in this Friday's (March 14) quarterfinal-round contest of the 2014 SBC Championship Tournament will advance to take on top-seed and SBC Regular-Season Champion Georgia State Saturday (March 15) at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, La. A 2 p.m. (CT) start is scheduled for the semifinal-round matchup, which will be televised live on the Sun Belt Network and ESPN3. The 2014 SBC Championship game is this Sunday (March 16) at 12 p.m. (CT) and will air live on ESPN2.
