The Records: Arkansas State (8-5, 2-2 Sun Belt). The Red Wolves finished out 2012 with a 63-54 conference road victory over South Alabama last Saturday (12/29) night at USA's Mitchell Center in Mobile, Ala. A-State, which is midst a current two-game winning streak, has posted a 5-1 home ledger while the Red Wolves are 2-4 on the road and 0-0 in neutral site encounters this season. Middle Tennessee (11-3, 3-0 Sun Belt). The Blue
Raiders extended their winning streak to four straight with a 75-57 conference
home victory over North Texas Monday (12/31) night in Murfreesboro. MTSU is 3-2 on the road, 8-0 at home, and 0-1
at neutral sites this season. A season ago,
MTSU registered a 27-7 record overall with a first-place 14-2 SBC East Division
mark. The Blue Raiders were 15-2 at
home, 11-4 on the road, and 1-1 at neutral sites.
The Coaches: Arkansas State – John Brady (Bellhaven, 1976), 5th season, 69-71 (.493); Career - 350-287 (.549) – (3-3 vs. MTSU). Brady was named the 2009-10 SBC Coach of the Year and the District VII Coach of the Year by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). He served six seasons (1991-97) as head coach at Samford and then spent 10-plus seasons (1997-08) in a head coaching capacity at LSU. Brady guided LSU to two SEC Championship titles along with four NCAA Tournament appearances, which included a Final Four appearance in the 2005-06 season. Middle Tennessee – Kermit Davis (Mississippi State, 1982), 11th season, 191-136 (.584); Career: 18th season, 328-211 (.609) – (11-5 vs. ASU). Davis,
a two-time (2003 and 2012) SBC Coach of the Year Award recipient, is the
program's all-time winningest coach and ranks second among active SBC coaches
in league victories. The former LSU
associate head coach for five seasons under John Brady earned the 2012 NABC
District 24 Coach of the Year honors along with 2008 and 2010 College Insider
SBC Coach of the Year accolades. He also
has served as head coach at Southwest Mississippi CC (1984-86), Idaho (1988-90
and 1996-97), Texas A&M (1990-91), and Chipola JC (1993-94). Davis was tabbed as the Big Sky Conference's
Coach of the Year twice (1989 and 1990) at Idaho.
About Middle Tennessee:
MTSU is presently led
in scoring by senior guard Marcos Knight (12.1 ppg.) and junior forward Shawn
Jones (10.1 ppg.), who have combined for 31.9% (312-978) of the squad's points
production to date this campaign. The
two also lead the Blue Raiders in rebounding as Jones (6.5 rpg.) and Knight
(5.6 rpg.) rank one and two, respectively.
Nationally, Jones is 84th in double-doubles (three) while senior guard
Raymond Cintron ranks 151st in three-point field goals per game (2.23 avg.) and
junior guard Tweety Knight is 187th in steals an outing (1.69 avg.). MTSU ranks
23rd among the national leaders in three-point field goal defense (27.9%) while
the Blue Raiders are 42nd in scoring defense (59.2 ppg.), 60th in scoring
margin (10.3 pts.), 64th in turnover margin (2.7), and 86th in steals (8.2
spg.).
All-Time Series: Middle Tennessee has a 14-13 edge in the all-time series which originated
in the 1947-48 season. ASU dropped a
48-33 decision to the Blue Raiders in the inaugural 1947-48 meeting.
• The Red Wolves are 3-4 in their last seven matchups, which includes a
2-1 home ledger. The two teams split a
pair of contests last season as ASU dropped a 59-46 road decision in
Murfreesboro, Tenn. (1/19) before claiming a 2012 SBC Tournament Second-Round
64-61 triumph over the top-seeded Blue Raiders (3/4) at the Summit Arena in Hot
Springs, Ark.
• ASU is averaging 64.7 points per game (453 pts.) to MTSU's 67.1 points
an outing (470 pts.) in the last seven meetings. Twelve of the last 14 matchups have been
decided by 10 points or less, including nine by four points or less. The Red Wolves are 5-4 in those outings where
the margin is four points or less.
• In last season's two encounters, Marcus
Hooten averaged a team-best 15.0 ppg. (30 pts.) and Trey Finn recorded a 13.5 ppg. average (27 pts.). Brandon
Peterson was ASU's top rebounder at 9.0 rpg. (18 rebs.) and Trey Finn recorded a 6.0 rpg. average
(12 rebs.).
In The Sun Belt
Conference: The Red Wolves are 173-175
(.497) since joining the Sun Belt Conference (SBC) in the 1991-92 season, which
includes a season-best 14-4 (.778) mark in the 1997-98 campaign.
• A-State is 36-17 at home and 15-15 on the road since the 2006-07
season.
• ASU head coach John Brady
has posted a 35-37 record (.486) in Sun Belt Conference contests since his arrival
in the 2008-09 season, which consists of a 25-10 home ledger and a 10-27 away
mark.
• The Red Wolves are 26-21 (.553) in January conference games dating
back to 2006-07, which consists of a 19-6 home mark and a 7-15 road
ledger. ASU's best performance was a 7-1
record in the 2009-10 season as the Red Wolves went 4-0 at home and 3-1 on the
road en route to a 17-14 overall mark.
• A-State posted a fifth-place 6-10 league mark in the 2011-12 season –
5-3 at home and 1-7 on the road.
January Matchups: ASU has
registered a 27-24 record (.529) in January games dating back to the 2006-07 season. The Red Wolves are 20-6 at home, 7-18 on the
road, and 0-0 at neutral sites. ASU's best
performance during that span was in the 2009-10 campaign when the Red Wolves
posted a 7-2 mark, which featured a 4-0 ledger.
The Red Wolves were 2-6 in January encounters (2-3 at home) a season
ago. ASU's top returning scorer last
January was Marcus Hooten, who
averaged 12.5 ppg. (100 pts.) while Trey
Finn (9.6 ppg.), Ed Townsel (7.8
ppg.), and Brandon Peterson (7.8
ppg.) were also among the squad's leading points producers. Peterson (9.1 rpg.) and Finn (5.7 rpg.) led
the Red Wolves in rebounding last season in eight and seven January outings,
respectively.
Nationally
Speaking: ASU presently ranks 22nd among the NCAA Division I leaders in steals
per game (9.7 avg.), 26th in turnover margin (3.8 avg.), 111th in scoring
offense (70.8 ppg.), and 168th in scoring defense (65.8 ppg.) through Dec. 30
contests. The Red Wolves are 127th in
scoring margin (5.0), 238th in
field-goal percentage (41.7%), 217th in field-goal percentage defense (43.2%),
146th in three-point field goals per game (6.4 avg.), 183rd in three-point
field goal percentage (33.1%), and 250th in free-throw percentage (66.0%). Individually, Brandon Peterson is 25th both in double-doubles (five) and rebounds
(9.8 rpg.), and 142nd in blocked shots (1.46 bpg.). Ed
Townsel ranks 45th in three-point field goals per game (2.77), 54th in
three-point field-goal percentage (40.0%), 75th in steals (2.0 spg.), and 135th
in points (16.2 ppg.). Rakeem Dickerson ranks 150th in steals
per game (1.77 spg.).
Red Wolf Howl
Alerts: Rakeem Dickerson has connected on
85.0% (17-20) of his free throws over the last six contests, which included a
7-8 performance (87.5%) against Louisiana-Lafayette (12/27) ... Trey Finn is 22 rebounds away from
registering his 600th career board ... Brandon
Peterson has amassed 10 double-figure scoring games this campaign, which
included a nine-game streak (11/13-12/19) ... Senior guard Marcus Hooten is averaging 9.5 points a game (19 pts.) in his last
two games while shooting 41.7% (5-12) from the floor. In his two prior outings, Hooten averaged 3.5 points per outing (seven pts.)
and had a 16.7% (2-12) field-goal percentage ... Ed Townsel's team-high tying nine rebounds at South Alabama (12/29)
represents a career high, eclipsing his eight boards versus UALR last season
(1/14). Townsel is averaging 7.5 rpg.
(15 rebs.) in his last two appearances ... Trey
Finn is two steals shy of tying Jay Hansen (1980-84; 133 career) for fifth
place among ASU's all-time steals leaders.
Home Court
Advantage: A-State is 251-95 record (.725) on its home court since 1987-88 and has
posted double-digit home victories 14 times in a season, which includes a 10-5
home ledger in 2011-12. The Red Wolves are 5-1 at home this campaign
with the only blemish being a 61-54 loss to Murray State (12/19). ASU is averaging 75.3 ppg. (452 total) to its
opponent's 59.7 ppg. (358 total) for a +15.7 ppg. differential.
Sporadic Shooting: The Red Wolves
have been inconsistent in shooting the ball this season with a 41.7% field goal
percentage. ASU has shot 40% or better
in six contests this campaign and has seven outings where field goal percentage
is less than 40%. The Red Wolves are 5-1
when shooting at least 40% and have 3-4 mark when connecting below 40% of its
shots.
Defense
Tightening: ASU has held the opposition to an average of 63.0 points per contest
(315 pts.) over its last five games after surrendering 69.4 points an outing
(347 pts.) in the previous five encounters, a difference of 6.4 points a
game. The Red Wolves are 4-0 on the season
when giving up 60 points or less and 4-5 when allowing their opponent to score
at least 61 points in a contest.
Guarding The
Three:
A-State has allowed the opposition to make good on 33.1% (79-239) of its three-point
field goals this season to date, but has limited its opponent to 27.1% success
(23-85) in the last four contests. The
Red Wolves' defense held South Alabama to an ASU season-best 14.8% from beyond
the arc as the Jaguars went four-of-27.
A-State has held the opposition to 25.0% or less in triples on five occasions
this season and has prevailed in all five such games.
Last Time Out: Arkansas State closed
out 2012 on a high note as the Red Wolves led almost from start to finish en
route to a 63-54 victory over South Alabama last Saturday (Dec. 29) evening in
a SBC matchup at USA's Mitchell Center in Mobile, Ala.
ASU started out strong, scoring the first six points and would never
trail the first 20 minutes as the Red Wolves went on to take a 28-23 lead at
intermission. The Jaguars were able to force a tie at 19-apiece wit 2:46
remaining before A-State proceeded to outscore the hosts 9-2 just before the
end of the opening frame. Eight different Red Wolves scored in the stanza
as ASU forced 12 USA turnovers.
The Red Wolves led throughout the second half and went up by 13 points
at 50-37 on a three-point play from Brandon
Peterson before the Jaguars narrowed the gap to four (52-48) with an 11-2
run in a four-minute span.
However, ASU would tally six of the next 10 points to bump its lead to
58-50 at the three-minute mark and then would go on a 9-2 run to lead 61-52
with 19 seconds left in the game. A-State was able to clinch the win at
the free throw stripe where the Red Wolves connected on 18-of-27 (67%) for the
night. Brandon Peterson and Rakeem Dickerson led ASU 15 points
apiece and Ed Townsel posted nine points while Marcus Hooten netted eight points off the bench. Trey
Finn and Townsel hauled down
nine rebounds while Peterson grabbed seven boards. Junior forward Kendrick Washington picked up six
boards as the Red Wolves were outrebounded 47-45 in the game. Dickerson also contributed a game-high five
steals and claimed five rebounds in the win.
ASU shot 38% for the game from the field and nailed
only 3-of-12 three pointers for 25%. South Alabama shot 27% (17-62), but
was held to only four-of-27 (15%) from beyond the arc. The Jaguars were
69% (16-23) at the free throw line.
2012-13 Reference Guide Now Online: The 2012-13 A-State men's basketball reference guide is now available to view online in a PDF format and contains information for all devoted Red Wolves fans. The 110-page publication features such information as 2012-13 student-athlete rosters, season preview, student-athlete biographies, coaching staff bios, 2011-12 season statistics, and all-time series records along with career, season, and game statistical records. The annual publication is a production of the ASU Sports Information Office under the direction of director Jerry Scott along with assistant directors Chris Graddy and Joe Gorby. To view the 2012-13 ASU men's basketball publication online, please visit the respective link - 2012-13 Arkansas State Men's Basketball Reference Guide.
A Season Ago: A-State concluded the 2011-12 campaign at 14-20 overall and posted a fifth-place 6-10 mark in the Sun Belt Conference's (SBC) West Division. The Red Wolves were 10-5 at home, 2-14 on the road, and 2-1 at neutral sites a season ago.
Up Next: A-State continues play on its home court as the Red Wolves go up against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers this Saturday (Jan. 5) evening at the ASU Convocation Center in Jonesboro. The action gets underway at 7:05 p.m. (CT) in a Sun Belt Conference matchup which will be televised on both ESPN3 and ESPN Full Court.
