Game 32 Notes - Sun Belt Tournament Quarterfinals vs. TBA
SETTING THE SCENE
Date: March 6, 2011
Location: Hot Springs, Ark.
Tipoff: 8:45 p.m. (CST)
Arena: Summit Arena
Arena Capacity: 5,000
Webcast: AStateRedWolves.com
TIPPING IT OFF
The Arkansas State men’s basketball will await its first opponent after winning a share of the Western Division regular season title of the Sun Belt Conference. ASU received the No. 1 seed and first round bye in its half of the bracket and will face the winner of the UALR/South Alabama contest on Sunday at 8:45 p.m. at the Summit Arena.
THE TOURNAMENT FIELD
By capturing the West Division title the Red Wolves have recieved the first-round bye in and a No. 1 seed in its side of the bracket. FAU, the regular season Sun Belt Conference Champions, finished the regular season with a 21-9 mark and a 13-3 league record and earned the No. 1 seed in the top half of the bracket. ASU will face either W5-seeded UALR or E4-seeded South Alabama in its second round matchup. Against the two squads, the Red Wolves own a 3-0 combined record. UALR finished the regular season with a 15-16 record and a 7-9 league mark. ASU beat UALR in Little Rock, 75-64 and in Jonesboro 71-63. ASU played USA once, picking up its first conference win of the season past the Jaguars 69-57. The E2 seed on ASU’s side of the bracket is Middle Tennessee who ASU holds a win over this season, 69-65 at the Convocation Center. The Blue Raiders went 15-15 with a 10-6 record in league action this season. W3 Denver and E6 FIU round out the bottom bracket. ASU split the season series with Denver and dropped its only meeting against the Golden Panthers. ASU holds a 5-2 composite record against the teams playing in its portion of the bracket.
UNDEFEATED AT HOME
For only the third time in the Convocation Center’s history the Arkansas State men’s basketball team completed regular season action undefeated at home. The Red Wolves posted a 13-0 record in Jonesboro this year. ASU is 236-89 record which amounts to a .724 winning percentage. This season was the first time since the 1990-91 season that the Red Wolves have held a perfect mark at the Convo.
FINN OUT FOR SEASON
Sophomore guard Trey Finn will be sidelined the remainder of the season due to injuring his knee during practice leading up to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. Finn started all 31 games this season averaging 8.7 points per game and 5.5 rebounds per game,
IN THE SUN BELT TOURNAMENT
The Red Wolves have had the most success against WKU in the Sun Belt Tournament posting a 3-1 record against the Hilltoppers in tournament play. ASU is also 2-2 against UALR having won its last meeting against the Trojans in Hot Springs last season. ASU is 1-0 against FIU after picking up a win in the 1999 SBC Tournament and 1-1 against South Alabama. ASU is 1-2 against both North Texas and Denver and 0-1 against MTSU, ULL and Troy. The Red Wolves have never played FAU or ULM in postseason play.
Denver- 1-2 (W, 2002) (L, 2003, 2005)
Florida Atlantic- 0-0
Florida International- 1-0 (W, 1999)
Louisiana-Lafayette- 0-1 (L, 2002)
Louisiana-Monroe- 0-0
Middle Tennessee State- 0-1 (L, 2009)
North Texas- 1-2 (W, 2005) (L, 2007, 2008)
South Alabama- 1-1 (W, 1995) (L, 2001)
Troy- 0-1 (L, 2006)
UALR- 2-2 (W, 1993, 2010) (L, 1992, 2004)
Western Kentucky- 3-1 (W, 1997, 1999, 2007) (L, 2010)
SECOND UALR GAME
The Red Wolves had a lot riding on the line against UALR when they “whited-out” the Convocation Center for its final home game of the season. Senior guard Rashad Allison led the Red Wolves in scoring putting up 16 mostly at the free-throw line where he went 9-11. Sophomore guard Trey Finn posed his third double-double of the year with 15 points and 13 rebounds, which was a game-high.
Senior forward Jeremy Thomas made the most out of his final start at the Convocation Center scoring 12 points and five rebounds. The Jonesboro native was also 6-6 from the free throw line.
UALR jumped out to a 7-0 lead to start the game when Alex Garcia-Mendoza hit a layup with 17:47 remaining in the half. But, ASU answered with a 7-0 run of its own to tie the score on a layup by Malcoln Kirkland with 14:03 left in the half.
The Trojans were able to maintain a one to two possession lead through the remainder of the half taking a 40-35 lead into the locker room at the break.
UALR stretched its lead out to 11 when Eric Kibi laid the ball in just three-minutes and 25 seconds into the second half. ASU then chipped away at the lead including going on a 8-1 run to capture the lead on a pair of free-throws by Boone with 4:52 left to go in the game, a lead they never relinquished.
ASU outrebounded UALR 41-27 and shot 41.5% from the field in the game (17-41). The Red Wolves also capitalized on 44 trips to the free throw line connecting on 33-44 (.750) at the charity stripe.
ADAMS/BOONE EARN ALL-SBC HONORS
Arkansas State junior forward Martavius Adams and senior guard Donald Boone have earned All-Sun Belt Conference Honors as voted on by members of the media and the league coaches announced the conference Thursday.
Adams, ASU’s top scorer and rebounder earned second-team honors after averaging 11.2 points per game and 7.1 rebounds per game this season. Adams led the Red Wolves in scoring nine times this season including scoring in double-digits 19 times this season. Adams has appeared in all 31 games this season including drawing 30 starts and leads the squad with five double-doubles on the season.
Boone, who leads ASU in conference-only games earned Sun Belt Conference third-team honors. Boone is averaging 10.8 points per game in all games and 12.2 in conference-only games. Boone leads the squad with 52 steals and in minutes played averaging 31.1 minutes per contest. Boone has led the Red Wolves in scoring nine times this season including scoring in double figures 19 times this year. Boone has started in all 31 games this season.
UNT GAME
ASU came back from a 10-point North Texas lead in the first half to pick up a 63-47 win past the Mean Green in which it had season lows in field goal percentage and total points. ASU had three players in double-digit scoring including junior Martavius Adams who had his fifth double-double of the year with 16 points and 13 boards. Boone added 12 and Townsel had 10. Boone also had a season-high six steals for the Red Wolves. ASU connected on 25-34 attempts from the free throw line.
STERRENBERG HITS IT BIG AT TROY
Sophomore guard Adam Sterrenberg had his best game of his career against a division I opponent when the Cabot, Ark. native came off the bench to pick up 13 points on 5-10 shooting from the floor in 15 minutes of action. Sterrenberg also was 3-6 from three-point range.
PETERSON GOES OFF IN HOME STATE
Sophomore forward Brandon Peterson posted his third double-double of the season and fourth of his career playing in his home state for the first time this season as the Red Wolves picked up a win over Troy on Saturday. Peterson scored 14 points and led the Red Wolves on the boards with 11 including pulling down nine defensive boards.
ALL-TIME CONVO HISTORY
Tonight’s game will be the 324rd game played at the Convocation Center where ASU owns a 235-89 record which amounts to a .724 winning percentage. ASU draws an average of 5,138 fans to the Convocation Center over its history. ASU is 12-0 at home this season. ASU will be looking to go undefeated at home for only the third time in Convocation Center history and the first time since the 1990-91 season.
ALLISON CAREER NIGHT AT ULL
Senior guard Rashad Allison had the best game of his career Thursday night at ULL. The starting point guard led all players with 26 points while also notching six rebounds and was by far the most dominant player on the floor. Allison was 8-11 from the floor and 2-3 from three-point range. He also went 8-11 from the free throw line playing a season-high 33 minutes.
ALL SCORE VERSUS ULM
All 11 Red Wolves players scored for the first time this season at ULM last Thursday led by senior guard Donald Boone who had 20 total points including scoring 11 of ASU’s first 13 points and finished the first half with 16 points. Sophomores Brandon Peterson and Trey Finn rounded out the double-figure scorers for the Red Wolves with 14 and 11 points, respectively.
NATIONAL RANKING SUMMARY
Along with leading the conference, the Red Wolves also rank 41st in the country with a +4.6 rebounding margin. Senior point guard Rashad Allison ranks in the top 100 in the nation in assist/turnover ratio. He ranks 60th with a 2.15 assist/turnover ratio and 102 with a 82.3% free throw percentage.
BALANCED ATTACK SETS RECORDS VS DENVER
ASU used a balanced scoring attack and set two Convocation Center records when they avenged an earlier loss to Denver, handing them their worst loss of the season. ASU held Denver to 13 first half points and 35 total points, both of which were season-lows. Every player that logged significant minutes for the Red Wolves scored four or more points and seven scored over five. Donald Boone led the Red Wolves with 10 points.
KIRKLAND DEFENDS THE RIM
Junior forward Malcoln Kirkland recorded a career-high five blocked shots against Denver. Kirkland leads the team with 29 blocks and is averaging 4.8 points per game and 3.5 rebounds per game.
ADAMS DOUBLE-DOUBLE AT SAVANNAH STATE
Junior forward Martavius Adams recorded his eighth double-double of his career and fourth of the season with 10 points and 13 rebounds at Savannah State. Trey Finn missed a double-double by just one board notching 12 points and nine rebounds, seven of which were offensive.
THE UALR GAME
ASU picked up one of its biggest wins of the year and only second on the road at instate rival UALR 75-64. The Red Wolves never trailed as Donald Boone led the Red Wolves with 22 points, a season-high while Rashad Allison ranked second with 19-points which was also a season-high. ASU dominated around the rim outrebounding UALR 41-23 sparked by Adams who had 10 boards. ASU held the then-no. 2 shooting three-point team in the nation, the Trojans to just 35.7% in the contest including holding them to 20% during the first half.
PETERSON DOUBLES UP
Sophomore forward Brandon Peterson recorded his first double-double of the season and third of his career putting up 14 points with 11 rebounds against Lamar in the Red Wolves last home contest. Peterson is averaging 8.8 points per game 6.3 points per game while leading the team with 21 blocks.
TRENDING WITH THE RED WOLVES
ASU has developed some trends throughout the season holding an 13-0 record at home and own a 15-2 record when leading at the half. ASU is also 9-4 when scoring first and 12-3 when shooting more free throws then its opposition. The Red Wolves are also 15-4 when its starters outscore opponents and 13-5 when outrebounding their opponents.
TAKING CARE OF THE BALL
Senior guard Rashad Allison posted a season-high of nine assists against Lamar and only turned the ball over once. Allison leads the team and the league with a 2.1 assist/turnover ratio and ranks fifth in the conference and 55th in the nation with 118 assists (3.9/game). As a team, ASU has a 0.9 assist/turnover ratio and has forced opponents into 13.3 turnovers a game.
FINN DOUBLE DOUBLE
Sophomore guard Trey Finn posted his second double-double of the season and third of his career scoring 14 points while pulling down a season-high 11 rebounds against Middle Tennessee.
ADAMS CAREER NIGHT
At FIU, junior forward Martavius Adams put in one of his most dominating performances of the season scoring a career-high 20 points and pulling down 14 rebounds which was a season-high to record his seventh career double-double. Adams has scored in double-digits all but twice this season and has led the Red Wolves a team-high five times.
FINN NAMED SUN BELT PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Arkansas State sophomore guard Trey Finn was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week for the competition weeks of Dec. 22-Jan. 3 announced the league office Tuesday. It marked the first time this season that an ASU player had been named SBC Player of the Week. Finn led the Red Wolves to a 3-1 record over the holiday break, including a 2-0 start in conference play with wins over South Alabama and preseason favorite Western Kentucky. Finn averaged 15.3 points per game over those four contests while grabbing 6.0 rebounds per game. Finn put up the most dominant performance by an ASU player this season against WKU by scoring a career-high 30 points to lead ASU to an 81-73 victory. Finn also had 10 rebounds, posting the second double-double of his career. During the game against WKU, Finn went 10-16 from the field and 7-9 from three-point range. His 30 points more than doubled his previous career-high in points scored. Finn posted double-digit scoring performances in all four games played during the break, after only breaking double-digits twice previously this season.
RECORD SETTING NIGHT
With their 120-39 win over Central Baptist the Red Wolves tied the school record for points scored in a game and set a school record for margin of victory by beating the Mustangs by 81. ASU also had four players record career scoring performances and had six players in double-digit scoring.
ASU TAKES NO. 14/15 MEMPHIS TO OT
The Red Wolves rose to the occasion against Memphis, taking the No. 14/15th ranked squad to overtime after tying the contest with only 34.1 seconds remaining. ASU trailed by 18 points in the first half but Bryant hit a free-throw with 34-seconds on the clock to tie the game. ASU defended well on the ensuing possession forcing the overtime.
HEAD COACH JOHN BRADY
With a Final Four appearance and 281 career victories already to his credit, John Brady was announced as Arkansas State’s 15th head men’s basketball coach by Director of Athletics Dr. Dean Lee at a press conference held in ASU’s Convocation Center on March 19, 2008.
During his first season with the Red Wolves, Brady helped lead ASU to one of the best starts in program history and achieved the No. 22 ranking on Collegeinsider.com’s Mid-Major Top 25 poll. As a team ASU greatly improved its defending and rebounding, finishing near the top of the conference in several statistical categories.
Brady took a step further in his second season with The Red Wolves, improving their record to 17-14 and the team advanced to the semifinals of the Sun Belt Tournament finishing second in the west. Brady was named Sun Belt Coach of the Year and the District VII Coach of the Year by the USBWA. ASU led the league in three-point FG defense, rebounding offense and defensive rebounding.
ASU also posted an 11-7 SBC record this season which was its best league mark since the 2006-07 season when ASU achieved the same record. Its 11-wins was the seventh-time since ASU joined the Sun Belt that they have posted double-digit league wins.
Brady spent the last 10-plus seasons serving as LSU’s head coach, leading the Tigers to six postseason berths, two SEC championships and three SEC Western Division titles. Twice named the SEC Coach of the Year, Brady is a proven winner who has a well-documented record of success and a long list of accomplishments.
Brady’s 16-year tenure as a head coach at both LSU and Samford in Birmingham, Alabama, has been decorated with achievements. He has coached a combined 25 All-TAAC and SEC selections, 48 academic all-conference choices, posted 11 winning seasons and collected five division championships. Brady piled up the third most wins in LSU history with 192 and left Samford after the 1996-97 season as the Bulldog’s all-time leader in coaching victories (89) as well.
He quickly turned around an LSU’s men’s basketball program that had suffered four consecutive losing seasons prior to his arrival, leading the Tigers to a 28-6 record, an SEC championship and an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance in just his third season (1999-00) at the helm. Under Brady’s direction, the Tigers recorded six consecutive winning seasons from 2001-02 to 2006-07 while making three trips to the NCAA Tournament and two more to the NIT. The 2005-06 campaign saw LSU post a 27-9 record and advance to the Final Four for the first time in 20 years.
Not only did Brady coach the Tigers to 23 wins versus ranked opponents, he also led them to victories over two teams ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press Poll (Arizona in 2002-03 and Duke in 2005-06). Additionally, he orchestrated a 19-game home winning streak over SEC opponents, the third longest stretch in LSU history.
While at LSU, Brady coached two NBA Lottery picks and six current NBA players. The Tigers signed nine Parade All-Americans and four McDonald All-Americans under Brady, who also coached three SEC Players of the Year, four players named SEC Freshman of the Year, one SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and 17 All-SEC selections.
Prior to taking over the reigns at LSU, Brady served as Samford’s head coach from 1991-92 through 1996-97. It didn’t take long for him to turn around a Samford program coming off six straight losing seasons, either, guiding the Bulldogs to a 17-10 record in his second season. He led Samford to three straight winning seasons (1995-97) for the first time since 1982-84, all leading up to a 19-9 record and division title in 1997. Samford won the TAAC West Division each of Brady’s final two seasons at the school for the first time in school history.
His four winning campaigns at Samford were the first for any coach at the school, and he led the Bulldogs to an 89-77 record after they went 27-83 the four seasons prior to his initial year. He coached eight All-TAAC and 14 Academic All-TAAC players over six seasons.
The McComb, Miss., native earned his bachelor’s degree in 1976 from Belhaven College, where he was three-year starter and scored over 1,000 points during his college playing career. Brady was a two-time All-Southern States Conference selection and was later inducted into his alma mater’s Hall of Fame.
He got his coaching start as a graduate assistant with the Mississippi State men’s basketball program while earning his master’s degree from 1976-77. Brady took his first head coaching position in Louisiana at Crowley High School in 1977 and led the basketball squad to a 129-49 (.725) record in five seasons. He was named the 1981 Louisiana Sports Writers Association Class 3-A Coach of the Year.
Brady returned to the college coaching ranks in 1982 as an assistant coach at Mississippi State. He spent the next eight years with the Bulldogs, the first four seasons under coach Bob Hoyt and the next four as a chief recruiter for coach Richard Williams. Following his tenure in Starkville, Brady returned to Louisiana for the second time, this time to serve as an assistant coach at the University of New Orleans. Brady helped lead UNO to the NCAA Tournament during his only season with the Privateers.
