LITTLE ROCK — There wasn’t much chitchat on the UALR men’s basketball team’s bus as it rumbled down U.S. 67 between Jonesboro and Little Rock late Thursday night.
After an 86-62 blowout loss to Arkansas State that knocked the Trojans out of first place in the Sun Belt Conference West Division, there wasn’t much to say, really.
“Even though it was two hours, it felt longer,” guard Leroy Isler said. “That was embarrassing.”
There was plenty for the Trojans to talk about Friday.
UALR’s challenge now is figuring out exactly what went wrong Thursday at the Convocation Center while also getting ready to host the Sun Belt’s best team today.
It’s not an easy task considering today’s opponent is Middle Tennessee (22-4, 14-1), which has won 11 consecutive games, sports an RPI ranking of 29, and will enter the 7 p.m. game at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock with fresh legs from a week off after a 93-41 drubbing of Troy last Saturday.
The Ratings Percentage Index is a scale used by the NCAA Selection Committee to rank Division I basketball teams by their performance in light of strength of schedule. Low RPI ranking numbers denote strong teams; and high numbers, weaker ones.
The Blue Raiders, who boosted their RPI with victories earlier this season over SEC opponents Mississippi and Vanderbilt, beat UALR 82-50 on Jan. 17, a game in which UALR found itself down 10 points midway through the first half and never made a threatening run.
But that trip to Murfreesboro, Tenn., last month also provides UALR with a tinge of optimism.
That was the last time it lost on a Thursday while facing a quick turnaround. Two days after that loss, the Trojans went to Bowling Green, Ky., and handed Western Kentucky a 59-54 loss, a victory that started a string of four victories in five games before the loss to ASU.
“We just took the aggression we had from playing that poorly [into the next game,],” UALR guard Josh Hagins said. “It’s not necessarily the opponent. We just have to make sure we’re ready.”
That was the issue Thursday, when ASU scored the game’s first eight points, had an 11-point lead six minutes in and never led by less than 11 the rest of the game.
UALR fell into the early hole when it became passive, settling for outside shots and then missing out on rebounds that led to three-pointers or easy baskets inside on the other end.
It was a disappointing showing also because UALR Coach Steve Shields said he had seen improvement from a team that is still gaining its footing with nine of its 11-player rotation are freshmen and sophomores. But, heading into Thursday, UALR (15-11, 9-6) had won four of five games and three consecutive on the road.
“You realize with young teams, you have relapses from the learning process,” Shields said. “Any coach wants [improvement] yesterday, and you want it last November. But you know the reality of years of doing this, is that it’s different with every team.”
The good news for Shields and the Trojans is that with five games remain, including another meeting with ASU on March 2, its deficit in the West is only a half-game.
But ASU has only one of its final four games against a team with a winning Sun Belt record, while UALR will play both division leaders (Middle Tennessee and ASU), play at Florida International and Florida Atlantic and host Louisiana-Lafayette, which it lost to last month.
“We are still focused on winning our side and being in first or second place in the conference,” Isler said. “It’s not over yet.”
UALR is hosting a Middle Tennessee team that Shields said is Coach Kermit Davis’ best.
That’s lofty praise considering the Blue Raiders last year went 27-7 and had the Sun Belt’s best conference record at 14-2 before being upset by ASU in the Sun Belt Tournament.
This year, even without last year’s Sun Belt Player of the Year LaRon Dendy, the Blue Raiders rank first or second in the Sun Belt in 13 categories, including scoring offense (70.7 points per game), scoring defense (57.9 ppg), field-goal percentage (46.3 percent) and field-goal defense (40.0 percent).
“They’re a very good team who is worthy of an [NCAA Tournament] at-large, in my opinion,” Shields said. “They’re extremely efficient offensively. They defend with great passion. ... There’s a reason they’ve got 22 wins.”
THURSDAY’S GAMES
Arkansas State 86, UALR 62 Florida Atlantic 84, W. Kentucky 78 South Alabama 88, La.-Lafayette 64 Troy 69, Fla. International 61 La.-Monroe 85, North Texas 73
TODAY’S GAMES All times Central
W. Kentucky at Fla. International, 6:30 p.m.
Arkansas State at La.-Monroe, 7 p.m.
Middle Tennessee at UALR, 7 p.m.
North Texas at Troy, 7 p.m.
Florida Atlantic at La.-Lafayette, 7:15 p.m.
THURSDAY, FEB. 21 GAMES
UALR at Fla. International, 6:30 p.m.
Florida Atlantic at North Texas, 7 p.m.
Troy at La.-Lafayette, 7 p.m.
La.-Monroe at W. Kentucky, 7 p.m.
South Alabama at Middle Tennessee, 7 p.m.
SATURDAY, FEB. 23 GAMES
La.-Monroe at Middle Tennessee, 5:30 p.m.
UALR at Florida Atlantic, 6 p.m.
North Texas at South Alabama, 7 p.m.
Troy at Arkansas State, 7:05 p.m.
UALR vs. Middle Tennessee WHEN 7 p.m.
WHERE Jack Stephens Center, Little Rock RECORDS UALR 15-11, 9-6 Sun Belt Conference; Middle Tennessee 22-4, 14-1 SERIES UALR leads 13-10 RADIO KABZ-FM, 103.7, Little Rock INTERNET ualrtrojans.com
Sports, Pages 19 on 02/16/2013