No matter how rough the regular season, Sun Belt men's basketball teams typically in the past had the chance to redeem themselves in the conference tournament. Most years the tournament has served as one last shot for teams at the bottom of the standings for a better finish than their start.
UALR pulled it off in 2011 when it went 7-9 in the Sun Belt, but won four games in four days to reach the NCAA Tournament. If this year's Trojans finish with a similar losing conference record, though, they might not get the same chance.
UALR men at Arkansas State
WHEN 7:30 tonight
WHERE Convocation Center, Jonesboro
RECORDS ASU 9-10, 4-6 Sun Belt Conference; UALR 7-12, 2-7
SERIES ASU leads 49-30
TICKETS $8 admission for both games
RADIO KHLR-FM, 106.7, in Little Rock; KFIN-FM, 107.9, in Jonesboro
INTERNET astateredwolves.com, ualrtrojans.com
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
ARKANSAS STATE
POS. NAME, HT, YR PPG RPG G P.J. Hardwick, 5-10, So. 6.5 3.9 G Cameron Golden, 6-0, Jr. 14.9 3.3 G Sean Gardner, 6-5, Jr. 12.8 4.0 F Anthony Livingston, 6-8, So. 15.1 9.3 F Charles Waters, 6-6, Jr. 3.0 3.1 COACH John Brady (108-101 in seventh season at ASU, 389-317 in 24th season overall)
UALR
POS. NAME, HT, YR PPG RPG G DeVonte Smith, 5-11, Sr. 2.6 2.7 G Josh Hagins, 6-1, Jr. 11.3 3.9 G Ben Dillard, 6-2, Sr. 8.0 1.6 F Roger Woods, 6-5, Jr. 12.6 6.5 F Gus Leeper, 6-10, Sr. 4.2 2.5 COACH Steve Shields (186-172 in 12th season at UALR and overall)
TEAM COMPARISON
ASU UALR
65.1 Points for 68.9
67.6 Points against 70.7
-2.0 Rebound margin -2.6
-0.6 Turnover margin +2.9
41.0 FG pct. 41.1
33.4 3-pt. pct. 33.2
71.3 FT pct. 70.2
CHALK TALK UALR is shooting 41.1 percent from the field for the season, and ASU is 9-2 when holding teams to 45 percent or less from the floor. ... ASU played 10 games in 26 games but will play its final 10 Sun Belt games over 38 days. ... UALR’s Josh Hagins has averaged 18.0 points over the past four games. ... ASU has won the past two games in the series in Jonesboro by a combined 52 points.
Since moving the Sun Belt tournament from Hot Springs to New Orleans last year, the league elected to take only the top eight teams in the standings. That means of the league's 11 teams, the two with the worst records (Appalachian State is ineligible this year because of Academic Progress Rate scores) will be left home.
Tonight at the Convocation Center in Jonesboro, both UALR (7-12, 2-7) and Arkansas State (9-10, 4-6) begin a five-week push trying to avoid being either one of those.
"It's getting critical for some teams," ASU Coach John Brady said. "Little Rock, they desperately need wins. It's a big game for them, it's a big game for us."
If the tournament started today, ASU would be in as the No. 7 seed, but UALR, in a tie with Troy for last place, would not qualify for the tournament for the first time since joining the league in 1991.
UALR Coach Steve Shields has the standings posted in his team's locker room each day, so it's a reality he doesn't ignore as he preached to his team a sense of urgency that needs to take hold now with 10 games remaining after tonight.
"If it's going to happen, it has to start very soon," Shields said. "We're trying to find our way in the tournament, and we have to win some games in order to do that."
Both coaches explained their teams are in similar spots because of inconsistency, but they've lacked in different areas.
ASU, with seven first-year players in its regular nine-man rotation, still hasn't found an offensive flow it can rely on in each game. UALR has struggled to defend all season and now is having to overcome a season-ending leg injury to forward James White, who was its second-leading scorer and leading rebounder at the time of his injury.
Anthony Livingston, one of two Sun Belt players in the top 10 of scoring and rebounding, continues to be a key to ASU's success. The 6-9 junior college transfer had 16 points and 13 rebounds in a Saturday victory at Troy. He's averaging 17.3 points and 13.3 points in ASU's Sun Belt victories, and 11.7 points and 7.8 rebounds in its six league losses.
Consistent scoring from guards Sean Gardner and Cameron Golden hold similar importance, Brady said, considering Livingston, Golden and Gardner combine to average 42.8 points, or 65.9 percent of ASU's scoring output.
"When we've had three players score 12 or 13 or more, we're pretty good," Brady said. "But we have trouble picking up the slack. That goes back to the consistency of the team that I have. I've got to get them to play more consistently."
If Brady's three top scorers play like they have at times, UALR's biggest obstacle -- defense -- could come to the forefront. The Trojans are ninth in the league in scoring defense (70.7) and field goal percentage defense (41.1).
"Looking to be more consistent on the defensive end," Shields said.
Shields wants consistency on the offensive end, too, which means getting the ball inside to forwards Roger Woods and Gus Leeper. Woods is UALR's leading scorer and is shooting 49.4 percent. And while he had a team-high 14 points in Saturday's loss to Troy, he took only nine shots as UALR abandoned the post to take 29 three-point attempts.
The quickest path out of the Sun Belt cellar and to the tournament in New Orleans, Shields has concluded, is through Woods and Gus Leeper in the post.
"Gus [Leeper] and Roger need to touch the ball," Shields said. "Whether it be off good ball movement, reversals where we're driving it, or we're throwing it in there to Roger and Gus, good things happen on a high percentage of times when the ball goes to the paint."
Sports on 01/29/2015