ASU seeks another road victory

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? While Arkansas State is looking to extend its best start in four years, the Red Wolves? opponent tonight is looking for its first victory of the season.

Indiana State brings an 0-4 record into tonight?s game against ASU at the Hulman Center. The Sycamores opened the season with losses to Northern Illinois, North Texas, Murray State and DePaul.
ASU has won four in a row since dropping its opener at Ole Miss. At 4-1, the Red Wolves are off to their best start since the 2004-05 season going into tonight?s 6:05 (CST) game against the Sycamores.

Junior forward Eric McKinney scored 20 points and grabbed 16 rebounds Saturday as ASU started its 2-game Indiana swing with a 54-53 victory at Ball State. Junior forward JeJuan Brown added 11 points, including the go-ahead basket with 1:30 remaining in the game.
Defense and rebounding have been keys to ASU?s early success under first-year head coach John Brady. The Red Wolves are holding opponents to 55.6 points per game and just 34.8 percent shooting from the field. They are also out-rebounding opponents by more than 10 per game.

Senior forward Shawn Morgan is averaging 10.2 points and 6.0 rebounds for ASU. Junior guard Donald Boone ranks second on the squad in scoring at 8.6 points per game. McKinney and Brown are averaging 8.4 and 7.8 points, respectively, with McKinney averaging 7.0 rebounds.
ASU?s 4-game winning streak is the longest it has enjoyed since the 2006-07 season. A victory tonight would give the Red Wolves three consecutive road victories.

The Red Wolves have utilized their depth as eight different players have scored in double figures this season, and they have had only three players play more than 30 minutes in a game. Eight of ASU?s 10 available players are averaging five points per game or more, with all of them averaging over 10.8 minutes per game.

Indiana State finished seventh in the Missouri Valley Conference last season and was picked to finish seventh again in October.
Junior guard Rashad Reed, a 6-1 junior college transfer, is averaging 14.3 points to lead the Sycamores. Sophomore guard Aaron Carter averages 14 points, 6-8 senior forward Jay Tunnell averages 10.5 points, and 6-11 junior Josh Crawford averages 10.3 points.
Crawford has blocked 12 shots in four games.
The teams share an early common opponent, preseason Ohio Valley Conference favorite Murray State. The Racers lost 55-47 at ASU before posting a 67-61 victory at Indiana State.
Indiana State is averaging nearly 70 points per game, but the Sycamores are giving up 77 per game and have been out-rebounded by better than six per game.

DePaul beat Indiana State 75-70 Saturday in Rosemont, Ill. The Sycamores trailed 39-19 at halftime before making a run at the Blue Demons in the second half.

ASU and Indiana State are playing for the first time since the 1948-49 season. The Sycamores won both previous meetings.

 

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ISU men?s hoops seeks carryover from DePaul game



TERRE HAUTE ? No question could have been more obvious. Can there be a carryover tonight from Indiana State?s second-half performance in men?s college basketball Saturday at DePaul?

?You hope so. You?d like to think so,? coach Kevin McKenna said after practice Sunday, as his team prepared for the 7 p.m. tipoff in Hulman Center against Arkansas State. ?This is a new day and a new game. But you hope the guys figure some things out.?

The Sycamores outscored a Big East team by 15 points on its court in the last 20 minutes Saturday. Unfortunately, they?d been outscored by 20 themselves in the first half and the result was a 75-70 loss, ISU?s fourth in as many games.

?The first half [at DePaul] people were a little nervous,? point guard Rashad Reed said Sunday.

?We were tentative, soft and scared,? is how McKenna assessed the same 20 minutes. ?But we were aggressive, confident and played with a sense of urgency in the second half.?

?It was just playing with a little more confidence,? said Reed, who had 17 points and seven assists against the Blue Demons, when asked about Saturday?s second half. ?That showed us we can play with anybody. We?ve just got to bring it every day.?

Bringing it will certainly be necessary tonight against the Red Wolves. Like almost every Sycamore opponent so far, Arkansas State is off to a good start (4-1) and coming off a 54-53 win at Ball State on Saturday.

Falling behind by 20 probably isn?t a good idea either. Arkansas State, unlike DePaul, is not a running team that plays the game in spurts.

?[The Red Wolves] beat Ball State and they beat [recent ISU opponent] Murray State, so hopefully that gets our guys? attention,? McKenna said. ?They execute very well, they have good size and good athleticism ? they don?t beat themselves. They?re a good, solid team.?

Solid is an operative word for Arkansas State. Although the Sycamores are as tall or taller than the Red Wolves, the visiting team will be wider. Eric McKinney , a 6-foot-8, 235-pounder, is coming off what McKenna called ?a breakout game? of 20 points and 16 rebounds at Ball State. Allowing double-figure offensive rebounds to their opponent, a Sycamore habit so far, will make tonight?s task pretty difficult.

?We?ve been going a lot harder in practice on things like loose balls, offensive rebounds and getting back [on defense],? Reed said. ?[Today] will be our first test, to see if we can [duplicate Saturday?s second-half performance].?

Although Reed leads the Sycamores in both scoring and assists, the transfer from Vincennes University indicated Sunday that he?s far from satisfied with his own performance so far.

?We just need a little leadership, and I guess I can take the blame,? he said. ?I?m the second-oldest on the team, so I?m looking at myself to step up.?

McKenna hopes a lot of other Sycamores do so as well.

?We need something to happen good for us,? the coach said Sunday, ?and the sooner the better.

?The guys are frustrated and hungry. We?re trying to tell them that when you outhustle, outwork and outexecute somebody, then you get what you deserve.?