JONESBORO, Ark. ? Friday night the Arkansas State campus TV station broadcasted Thursday?s ASU upset of Louisiana-Lafayette.
Maybe it was an attempt to stoke local support for this afternoon?s New Mexico State-Arkansas State contest ? both teams? final regular season Sun Belt game.
Aggie coach Tony Stubblefield used a similar tactic this morning, hoping to provoke his struggling team?s emotions and fuel its tired legs with help from the past.
When asked after Friday night?s NMSU shoot around if he had reminded the Aggies of last year?s game with Arkansas State, Stubblefield?s travel-weary eyes lit up. He smiled, saying: ?We?re going to talk about it tomorrow.?
Try to remember (warning to Aggie fans: This may hurt). That was the overtime battle at the Pan American Center which the Indians won, thus holding NMSU out of the conference tournament.
After losing nine-straight games and having long since clinched the lowest seed in the upcoming Sun Belt Tournament, that?s about all that can propel NMSU ? pride.
Against Arkansas State that may not be enough.
Wielding one of the top scoring backcourts in the league, the Indians are more than capable of making aspirin Stubblefield?s post-game meal of choice In Thursday?s win over Sun Belt Conference Western Divison co-leader Cajuns, ASU leaned heavily on Dewarick Spencer and J.J. Montgomery. The duo combined for 46 points.
?That?s definitely their strength,? Stubblefield said of the Indian guards.
Spencer and Montgomery fired more than half of ASU?s 57 shots. Not a shock to Aggie fans, who should certainly remember Spencer. The 6-foot-4 senior netted a career-high 32 against NMSU last season.
Another problem facing NMSU is fatigue. Stubblefield has just seven scholarship players on the bench. Reserve guard Antwan Alexander didn?t make the trip and won?t play again this afternoon. He was suspended recently for violating an unspecified team rule and NMSU officials won?t elaborate on his situation.
Stubblefield wasn?t concerned about fatigue ? officially. ?It?s not that many more minutes,? he said, about a half hour after saying his team was still drained from Thursday night.
Now for the positive news: While it wasn?t exceptionally crisp, the Aggies didn?t demonstrate sluggishness in Friday night?s practice. NMSU?s drills had a nice seasoning of laughter and joking so it?s clear the Aggies are loose. But that may be because their countdown to pain relief (read: the end of the program?s worst season in decades) is almost over. Or maybe they have accepted that this is a lost season and are just being college kids.
Wait. Did that ruin it?
Maybe it was an attempt to stoke local support for this afternoon?s New Mexico State-Arkansas State contest ? both teams? final regular season Sun Belt game.
Aggie coach Tony Stubblefield used a similar tactic this morning, hoping to provoke his struggling team?s emotions and fuel its tired legs with help from the past.
When asked after Friday night?s NMSU shoot around if he had reminded the Aggies of last year?s game with Arkansas State, Stubblefield?s travel-weary eyes lit up. He smiled, saying: ?We?re going to talk about it tomorrow.?
Try to remember (warning to Aggie fans: This may hurt). That was the overtime battle at the Pan American Center which the Indians won, thus holding NMSU out of the conference tournament.
After losing nine-straight games and having long since clinched the lowest seed in the upcoming Sun Belt Tournament, that?s about all that can propel NMSU ? pride.
Against Arkansas State that may not be enough.
Wielding one of the top scoring backcourts in the league, the Indians are more than capable of making aspirin Stubblefield?s post-game meal of choice In Thursday?s win over Sun Belt Conference Western Divison co-leader Cajuns, ASU leaned heavily on Dewarick Spencer and J.J. Montgomery. The duo combined for 46 points.
?That?s definitely their strength,? Stubblefield said of the Indian guards.
Spencer and Montgomery fired more than half of ASU?s 57 shots. Not a shock to Aggie fans, who should certainly remember Spencer. The 6-foot-4 senior netted a career-high 32 against NMSU last season.
Another problem facing NMSU is fatigue. Stubblefield has just seven scholarship players on the bench. Reserve guard Antwan Alexander didn?t make the trip and won?t play again this afternoon. He was suspended recently for violating an unspecified team rule and NMSU officials won?t elaborate on his situation.
Stubblefield wasn?t concerned about fatigue ? officially. ?It?s not that many more minutes,? he said, about a half hour after saying his team was still drained from Thursday night.
Now for the positive news: While it wasn?t exceptionally crisp, the Aggies didn?t demonstrate sluggishness in Friday night?s practice. NMSU?s drills had a nice seasoning of laughter and joking so it?s clear the Aggies are loose. But that may be because their countdown to pain relief (read: the end of the program?s worst season in decades) is almost over. Or maybe they have accepted that this is a lost season and are just being college kids.
Wait. Did that ruin it?
