DENTON, Texas ? The path through the Sun Belt Conference Tournament to the NCAAs is anything but easy for Arkansas State.
At least the Indians head into it with some momentum.
Arkansas State?s fortune, even possibly its coach?s fate, will all unfold over the next several days beginning with this evening?s unenviable first-round match up against Sun Belt Conference Tournament host North Texas.
Tipoff is 5:30 p.m. at The Super Pit.
The Indians (15-12) caught the unluckiest of breaks when North Texas blew a seven-point second-half lead over South Alabama and lost to the Jaguars last Saturday, followed by Middle Tennessee State?s victory at Florida International two days later. The end result dropped ASU into the No. 4 seed from the East Division of the Sun Belt, while North Texas slipped to the No. 5 seed from the West.
The two teams meet this evening, and it?s a meeting Arkansas State isn?t exactly thrilled about.
?You hate to say it, but you just want to stay away from the home team,? Arkansas State coach Dickey Nutt said. ?It?s not exactly the scenario you would prefer. It?s hard enough to win on the road as it is, and, in the tournament format, you hope that you would play everybody on a neutral floor. That?s not the case for us, but we still feel good about our chances.?
The Indians had a chance earlier this year at North Texas (14-13), and made the most of it. Despite trailing by 9 points at the half, Arkansas State rallied to beat the Mean Green 73-70, surviving a pair of 3-point attempts at the end.
Keeping North Texas from starting fast and establishing some control is a big key to advancing in the tournament, according to ASU?s J.J. Montgomery.
ASU trailed 11-2 less than four minutes into its game at UNT, but turned up its defensive pressure to rally back. The Indians also adjusted to a ball-control offense, working time off the shot clock and finding open shooters to lead by as many as 7 after trailing by as many as 11.
?We have to play good transition defense,? Montgomery explained. ?They got a lot of transition baskets against us, especially early. As soon as the ball goes off the rim and they get a defensive rebound, they are pushing it and finding an open man. They don?t hesitate to shoot the ?3? either, so we?ve got to get back and get wide.?
Arkansas State shot pretty well from the perimeter, too, in the first meeting in Denton. ASU?s Jerry Nichols scored what was then a career-high 21, hitting 7-of-10 from the field, including 6-of-8 shots from 3-point range.
As a team, the Indians were 9-of-17 on 3-pointers.
The Indians enter this evening?s game with some restored confidence after winning their last two games of the season. ASU had lost five straight to fall from first place to fourth in the East Division of the Sun Belt.
But an 86-80 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette coupled with a 90-76 win over New Mexico State has the Indians eager be back on the court playing.
They also have a few things they want to clarify about their finish in the conference standings.
?We?re out to prove everybody wrong, that we really are a good basketball team,? ASU?s Dewarick Spencer said. ?We?re coming in with that fire and intensity that we had before. Nothing has changed in our attitude, but we?re getting better and we?re healthy. Things are starting to look up for us.?
Much like Arkansas State, North Texas has had its ups and downs in a season of uncertainty. The Mean Green struggled midway through the season, losing five of seven Sun Belt games, including three at home.
But to its credit, UNT has won at New Orleans and at Florida International ? venues where Arkansas State was beaten. The Mean Green also beat Denver at home 68-66.
Denver, which won the Sun Belt?s West Division and owns the best conference record at 12-3, demolished ASU in their only meeting 95-78.
The winner of this evening?s game earns a date with the Pioneers (18-9) Saturday night at 8.
After nearly a week to prepare his team for North Texas, Nutt believes the Indians have a lot more gas left in their tank.
?Our attitude is the best it?s been all year long,? Nutt said. ?We?ve had outstanding practices. I would be very surprised if we didn?t play very well. Their energy level and focus is at the highest level I have ever seen. This is not a team that is ready to hang it up.?
Arkansas State has been to the Sun Belt Tournament finals just once in 12 years since joining the league. Since 1981, ASU has played in three different conferences and made its conference tournament finals just twice.
UNT is led by a pair of guards in senior Leonard Hopkins and sophomore Calvin Watson. Hopkins, a second-team All-Sun Belt selection, averages 17.9 points a game, while Watson is averaging 11.4 points.
?They will get up and down the floor and they like to shoot the ?3?,? Nutt said. ?They play on momentum. They try to get things going in their favor. When we played there we were fortunate enough to take them out of some of the things they wanted to do, and we?ve got to do that again.?
Against ASU in January, Hopkins scored 17, but was 0-for-4 from 3-point range. Watson had 20, including four 3-pointers, while junior post Jeffrey Simpson had 16 points and 9 boards.
Nutt wouldn?t say whether Spencer or Montgomery would guard Hopkins, but said both did well in the first meeting. Montgomery said the Indians are overflowing with confidence after winning two straight.
?We could have been playing that way all year,? Montgomery added. ?Now that we?ve got Marcus back in the lineup, the ball movement on offense is great and the intensity on defense is up. We?re playing as a family right now. We know we can go out there and do it.?
For Nutt, his future as head coach at Arkansas State remains in doubt.
Nutt has a career record of 149-136 in 10 years at ASU. He began this season in the final year of a long-term contract after the school declined to offer an extension last spring.
Keeping the Indians concerned about happenings on the court ? not off ? is his top priority with ASU?s season on the line.
?This is a fun time of year,? Nutt said. ?But there is a lot riding on this tournament for me, for our program and for our team and I don?t want to approach it any other way. I?m trying my best not to put any unnecessary pressure on our basketball team. This is a business trip for us and the most intense, most focused team is going to win.?
At least the Indians head into it with some momentum.
Arkansas State?s fortune, even possibly its coach?s fate, will all unfold over the next several days beginning with this evening?s unenviable first-round match up against Sun Belt Conference Tournament host North Texas.
Tipoff is 5:30 p.m. at The Super Pit.
The Indians (15-12) caught the unluckiest of breaks when North Texas blew a seven-point second-half lead over South Alabama and lost to the Jaguars last Saturday, followed by Middle Tennessee State?s victory at Florida International two days later. The end result dropped ASU into the No. 4 seed from the East Division of the Sun Belt, while North Texas slipped to the No. 5 seed from the West.
The two teams meet this evening, and it?s a meeting Arkansas State isn?t exactly thrilled about.
?You hate to say it, but you just want to stay away from the home team,? Arkansas State coach Dickey Nutt said. ?It?s not exactly the scenario you would prefer. It?s hard enough to win on the road as it is, and, in the tournament format, you hope that you would play everybody on a neutral floor. That?s not the case for us, but we still feel good about our chances.?
The Indians had a chance earlier this year at North Texas (14-13), and made the most of it. Despite trailing by 9 points at the half, Arkansas State rallied to beat the Mean Green 73-70, surviving a pair of 3-point attempts at the end.
Keeping North Texas from starting fast and establishing some control is a big key to advancing in the tournament, according to ASU?s J.J. Montgomery.
ASU trailed 11-2 less than four minutes into its game at UNT, but turned up its defensive pressure to rally back. The Indians also adjusted to a ball-control offense, working time off the shot clock and finding open shooters to lead by as many as 7 after trailing by as many as 11.
?We have to play good transition defense,? Montgomery explained. ?They got a lot of transition baskets against us, especially early. As soon as the ball goes off the rim and they get a defensive rebound, they are pushing it and finding an open man. They don?t hesitate to shoot the ?3? either, so we?ve got to get back and get wide.?
Arkansas State shot pretty well from the perimeter, too, in the first meeting in Denton. ASU?s Jerry Nichols scored what was then a career-high 21, hitting 7-of-10 from the field, including 6-of-8 shots from 3-point range.
As a team, the Indians were 9-of-17 on 3-pointers.
The Indians enter this evening?s game with some restored confidence after winning their last two games of the season. ASU had lost five straight to fall from first place to fourth in the East Division of the Sun Belt.
But an 86-80 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette coupled with a 90-76 win over New Mexico State has the Indians eager be back on the court playing.
They also have a few things they want to clarify about their finish in the conference standings.
?We?re out to prove everybody wrong, that we really are a good basketball team,? ASU?s Dewarick Spencer said. ?We?re coming in with that fire and intensity that we had before. Nothing has changed in our attitude, but we?re getting better and we?re healthy. Things are starting to look up for us.?
Much like Arkansas State, North Texas has had its ups and downs in a season of uncertainty. The Mean Green struggled midway through the season, losing five of seven Sun Belt games, including three at home.
But to its credit, UNT has won at New Orleans and at Florida International ? venues where Arkansas State was beaten. The Mean Green also beat Denver at home 68-66.
Denver, which won the Sun Belt?s West Division and owns the best conference record at 12-3, demolished ASU in their only meeting 95-78.
The winner of this evening?s game earns a date with the Pioneers (18-9) Saturday night at 8.
After nearly a week to prepare his team for North Texas, Nutt believes the Indians have a lot more gas left in their tank.
?Our attitude is the best it?s been all year long,? Nutt said. ?We?ve had outstanding practices. I would be very surprised if we didn?t play very well. Their energy level and focus is at the highest level I have ever seen. This is not a team that is ready to hang it up.?
Arkansas State has been to the Sun Belt Tournament finals just once in 12 years since joining the league. Since 1981, ASU has played in three different conferences and made its conference tournament finals just twice.
UNT is led by a pair of guards in senior Leonard Hopkins and sophomore Calvin Watson. Hopkins, a second-team All-Sun Belt selection, averages 17.9 points a game, while Watson is averaging 11.4 points.
?They will get up and down the floor and they like to shoot the ?3?,? Nutt said. ?They play on momentum. They try to get things going in their favor. When we played there we were fortunate enough to take them out of some of the things they wanted to do, and we?ve got to do that again.?
Against ASU in January, Hopkins scored 17, but was 0-for-4 from 3-point range. Watson had 20, including four 3-pointers, while junior post Jeffrey Simpson had 16 points and 9 boards.
Nutt wouldn?t say whether Spencer or Montgomery would guard Hopkins, but said both did well in the first meeting. Montgomery said the Indians are overflowing with confidence after winning two straight.
?We could have been playing that way all year,? Montgomery added. ?Now that we?ve got Marcus back in the lineup, the ball movement on offense is great and the intensity on defense is up. We?re playing as a family right now. We know we can go out there and do it.?
For Nutt, his future as head coach at Arkansas State remains in doubt.
Nutt has a career record of 149-136 in 10 years at ASU. He began this season in the final year of a long-term contract after the school declined to offer an extension last spring.
Keeping the Indians concerned about happenings on the court ? not off ? is his top priority with ASU?s season on the line.
?This is a fun time of year,? Nutt said. ?But there is a lot riding on this tournament for me, for our program and for our team and I don?t want to approach it any other way. I?m trying my best not to put any unnecessary pressure on our basketball team. This is a business trip for us and the most intense, most focused team is going to win.?
