? Arkansas State coach Dickey Nutt still believes his Indians are very close to being a good basketball team. Right now, however, in the midst of a 3-game losing streak, Arkansas State is just trying to survive.
?It?s very difficult when you lose,? said Nutt, who?s team carries a 4-7 record into tonight?s road game against Missouri State. ?That?s the toughest thing to do as a coach and a staff is to keep the morale going and keep the belief in your basketball team. Losing creates a lot of doubt, creates a lot of insecurities, and the thing that we?ve got to do is be stronger and mentally tough and trying to survive the trying times. If we do that, we?ll be OK.?
It doesn?t get any easier tonight for the Indians, who have already lost to Missouri State 97-80 at the Convocation Center.
In that game, ASU led the Bears 46-36 at halftime and were outscored 61-34 in the second half. Missouri State shot 19-of-28 from the field in the second half.
?We can?t allow them to have open looks,? Nutt said. ?They?re a phenomenal shooting team. All of their guys can shoot the ?3.? When you have a team like that, it poses a lot of threats. We?ve got to make sure that defensive transition is the single-most important thing that we do.?
Missouri State (6-1) recently had its 6-game winning streak to open the season snapped at Arkansas 79-75. Tipoff is 7:05 p.m. at the Hammons Student Center.
?I tell you, they have really emerged as one of the top teams in the country,? Nutt said. ?They went over to Arkansas and had a chance to win that game. We knew they were very good. One of their power rankings had them high as six, up there with UConn and some of those people. They?re a very good basketball team.?
ASU, which has lost its last three games to Lamar, Georgia Southern and Ole Miss, could be without some of its top players tonight as the Indians are battling injuries and sickness.
Senior starting point guard Dereke Tipler didn?t practice on Tuesday because of tendinitis in his knee and was listed as questionable. Senior forward Kitus Witherspoon also didn?t practice Tuesday as he was battling a bad back.
Senior guard Lorenzo Hampton didn?t play against Ole Miss because of an illness and Nutt said unless he gets well real quick, he won?t play tonight either. Junior swingman Korrel Henderson continues to be bothered by a foot injury.
?We?re really struggling with trying to get everybody healthy,? Nutt said. ?Even when we?re healthy, we?re not as good as we need to be. We?ve got to try and find a way to win.?
If Tipler is unable to go, Nutt said the Indians might look at Yual Banks, Jim Jones or Brandon Ballard at the point position.
?We just need the bodies. We need our health,? Nutt said. ?Like I told our guys, we?re in a grinding part of our non-conference schedule right now. It hasn?t gone exactly the way we want it to go, but hopefully we can get our health back good.
?We still feel like we?re very, very close to having a good team. We just haven?t been able to play for 40 minutes. We?ve got to be able to put two halves together.?
Specifically, Nutt said the Indians have to clamp down more defensively. ASU has given up an average of 86 points in its last three games.
?Offensively is really not our problem,? Nutt said. ?Defensively is where we?ve got to do a better job of making sure things happen.?
?It?s very difficult when you lose,? said Nutt, who?s team carries a 4-7 record into tonight?s road game against Missouri State. ?That?s the toughest thing to do as a coach and a staff is to keep the morale going and keep the belief in your basketball team. Losing creates a lot of doubt, creates a lot of insecurities, and the thing that we?ve got to do is be stronger and mentally tough and trying to survive the trying times. If we do that, we?ll be OK.?
It doesn?t get any easier tonight for the Indians, who have already lost to Missouri State 97-80 at the Convocation Center.
In that game, ASU led the Bears 46-36 at halftime and were outscored 61-34 in the second half. Missouri State shot 19-of-28 from the field in the second half.
?We can?t allow them to have open looks,? Nutt said. ?They?re a phenomenal shooting team. All of their guys can shoot the ?3.? When you have a team like that, it poses a lot of threats. We?ve got to make sure that defensive transition is the single-most important thing that we do.?
Missouri State (6-1) recently had its 6-game winning streak to open the season snapped at Arkansas 79-75. Tipoff is 7:05 p.m. at the Hammons Student Center.
?I tell you, they have really emerged as one of the top teams in the country,? Nutt said. ?They went over to Arkansas and had a chance to win that game. We knew they were very good. One of their power rankings had them high as six, up there with UConn and some of those people. They?re a very good basketball team.?
ASU, which has lost its last three games to Lamar, Georgia Southern and Ole Miss, could be without some of its top players tonight as the Indians are battling injuries and sickness.
Senior starting point guard Dereke Tipler didn?t practice on Tuesday because of tendinitis in his knee and was listed as questionable. Senior forward Kitus Witherspoon also didn?t practice Tuesday as he was battling a bad back.
Senior guard Lorenzo Hampton didn?t play against Ole Miss because of an illness and Nutt said unless he gets well real quick, he won?t play tonight either. Junior swingman Korrel Henderson continues to be bothered by a foot injury.
?We?re really struggling with trying to get everybody healthy,? Nutt said. ?Even when we?re healthy, we?re not as good as we need to be. We?ve got to try and find a way to win.?
If Tipler is unable to go, Nutt said the Indians might look at Yual Banks, Jim Jones or Brandon Ballard at the point position.
?We just need the bodies. We need our health,? Nutt said. ?Like I told our guys, we?re in a grinding part of our non-conference schedule right now. It hasn?t gone exactly the way we want it to go, but hopefully we can get our health back good.
?We still feel like we?re very, very close to having a good team. We just haven?t been able to play for 40 minutes. We?ve got to be able to put two halves together.?
Specifically, Nutt said the Indians have to clamp down more defensively. ASU has given up an average of 86 points in its last three games.
?Offensively is really not our problem,? Nutt said. ?Defensively is where we?ve got to do a better job of making sure things happen.?
