LAFAYETTE, La. ? Arkansas State will be tested from one end of the floor to the other this afternoon at a place it hasn?t graded well.
Arkansas State visits Louisiana-Lafayette as it begins its first Sun Belt Conference road swing of the season against a team that plays full-court basketball with a pressing defense and fast-past offense.
Tipoff at the Cajundome is 4:05 p.m.
True to their recent tradition under present coach Robert Lee and previous coach Jessie Evans, the Ragin? Cajuns will try to force tempo mostly by throwing heavy full-court pressure on the Indians. For Arkansas State, which had senior point guard Jim Jones return to the team last week, there could never be a better time to finally be at full strength.
?They are going to run and shoot and they rely a lot on momentum,? ASU coach Dickey Nutt said of Louisiana-Lafayette. ?They will press you full-court the whole game. We have to use our strengths, and our strength is our depth. We?ve got to play smart.?
With Jones helping out at the point guard in his first game back since serving a suspension for an undisclosed violation of team rules, the Indians turned the ball over just five times in an 81-66 victory over Denver Thursday night at the Convocation Center. The five turnovers were an arena record.
None of ASU?s point guards ? Jones, Ryan Wedel or Yual Banks ? committed a turnover in the victory.
Considering the amount of pressure Arkansas State (6-7 overall, 1-0 Sun Belt) will face today, Nutt knows the Indians will have to take care of the ball in similar fashion.
?I was very pleased the way we handled the ball last game,? Nutt said. ?I can live with 10, 11, 12 or less turnovers a game. If we can continue to handle the ball like that on the road, I think we?ll have a chance to win. We know we are going to face a lot of pressure from them.?
Louisiana-Lafayette (2-7, 0-1) has lost seven of its last eight games, including an 80-76 defeat to open Sun Belt play at New Orleans Thursday night.
The Ragin? Cajuns are similar to Arkansas State in that they have almost an entirely new and inexperienced team. ULL has nine newcomers and has mixed and matched its starting lineup throughout its first nine games as it searches for the right combination.
Only senior Ross Mouton and junior transfer David Dees have started all nine games for the Cajuns, and there?s a good reason why.
Dees leads ULL with an average of 21.1 points game, while Mouton is averaging 19.7 points and is the team?s leading 3-point shooter. Dees, who Nutt said he tried to talk into coming to Arkansas State, sat out last season after earning Big South Freshman of the Year honors and then averaging 16.2 points a game as a sophomore at Liberty University.
Combined, Dees and Mouton are providing nearly two-thirds of the Ragin? Cajuns offense thus far this season.
?We?ve got to know where they are at and make sure we are aware of where they are at all times,? Nutt said. ?We have to do things a little bit different defensively to make sure that they don?t have open looks. You can?t leave them alone, you can?t help on others and you can?t bluff and recover. We?ll also have to mix up the defenses.?
Arkansas State continues to receive unthinkable production from junior guard Adrian Banks.
A relatively unknown transfer from Northwest Mississippi Community College, Banks poured in 22 second-half points, including six 3-pointers, in ASU?s victory over Denver. Banks is averaging 21.4 points a game while shooting 55.7 percent (39-of-70) from the perimeter.
While this will be the first conference road trip for many of the Indians, Banks said they are heading into the game confident after rallying past Denver. ASU has lost four straight road games and is just 1-7 on the season away from home.
?I know if we don?t come out and bring our ?A? game that it?s going to be tough,? Banks said. ?I know with it being on the road it?s going to be tough. We won?t have the support like we have had on our home court to help us in the second half like we did against Denver, so I think it?s going to be real hard but I?m confident in my team.?
The Cajundome has been a very tough place for Arkansas State in recent years.
ASU is just 1-8 at Louisiana-Lafayette under Nutt and has lost its last three games on ULL?s home floor.
The last and only time Arkansas State beat the Ragin? Cajuns at the Cajundome during Nutt?s tenure was 2001 when the Indians pulled out an 82-80 victory. Louisiana-Lafayette leads the all-time series 34-20.
?It?s a tough place to win and you can ask anybody in the league and they?ll tell you the same thing,? Nutt said. ?Very few people have success going in there. We feel very confident right now that we can do it. It?s going to take a 40-minute perfect game, and we?ve got to shoot our free throws well.?
ASU will stick with its same starting lineup it used against Denver with Jones coming off the bench. Jones played 19 minutes and had three assists, a steal and four points against the Pioneers.
Banks and Wedel were the key with 24 points and 20 points, respectively, while junior forward Isaac Wells scored 17. ASU shot a season-high 58.3 percent from 3-point range against Denver, hitting 14-of-24 from beyond the arc.
Most of the Indians? perimeter shooting came from Banks and Wedel, who were a combined 12-of-16 from behind the arc.
Banks attributed his outburst against Denver to changing his pair of shoes at halftime after scoring just two points in the first half. Superstitious or not, Banks said he?s sticking with that same pair of shoes and will be wearing them when the Indians tip off at UL Lafayette.
?I?m going to wear the shoes that I wore the second half,? Banks said and laughed. ?I?m going to start the game off with them. I?m not taking any chances this time.?
Arkansas State visits Louisiana-Lafayette as it begins its first Sun Belt Conference road swing of the season against a team that plays full-court basketball with a pressing defense and fast-past offense.
Tipoff at the Cajundome is 4:05 p.m.
True to their recent tradition under present coach Robert Lee and previous coach Jessie Evans, the Ragin? Cajuns will try to force tempo mostly by throwing heavy full-court pressure on the Indians. For Arkansas State, which had senior point guard Jim Jones return to the team last week, there could never be a better time to finally be at full strength.
?They are going to run and shoot and they rely a lot on momentum,? ASU coach Dickey Nutt said of Louisiana-Lafayette. ?They will press you full-court the whole game. We have to use our strengths, and our strength is our depth. We?ve got to play smart.?
With Jones helping out at the point guard in his first game back since serving a suspension for an undisclosed violation of team rules, the Indians turned the ball over just five times in an 81-66 victory over Denver Thursday night at the Convocation Center. The five turnovers were an arena record.
None of ASU?s point guards ? Jones, Ryan Wedel or Yual Banks ? committed a turnover in the victory.
Considering the amount of pressure Arkansas State (6-7 overall, 1-0 Sun Belt) will face today, Nutt knows the Indians will have to take care of the ball in similar fashion.
?I was very pleased the way we handled the ball last game,? Nutt said. ?I can live with 10, 11, 12 or less turnovers a game. If we can continue to handle the ball like that on the road, I think we?ll have a chance to win. We know we are going to face a lot of pressure from them.?
Louisiana-Lafayette (2-7, 0-1) has lost seven of its last eight games, including an 80-76 defeat to open Sun Belt play at New Orleans Thursday night.
The Ragin? Cajuns are similar to Arkansas State in that they have almost an entirely new and inexperienced team. ULL has nine newcomers and has mixed and matched its starting lineup throughout its first nine games as it searches for the right combination.
Only senior Ross Mouton and junior transfer David Dees have started all nine games for the Cajuns, and there?s a good reason why.
Dees leads ULL with an average of 21.1 points game, while Mouton is averaging 19.7 points and is the team?s leading 3-point shooter. Dees, who Nutt said he tried to talk into coming to Arkansas State, sat out last season after earning Big South Freshman of the Year honors and then averaging 16.2 points a game as a sophomore at Liberty University.
Combined, Dees and Mouton are providing nearly two-thirds of the Ragin? Cajuns offense thus far this season.
?We?ve got to know where they are at and make sure we are aware of where they are at all times,? Nutt said. ?We have to do things a little bit different defensively to make sure that they don?t have open looks. You can?t leave them alone, you can?t help on others and you can?t bluff and recover. We?ll also have to mix up the defenses.?
Arkansas State continues to receive unthinkable production from junior guard Adrian Banks.
A relatively unknown transfer from Northwest Mississippi Community College, Banks poured in 22 second-half points, including six 3-pointers, in ASU?s victory over Denver. Banks is averaging 21.4 points a game while shooting 55.7 percent (39-of-70) from the perimeter.
While this will be the first conference road trip for many of the Indians, Banks said they are heading into the game confident after rallying past Denver. ASU has lost four straight road games and is just 1-7 on the season away from home.
?I know if we don?t come out and bring our ?A? game that it?s going to be tough,? Banks said. ?I know with it being on the road it?s going to be tough. We won?t have the support like we have had on our home court to help us in the second half like we did against Denver, so I think it?s going to be real hard but I?m confident in my team.?
The Cajundome has been a very tough place for Arkansas State in recent years.
ASU is just 1-8 at Louisiana-Lafayette under Nutt and has lost its last three games on ULL?s home floor.
The last and only time Arkansas State beat the Ragin? Cajuns at the Cajundome during Nutt?s tenure was 2001 when the Indians pulled out an 82-80 victory. Louisiana-Lafayette leads the all-time series 34-20.
?It?s a tough place to win and you can ask anybody in the league and they?ll tell you the same thing,? Nutt said. ?Very few people have success going in there. We feel very confident right now that we can do it. It?s going to take a 40-minute perfect game, and we?ve got to shoot our free throws well.?
ASU will stick with its same starting lineup it used against Denver with Jones coming off the bench. Jones played 19 minutes and had three assists, a steal and four points against the Pioneers.
Banks and Wedel were the key with 24 points and 20 points, respectively, while junior forward Isaac Wells scored 17. ASU shot a season-high 58.3 percent from 3-point range against Denver, hitting 14-of-24 from beyond the arc.
Most of the Indians? perimeter shooting came from Banks and Wedel, who were a combined 12-of-16 from behind the arc.
Banks attributed his outburst against Denver to changing his pair of shoes at halftime after scoring just two points in the first half. Superstitious or not, Banks said he?s sticking with that same pair of shoes and will be wearing them when the Indians tip off at UL Lafayette.
?I?m going to wear the shoes that I wore the second half,? Banks said and laughed. ?I?m going to start the game off with them. I?m not taking any chances this time.?
