JONESBORO -- Two of the Sun Belt Conference's best meet tonight at the Convocation Center, a rather surprising development considering the opinions of league coaches three months ago.
Arkansas State, a fourth-place preseason Sun Belt pick, and UALR, picked fifth, have surged to the top of the standings through the first two weekends. The teams have done it in different ways, though.
The Trojans (15-1, 5-0 Sun Belt) have jumped out to the Sun Belt lead utilizing a nine-man rotation, with each player averaging more than 16 minutes per game entering today's 7:30 p.m. game at the Convocation Center.
The Red Wolves (8-8, 4-1), who had a five-game winning streak end with a loss Saturday to Appalachian State, have relied on four players -- forward Anthony Livingston and guards Devin Carter, Sean Gardner and Donte Thomas -- average more than 30 minutes per game.
Neither rotation was planned -- ASU has had three players leave the team since October and another undergo season-ending surgery -- and first-year UALR Coach Chris Beard said he isn't sure how pertinent it will be in a "one-night, one-game" situation.
But it helps explain how the Trojans, 13-18 in Steve Shields' final season a year ago, have reached this point.
"It's kind of become the identity of our team," Beard said. "It's really unique, and the players deserve the credit. It's been really competitive."
Beard has used the same starting five -- guards Josh Hagins, Kemy Osse, Jermaine Ruttley and forwards Maurius Hill and Lis Shoshi -- in 15 of 16 games this season, including all five Sun Belt games. Beard has inserted his first sub no longer than four minutes into all five Sun Belt games to activate a bench that has averaged 37.4 points per game (53.8 percent of its scoring average) .
"We hope it's something that's going to pay off as the season goes along," Beard said.
Tonight, however, UALR faces an opponent that has played better since having its rotation cut down.
The squad took a hit when senior guard Cameron Golden was dismissed in October after an arrest on aggravated robbery and drug charges. Guard PJ Hardwick left the team last month, and forward Kelvin Downs was ruled academically ineligible.
The Red Wolves have played well since those departures, though, posting a 6-2 record since Hardwick's departure.
The four players who see the most minutes scored 70 of ASU's 72 points in Saturday's loss, led by Livingston's 29 points and 15 rebounds in Saturday's loss and Carter, who had 20 points Saturday and is averaging 18.2 points in Sun Belt games.
ASU Coach John Brady said he didn't think the Saturday-Monday turnaround was advantageous to his team, which essentially used six players Saturday night. Brady said forward Charles Waters was limited to four minutes Saturday after being ill all week. Forward Nouhoum Bocoum played five minutes.
But Brady said after Saturday's loss he'd tell his players to "flush" the loss, with a chance looming to pull back into a tie for first place in the standings.
"It's going to be a mental thing to turn around and play against a team that's playing with a whole lot of confidence," Brady said. "We've got a big challenge on Monday night and we'll see how we respond and how we handle it."
UALR's returners concern Brady most, pointing out forward Roger Woods and guard Josh Hagins, who scored 28 points in UALR's victory at ASU last year. But Brady said he's been impressed by the melding of newcomers.
"The chemistry is right," Brady said.
Tonight's game starts a week of games that could produce separation in the Sun Belt standings. ASU will play at Texas-Arlington, 4-1 in Sun Belt games, on Thursday and UALR will play in Arlington on Saturday. The three teams are separated by one conference loss.
"I think we talk all the time about our team improving every day, you continue to learn about your team," Beard said. "With each situation, you have an opportunity to get better and learn about your team."
Sports on 01/18/2016