UALR, ASU need four wins in four days

One team saw it coming, for the other it came virtually out of nowhere.

No matter how it happened, the task for the Arkansas State and UALR men’s basketball teams is the same — win four games in four days to snag the Sun Belt Conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Fifth- seeded Arkansas State University and 10th-seeded University of Arkansas at Little Rock both play in the Sun Belt Tournament today at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans.

The Red Wolves (20-11) play No. 12 seed Louisiana-Monroe at 2 p.m., and the Trojans (15-16) will play No. 7 Louisiana-Lafayette at 5 p.m.

ASU went from being a No. 2 seed to No. 5 after losing to South Alabama on a last-second three-pointer Saturday night in Mobile.

“I don’t think anybody anticipated this being our scenario,” ASU Coach Grant McCasland said.

UALR has had an inkling for weeks that it would be playing on the first day in the 12-team tournament.

But ASU, which started 9-2 in the Sun Belt before losing five of its last seven games, was among the league’s contenders until the final week.

The Red Wolves entered the final day of the regular reason with a chance for the No. 2 seed, which would have earned them a first-round bye and extra day’s rest.

Instead, ASU lost on a last- second three and

found itself tangled in a three-way tie for third place with Texas State and Georgia Southern.

ASU lost to both of those teams in the regular season, meaning it fell to the No. 5 seed.

McCasland, ASU’s firstyear coach, said he has liked how his team has responded from stumbles this season en route to tying the program mark for most regular-season victories.

Three other times this season ASU has lost consecutive games, but each time has won to prevent the losing streak from getting to three games.

McCasland has lost three games in a row only once in eight seasons as a head coach at the junior college, Division II and Division I levels.

“We’ve always responded all year long,” he said. “Everybody got a chance to air out some things and maybe if you don’t do it that way then you’re not able to play well in the tournament.”

The Trojans have been outside the top four — and a first-round bye — since losing three of their first four conference games.

But Coach Wes Flanigan said he thinks his Trojans, falling short of duplicating last season’s program-best success, have finally started playing quality basketball, winning back-to-back games against Georgia Southern and South Alabama before losing to Troy last Saturday.

The common thread in the final three games is a level of defense that Flanigan said hadn’t occurred most of the season. None of UALR’s final three opponents scored more than 57 points and all three shot under 42 percent from the floor, providing the Trojans’ shaky offense an opportunity.

“It’s a grind- it- out time of year, and that’s what it’s going to be every possession and that’s what we’re trying to get our guys to understand,” Flanigan said.

Louisiana- Lafayette, UALR’s first- round opponent, will challenge the Trojans’ improved defense more than almost anyone else could.

The Ragin’ Cajuns averaged 79.1 points and shot 46.1 percent against Sun Belt opponents. They were seemingly at their best against the Trojans, shooting 56.6 percent in a 69-52 victory Jan. 2 in Little Rock and 61.7 percent in an 88-82 victory on Jan. 28 in Lafayette, La.

But Flanigan noted that

the second of those losses came without forward Lis Shoshi, who was suffering with a toe injury. Shoshi is “nearing 100 percent,” Flanigan said, a progress that coincides with the Trojans’ improved defense.

“We’ve got to be physical,” Flanigan said. “That’s part of it with these guys.”

Physicality, McCasland said, is also a desire for his ASU team that faces the same reality.

“It’s win or go home for a lot of teams, especially at our level,” Flanigan said. “We’re not a team that’s going to get an at-large bid. I don’t know if anybody in our league will. So we’ve got to execute better than we have in the regular season and play our best basketball.”