Published: November 28, 2009 10:29 pm         

ISU men’s tough November ends with trip to Arkansas State

Indiana State’s punishing seven games-in-16 day stretch comes to an end with today’s trip to Arkansas State. It will be the fourth state ISU has played in the past two weeks.

Once the game with the Red Wolves (3-1) is played, ISU will have completed a quarter of its schedule. With a 4-2 start that includes an inspiring road victory at Western Kentucky on Tuesday and an equally puzzling blowout loss to Coastal Carolina on Monday, ISU wants to feel better about its intensity and its ability to generate it night in, night out.

“I want the same effort and the same intensity we had against Western Kentucky. I, and I hope my teammates, really want to win this game to show that [ISU’s win over WKU] wasn’t just a good for us and a bad day for them,” Marshall said.

Arkansas State dealt the Sycamores one of their harshest losses in last season’s 0-6 start. The Sycamores led by as much as 13, but blew the lead and lost 68-64 at Hulman Center. That alone should get the Sycamores’ attention, but McKenna stressed that every team should have ISU’s undivided attention.

“The rest of the teams on our schedule are all good teams. It’s not like we have this unbelievably talented team where we can overwhelm people, like a UConn or North Carolina. We have to play with a certain amount of tempo, a certain amount of toughness and unselfishness to be successful. If we don’t, we’re not just going to overwhelm people, in fact, we can underwhelm people,” McKenna said.

Donald Boone led the Red Wolves with 26 points in that game, but won’t play today as he suffered a season-ending knee injury in Arkansas State’s season-opener.

“They’re really trying to work on execution and defense, their field goal percentage defense [42.9 percent] is good. It’s going to be a grind-it-out game and those teams are usually hard to beat on the road,” McKenna said.

Marshall missed practice on Thanksgiving Day and on Friday and had a boot on his left foot. Marshall said it was a precaution and he plans to play today.

“I just have a little pain in my foot right now. I’m just taking it easy,” said Marshall, who said his foot will be checked out on Tuesday.

ISU forward Carl Richard, who missed both Preseason NIT games at Western Kentucky with a sore left shoulder, returned to practice this week and should be available today.

After the matchup with the Red Wolves, ISU will have an unusual 10-day gap in its schedule without a game as it resumes play on Dec. 9 at home against Ball State. The Sycamores will have another five-day break for exams the following week.



ISU at Arkansas State

Tipoff — 3:05 p.m. Convocation Center, Jonesboro, Ark.

Broadcasts — Radio: WSDM (92.7-FM). Live blog: blogs.tribstar.com/downinthevalley

Last time out — ISU defeated Western Kentucky 64-63 on Tuesday. Arkansas State defeated Tennessee-Martin 80-66 on Wednesday.

Series — ISU leads 1-1. ASU won 56-54 at Hulman Center last season. ISU's last win was in 1949.



The players

Indiana State Sycamores (4-2) — G Harry Marshall (6-0, Sr., 10.2 ppg, 4 rpg); G Rashad Reed (6-1, Sr., 8.7 ppg); G Jake Kelly (6-6, Jr., 10.7); G-F Dwayne Lathan (6-3, So., 14.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg); and C Brant Leitnaker (6-10, Jr., 3.7) are possible starters. G-F Aaron Carter (6-4, Jr., 6.2); F Carl Richard (6-5, So., 2.8); F Koang Doluony (6-8, Fr., 3.7); G Jordan Printy (6-4, So., 4.7); C Josh Crawford (6-11, Sr., 4 ppg) and C Isiah Martin (6-8, Jr., 2.4) are key contributors off the bench.

Coach — Kevin McKenna (29-38 at ISU, 3rd year; 118-71 overall, 7th year).

Arkansas State Red Wolves (3-1) — G Brandon Reed (6-3, Fr., 14 ppg); F Martavius Adams (6-8, So., 10 ppg, 4.5 rpg); F Brandon Peterson (6-7, Fr., 9.3 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 3.5 bpg); G Trey Finn (6-2, Fr., 6.7 ppg, 7.7 rpg) and F JeJuan Brown (6-7, Sr., 6.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg) are possible starters. G Daniel Bryant (5-10, So., 14.8) and G Rashad Allison (6-1, Fr., 6 ppg) are key contributors off the bench.

Coach — John Brady (16-18 at ASU, 2nd year; 297-235 overall, 19th year).

Injuries — For ISU, F Carl Richard (shoulder) and G Harry Marshall (foot) are questionable. For ASU, G Donald Boone (knee) is out.



Keys to the game

• Which ISU will show up? The inspired team that beat WKU on its home floor or the uninspired team that got dropped by Coastal Carolina? Every time the Sycamores need a reminder that they need to maintain focus, they should utter the word, "Chanticleers" and get a quick reminder as to what can happen when they take a game for granted.

• ISU needs to work on its assist-to-turnover ratio. Right now, the Sycamores have 49 assists to 80 turnovers. For a team with the kind of guards ISU has, that’s a hard number to figure.

Tidbit — ASU coach John Brady is the only coach ISU will face this season who has coached in the Final Four. Brady coached LSU to the 2006 Final Four.

Next games — ISU plays host to Ball State on Dec. 9. Arkansas State plays host to Mississippi on Wednesday.

— Todd Golden