Jeff Reed: 28-0 in the Sun Belt Conference Not Shabby

 

Jeff Reed Author PageThose clever boys over at Astatenation.com had an interesting tweet Saturday night that created a buzz among the Red Wolves faithful.

Not long after Arkansas State’s basketball teams impressively swept South Alabama, to both improve to 2-0 on the Sun Belt Conference season, the website shared with the world a pretty impressive conference record for several teams in Jonesboro.

The tweet said the Red Wolves’ football, volleyball and basketball teams are a combined 28-0 in Sun Belt Conference play this season.

Football and volleyball were both undefeated league champions and basketball is just starting so the likelihood of the hoops units duplicating their fall sports comrades is not likely. But it is a good straight, right?

And before we go any further, we will note that we left out the Red Wolves’ soccer team. In transition and under first-year head coach Brian Dooley, A-State posted a 1-7-1 Sun Belt record that included two overtime losses and three other setbacks by a goal.

So the record so far this year is 28-7-1. Still pretty impressive.

But now back to the 28-0.

The fact that the A-State women’s team, Sun Belt Conference champions two years ago and runner-up last season, are 2-0 in not a surprise. With two-time player of the year Aundrea Gamble back along with a strong senior class, the Red Wolves were expected to be strong. Sun Belt Conference tourney finalists the last two seasons, they were the preseason pick to win the league

And with an 8-3 overall record (all the losses by a total 11 points) and only 3 home games Brian Boyer’s team is about where expected. And while the conference is stronger this season, A-State is likely to remain among the contenders.

Even though they were the preseason pick for fourth in the league, it hasn’t been a smooth or easy start to the season for John Brady’s team.

A bizarre non-conference that had them going from coast -to-coast, left the sub-.500 going into league play.

And after the first home game Brady announced this was his last season in Jonesboro and would not seek another contract.

Along the way, and prior to, there have been players removed from the team for numerous reasons and the playing roster is down to 10, and one of those is struggling with knee issues.

So when A-State went to Alabama last week and knocked off Troy and USA for the perfect start you could almost hear Gomer Pyle somewhere claiming “Surprise, surprise, surprise!”

Brady has been saying all along that this team had talent, and he does have three all-conference level players in Anthony Livingston, Devin Carter and Donte Thomas, all juniors.

We know the streak will end, but if Brady’s team can get through this week unscathed we could be setting up an interesting match-up on Jan. 18 when UALR, or Little Rock, comes to town.

That could be real fun.

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Jeff Reed is editor at Astatenation.com

sun belt conference record

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