The spirit and toughness that highlighted Arkansas State’s win over Texas State vanished against Louisiana.

“Nothing. Not a thing,” said Coach Bryan Hodgson after a micro-second’s hesitation. It was his blunt answer to my question, “Is there anything positive you can take away from today’s game?” after the 84-77 loss to Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns. He went on to qualify his answer by listing a number of metrics where the Red Wolves fell short, but it wasn’t necessary. Hodgson was not pleased. And neither was his three-point specialist Avery Felts, slumped crestfallen next his coach at the post game presser.

“It was embarrassing,” said Felts, addressing the team’s missing energy. Embarrassing is a strong word, but the contrast between the enthusiasm shown Thursday night against Texas State (resulting in an 85-82) and the listlessness on display Saturday afternoon was jarring. Even the crowd of 2,600 at F’N Bank Arena seemed infected by the malaise, unable to summon the effort necessary to sustain a cheer lasting longer than the duration of an alley oop.

Give the Cajuns credit for taking the Red Wolves out of their game. Boasting one of the nation’s better perimeter defenses, Louisiana limited Arkansas State to just five made three-throws. The Red Wolves found it just as difficult in the paint, with the Cajuns’ 6’8″ 240-lb power forward Hosana Kitenge becoming an immovable and unstoppable object. Red Wolves fearless point guard Caleb Fields opened the game with slashes to the rim, putting up 15 points. The Bobcats used Kitnege and 6’9″ forward Joe Charles to close off the attack, reducing Fields to just 4 more points in the second half.

On Thursday, the interior woes were nearly the same story against Texas State’s Brandon Love, a rangy 6’9″ forward who scored 19 first half points. Against Love, the Red Wolves made the adjustment, holding the opposing forward scoreless in the second half. Kitenge, on the other hand, only grew stronger, scoring 15 of his 25 in the second half for the Cajuns. Whatever worked for Love was rendered powerless against the heavier Kitenge.

It was rumored that the Red Wolves were battling the trademark viral illnesses common to this time of year, and that it contributed to the on court performance on Saturday. If so, Coach Hodgson dismissed it (“everybody is sick”). Coach Hodgson did mention the Cajun’s win/loss record, which stands now at 2-3 with losses to the Sun Belt’s best – Troy, JMU and Marshall. While he was likely softening the blow of the loss, it was revealed that while these Red Wolves are immensely talented, they still have work remaining to become a top tier team.

When infused with the proper level of electrolytes, the Red Wolves are a hard-scrapping, fast-shooting, rhythm-driven team that could use a larger physical presence in the middle. The difference between a good team and a great team might just be 20 pounds.

What do we make of this 3-2 Red Wolves team? They’ve shown us that, at home, they can beat the teams they’re supposed to beat. We’ve seen Izaiyah Nelson and Dyondre Dominguez emerge as stars. We’ve witnessed Caleb Fields, now in his final year in Jonesboro, elevate his game to a new level. We’ve enjoyed record setting points and three-pointer performances. And in this four game home stand, we’ve seen it with only a cameo appearance from Freddy Hicks – who should be a full-go by Thursday’s game with the Golden Eagles.

Despite Saturday’s showing, there’s no reason to believe that this Red Wolves’ team is incapable of terrific basketball. The Red Wolves hop on the bus this week to take on Southern Miss (3-2) and Texas State (1-4). The road has not been kind to the Sun Belt, but as Appalachian State and Louisiana demonstrated on Saturday, victory can be achieved.

PHOTO IS MINE