After a four-game home stretch that resulted in four double-digit victories, Arkansas State is packing their gym shorts and toothbrushes for a road swing that eventually ends in Kent, Ohio, where the Red Wolves will meet the Golden Flashes for Part 2 of the 2025 Sun Belt / MAC challenge.

This week, on an odd Wednesday night no less, Arkansas State pays the annual visit to Southern Miss, where it will meet a program that is 1-9 on the road and 8-1 in Hattiesburg. Perhaps the rims are wider in Reed Green Coliseum. Maybe the girls are green and the grass is prettier. I don’t know. I do know that Denijay Harris, the former Golden Eagle turned Razorback returned Golden Eagle is pretty damn good, averaging a double-double 16 points and eleven rebounds. The 6’7″ forward has only been playing college basketball since 2019, so he should know his way around the court.

Harris isn’t alone. Neftali Alvarez, Cobie Montgomery and Andre Curbelo (all guards) are good for a combined 30 points per game. Curbelo, a 6’0″ senior transfer from Illinois/St. Johns and former Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year, has the skills to take over a game when called upon.

Scoring isn’t the big issue for Southern Miss; allowing the opposition to score points is the issue. The Golden Eagles surrender 74 a game while coughing up three more turnovers than the team creates. They’re prone to giving up three pointers, which will likely provoke Bryan Hodgson to declare a three-point war in Hattiesburg.

Saturday, the stakes elevate somewhat when Arkansas State teleports to San Marcos for round two with the Bobcats. Don’t be completely fooled by the 80-65 beating the Bobcats endured in Jonesboro. Like the Golden Eagles, Texas State is a far better team on its home court; 7-1 with wins over Princeton, Ohio, East Michigan and Troy. The Red Wolves will have to contend with 6’6″ senior Tylan Pope, who amounted 19 points and 5 boards in the loss to Arkansas State. Additionally, the Red Wolves may want to put a cork in senior guard Joshua O’Garro, who averages less than 10 a game but torched Arkansas State for 21 points and 13 rebounds.

Head coach Terrence Johnson appears to be in search of the secret sauce in San Marcos. With an overall 12-9 (5-4 in conference) record, the Bobcats are lurking in the middle of the Sun Belt pack. A win over first place Arkansas State could trigger a run for Texas State, who certainly have the talent to bending Sun Belt Entropy to its favor, should Johnson wish to threaten the universe and court chaos and mayhem.

In the meantime, the Red Wolves are cruising – and finding additional weapons in its already considerable arsenal. Junior guard Derrian Ford, statistically ghostly since the non-con, rediscovered his three-stroke against the Bobcats last Saturday, drilling four. Since returning from an injury sustained against UAB, forward Kobe Julian has averaged 12 points a game in limited minutes, leading the Red Wolves in points for two of the team’s last five games.

With Zay Nelson and Rashaud Marshall patrolling the paint, and Joesph Pinion and Taryn Todd popping jumpers, opponents have had a difficult time finding a counter to the Red Wolves’ variety and depth. The only way this team can lose is if it loses focus.

PHOTO CREDIT Carla Wehmeyer – Arkansas State