Dukes Host Red Wolves in Key Sun Belt Clash

James Madison Dukes (8-6, 1-1 SBC) vs. Arkansas State Red Wolves (11-3, 2-0 SBC)
Jan. 4, 2025 – 4 p.m. ET
Harrisonburg, Va. – Atlantic Union Bank Center

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DUKES HOST RED WOLVES IN KEY SUN BELT CLASH

James Madison and Arkansas State are set to clash on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. at the Atlantic Union Bank Center in a rematch of the 2024 Sun Belt Championship.
Along with being a title rematch, the Red Wolves and Dukes were picked to finish first and second in the preseason Sun Belt Coaches Poll. Arkansas State picked up 12 first-place votes while JMU received one.
Tip-off inside the Atlantic Union Bank Center is set for 4 p.m. and will broadcast on ESPN+ with Curt Dudley, Kirby Dean, and Cece Evans. Dave Riggert will broadcast the game on 92.1 FM (WSVA) and on the Varsity Network App, with coverage beginning at 3:30 p.m.
Both teams secured victories on Thursday, as JMU (8-6) took down Southern Miss 83-72 to improve to 1-1 in Sun Belt play and Arkansas State dispatched Old Dominion 78-59 in Norfolk to move to 11-3 overall and 2-0 in league play.
JMU Coach Preston Spradlin is 1-0 against Arkansas State, defeating the Red Wolves 75-51 on Nov. 26, 2021 while the head coach at Morehead State.

LAST TIME OUT

Redshirt senior Mark Freeman poured in 30 points to lead James Madison men's basketball past Southern Miss, 83-72, on Thursday evening inside the Atlantic Union Bank Center.
Freeman scored 22 of his 30 points in the second half and finished 9-of-16 from the field for his fourth career 30-point game.
The 30 points are the most by a JMU (8-6, 1-1 Sun Belt) player this season and the first Duke to eclipse 30 since Terrence Edwards Jr. scored 30 at Georgia State on Feb. 28, 2024.
Along with Freeman, three other Dukes scored in double figures: AJ Smith (13), Eddie Ricks III (11), and Xavier Brown (10).

JMU VERSUS ARKANSAS STATE

James Madison holds a 4-0 advantage in the all-time series against Arkansas State, including two wins as Sun Belt foes.
This will be A-State's first trip to Harrisonburg since Dec. 20, 1993 - where JMU won 83-67. Kent Culuko (25), Clayton Ritter (24), and Louis Rowe (18) scored as many points as Arkansas State's entire team (67).
Last season, JMU defeated A-State 77-73 on Feb. 7 in Jonesboro, Ark. Noah Freidel finished with a game-high 19 points while shooting 50 percent from the field (6-12), and Terrence Edwards Jr. added 14 points and was the only other Duke to reach double figures.
The two teams also met in the 2024 Sun Belt Championship in Penscacola, Fla., a game which saw Xavier Brown finish the game with career highs of 21 points, all in the first half, and 5-of-6 from three-point range while cleaning up the glass with a career-best 10 rebounds. Terrence Edwards Jr. turned in a big second half to finish with 19 points, while Jaylen Carey was a force off the bench, tallying 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Noah Freidel scored all of his 12 points in the second half to aid four double-figure scorers.

ABOUT ARKANSAS STATE

Arkansas State comes to Harrisonburg with 11-3 record, having won six in a row. The Red Wolves most recently knocked off Old Dominion in Norfolk on Thursday, 78-59.
Opening the season with a 80-75 OT win over Akron in the MAC-SBC Challenge, Arkansas State fell in their second game to then No. 2 Alabama, 88-79. The Red Wolves have only suffered back-to-back losses at the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship to Rice, 75-67, and Hofstra 68-66.
Arkansas State was picked first in the preseason Sun Belt coaches poll. Kobe Julien was named Player of the Year and to the First Team while guard Taryn Todd and forward Izaiyah Nelson were named to the second and third teams, respectively.
As a team, the Red Wolves are first in the Sun Belt in scoring offense (80.5 points/game) and rebounds (42.3/game) and second in margin (9.9), while holding opponents to 38.4% shooting from the floor.
Taryn Todd is leading the Red Wolves in scoring at 15.7 ppg. In December, Todd was named one of five USBWA Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week. He is A-State's first USBWA National Player of the Week in program history. He is tied for third in the league with 11 double-digit scoring outputs this year, including three over 20.

COOKIN' AT THE BANK

James Madison's 83-72 win over Southern Miss marked the 50th win for JMU since the opening of the Atlantic Union Bank Center ahead of the 2020-21 season. Since opening the arena, the Dukes are 50-15 (.769) at home and 6-1 this season, their only loss coming to George Mason (66-61) on Friday, Nov. 29.
In 2023-24, JMU finished 14-1 at home, its only loss coming to App State (59-55) on Jan. 13, 2024.
Against Sun Belt foes, the Dukes are 15-4 in home contests dating back to 2022-23. Their last loss at home to a Sun Belt opponent at home was to App State on Jan. 13, 2024.
Since the Atlantic Union Bank Center opened in 2020, the Dukes are 27-3 against non-conference foes. The loss to George Mason was JMU's first at home against a non-conference opponent since Jan. 3, 2021 against Morgan State (80-73).

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