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    JONESBORO, Ark. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears will continue their tour of the state of Arkansas on Saturday when they travel to Jonesboro to take on the Arkansas State Red Wolves. Tipoff is 4 p.m. at First National Bank Arena.

    The Bears (1-7) are coming off a 97-60 loss at No. 9/10 Arkansas on Wednesday night, and will host the Little Rock Trojans in their next game on Dec. 14 at the Farris Center. In all, UCA will face five in-state programs this season before ASUN Conference play begins in January.

    The Red Wolves (4-2) will play six in-state schools, and a total of seven games, with a pair of Sun Belt matchups with the Trojans. ASU has already beaten two non-Division I Arkansas schools in Harding (81-55) and Central Baptist (90-63) in Jonesboro. They will also face Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Champion Christian during their non-conference schedule.

    Surprisingly, the Bears and Red Wolves have not played since 2016 when ASU won 89-77 at the Farris Center. Two ASU players, Devin Carter and Deven Simms combined for 39 points and the Red Wolves connected on 10 three-pointers. UCA countered with four players in double figures, but the highest with just  12 points (Derreck Brooks).    

    UCA is averaging 60.9 points per game and allowing 84.4 against a very formidable schedule that includes reigning NCAA national champion Baylor. The Bears have played at home on Scottie Pippen Court just once this season, and that resulted in a 70-67 upset of Oral Roberts, which reached the NCAA Sweet 16 last spring.

    The Red Wolves, coached by Mike Balado in his fifth season, have not played since a 66-55 victory over Kansas City on Sunday, Nov. 28. ASU is 3-1 at home this season, with the only loss to Morehead State (75-51) on Nov. 26. The Red Wolves are averaging 68.8 points and allowing 66.7 per game.

    The leading scorer for the Red Wolves is Arkansas transfer and Jonesboro native Desi Sills, who is averaging 13.8 points per game in his first season. Norchad Omier, a 6-foot-7, 232-pound forward, leads ASU in rebounding with 8.5 per game and came off the bench for the first time in the Red Wolves' last game.

    Freshman guard Camren Hunter from Bryant, Ark., is UCA's leading scorer at 11.9 points per game, and is also tied for the team lead in assists at 2.5 per game. Guard/forward Darious Hall, a Little Rock native and transfer from DePaul/Arkansas, averages 10 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.

    UCA junior forward Eddy Kayouloud, in his fourth season with the Bears, has pulled down 499 career rebounds over his 94 career games. He is poised to become the 17th UCA player to top 500 rebounds and the first since Hayden Koval in 2019. Kayouloud is also just 28 points short of 1,000 career points at UCA.