# 2022–23 Arkansas State Red Wolves men's basketball team

The 2022–23 Arkansas State Red Wolves men's basketball team represented Arkansas State University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Red Wolves, led by sixth-year head coach Mike Balado, played their home games at the First National Bank Arena in Jonesboro, Arkansas as members of the Sun Belt Conference. They finished the season 13–20, 4–14 in Sun Belt play to finish in 13th place. They defeated Coastal Carolina in the first round of the Sun Belt tournament before losing to Troy in the second round.
On March 16, 2023, the school fired head coach Mike Balado. On March 22, the school named Alabama assistant coach Bryan Hodgson the team's new head coach.

## Previous season

The Red Wolves finished the 2021–21 season 18–11, 8–7 in Sun Belt play to finish in sixth place. They defeated Louisiana–Monroe in the first round of the Sun Belt tournament before losing to Georgia State in the quarterfinals.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Desi Sills | 3 | G | 6'2" | 195 | Junior | Jonesboro, AR | Transferred to Kansas State |
| Christian Willis | 5 | G | 6'2" | 195 | Senior | Belleville, IL | Graduated |
| Lazar Grbovic | 11 | F | 6'8" | 230 | Freshman | Belgrade, Serbia | Transferred to Moberly Area CC |
| Mario Fantina | 13 | G | 6'4" | 192 | Freshman | Sveti Filip i Jakov, Croatia | Transferred to Arkansas–Monticello |
| Norchad Omier | 15 | F | 6'7" | 232 | Freshman | Bluefields, Nicaragua | Transferred to Miami (FL) |
| Cheikh Ndour | 21 | F | 6'7" | 228 | Freshman | Médina, Senegal | Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons |
| Keyon Wesley | 22 | F | 6'9" | 176 | Junior | Chesilhurst, NJ | Transferred to Alabama State |
| Marquis Eaton | 23 | G | 6'2' | 202 | Senior | Helena, AR | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Mak Manciel | 3 | G | 6'3" | 197 | Sophomore | Sterling Heights, MI | Henry Ford College |
| Alaaeddine Boutayeb | 4 | F | 7'2" | 226 | Freshman | Casablanca, Morocco | Florida State |
| Detrick Reeves Jr. | 5 | G | 6'3" | 200 | RS Sophomore | Marion, AR | John A. Logan College |
| Dylan Arnette | 13 | G | 6'3" | 188 | RS Senior | DeSoto, TX | Western New Mexico |
| Omar El Sheik | 22 | F | 6'8" | 218 | GS Senior | Giza, Egypt | Assumption |
| Julian Lual | 23 | F | 6'6" | 196 | RS Junior | Calgary, AB | McCook Community College |

### 2022 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Izaiyah Nelson PF | Marietta, GA | Marietta High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Oct 1, 2021 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Terrance Ford PG | Brandenton, FL | Victory Rock Prep | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Nov 15, 2021 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Preseason
### Preseason Sun Belt Conference poll

The Red Wolves were picked to finish in 12th place in the conference's preseason poll. Junior guard Caleb Fields was named preseason All-SBC Third Team.
Coaches poll :
| Predicted finish | Team (1st place Votes) |
| 1 | Louisiana - 190 (10) |
| 2 | Texas State - 162 (1) |
| 3 | South Alabama - 150 (1) |
| 4 | James Madison - 149 (1) |
| 5 | Georgia State - 127 (1) |
| 6 | Marshall - 122 |
| 7 | App State - 120 |
| 8 | Coastal Carolina - 100 |
| 9 | Old Dominion - 93 |
| 10 | Troy - 76 |
| 11 | Georgia Southern - 69 |
| 12 | Arkansas State - 48 |
| 13 | Southern Miss - 34 |
| 14 | ULM - 30 |

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 2, 2022* 7:00 p.m. | | Voorhees (SC) | W 79–56 | | 18 – El-Sheikh | 9 – El-Sheikh | 5 – Tied | First National Bank Arena (1,026) Jonesboro, AR |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 7, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Harding | W 86–55 | 1–0 | 16 – Felts | 8 – El-Sheikh | 7 – Felts | First National Bank Arena (3,092) Jonesboro, AR |
| November 12, 2022* 5:00pm, SECN+/ESPN+ | | at LSU | L 52–61 | 1–1 | 17 – El-Sheikh | 8 – El-Sheikh | 4 – Fields | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (9,011) Baton Rouge, LA |
| November 14, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Lyon College | W 82–58 | 2–1 | 16 – Tied | 5 – Tied | 9 – Felts | First National Bank Arena (1,387) Jonesboro, AR |
| November 18, 2022* 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UC Davis | L 60–75 | 2–2 | 25 – Fields | 8 – Nelson | 2 – Tied | University Credit Union Center (1,125) Davis, CA |
| November 22, 2022* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UT Martin Arkansas State Multi-Team Event | W 70–64 | 3–2 | 17 – Fields | 11 – El-Sheikh | 7 – Fields | First National Bank Arena (3,686) Jonesboro, AR |
| November 25, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Prairie View A&M Arkansas State Multi-Team Event | L 59–67 | 3–3 | 15 – Tied | 8 – El-Sheikh | 5 – Fields | First National Bank Arena (2,495) Jonesboro, AR |
| November 27, 2022* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Bethel (TN) | W 90–65 | 4–3 | 18 – Farrington | 9 – El-Sheikh | 7 – Fields | First National Bank Arena (2,380) Jonesboro, AR |
| December 1, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Mississippi Valley State | W 58–38 | 5–3 | 15 – Farrington | 9 – Nelson | 5 – Felts | First National Bank Arena (2,274) Jonesboro, AR |
| December 6, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Central Arkansas | L 67–72 | 5–4 | 16 – Fields | 10 – El-Sheikh | 7 – Fields | Farris Center (2,385) Conway, AR |
| December 9, 2022* 8:00 p.m., MW Network | | at Air Force | L 55–80 | 5–5 | 14 – Felts | 7 – El-Sheikh | 5 – Fields | Clune Arena (1,119) Colorado Springs, CO |
| December 14, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Southeast Missouri State | W 68–61 | 6–5 | 14 – Fields | 14 – El-Sheikh | 6 – Fields | First National Bank Arena (1,541) Jonesboro, AR |
| December 19, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Alabama State | W 72–65 | 7–5 | 22 – Fields | 10 – Nelson | 5 – Ford Jr. | First National Bank Arena (2,072) Jonesboro, AR |
| December 22, 2022* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Little Rock | W 77–75 | 8–5 | 25 – El-Sheikh | 15 – El-Sheikh | 5 – Ford Jr. | First National Bank Arena (1,378) Jonesboro, AR |
| Sun Belt Conference regular season |||||||||
| December 29, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Old Dominion | W 60–57 | 9–5 (1–0) | 18 – El-Sheikh | 13 – El-Sheikh | 4 – Fields | Chartway Arena (4,464) Norfolk, VA |
| December 31, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Louisiana–Monroe | L 72–84 | 9–6 (1–1) | 18 – El-Sheikh | 15 – El-Sheikh | 8 – Fields | First National Bank Arena (2,347) Jonesboro, AR |
| January 5, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at South Alabama | L 45–63 | 9–7 (1–2) | 18 – El-Sheikh | 13 – El-Sheikh | 2 – Fields | Mitchell Center (1,451) Mobile, AL |
| January 7, 2023 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Troy | L 54–66 | 9–8 (1–3) | 13 – Davis | 11 – Davis | 2 – Fields | Trojan Arena (2,972) Troy, AL |
| January 12, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Texas State | L 58–61 | 9–9 (1–4) | 15 – Ford | 9 – El-Sheikh | 4 – Fields | First National Bank Arena (1,257) Jonesboro, AR |
| January 14, 2023 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Southern Miss | L 57–74 | 9–10 (1–5) | 15 – Felts | 11 – El-Sheikh | 6 – Ford | First National Bank Arena (1,024) Jonesboro, AR |
| January 19, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Louisiana | L 71–80 | 9–11 (1–6) | 14 – Ford | 6 – El-Sheikh | 6 – Fields | First National Bank Arena (1,132) Jonesboro, AR |
| January 21, 2023 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Marshall | L 78–87 $^{OT}$ | 9–12 (1–7) | 18 – Felts | 15 – El-Sheikh | 10 – Fields | First National Bank Arena (1,084) Jonesboro, AR |
| January 26, 2023 7:00 p.m. | | at Southern Miss | L 57–73 | 9–13 (1–8) | 10 – Tied | 6 – El-Sheikh | 8 – Ford Jr. | Reed Green Coliseum (4,266) Hattiesburg, MS |
| January 28, 2023 3:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Appalachian State | L 51–63 | 9–14 (1–9) | 14 – El-Sheikh | 10 – El-Sheikh | 5 – Fields | Holmes Center (3,487) Boone, NC |
| February 2, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | South Alabama | L 62–82 | 9–15 (1–10) | 21 – Ford Jr. | 11 – Nelson | 4 – Ford Jr. | First National Bank Arena (1,341) Jonesboro, AR |
| February 4, 2023 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Coastal Carolina | W 73–57 | 10–15 (2–10) | 19 – Fields | 8 – Ford Jr. | 3 – Tied | First National Bank Arena (1,402) Jonesboro, AR |
| February 9, 2023 7:00 p.m. | | at Texas State | L 62–66 | 10–16 (2–11) | 19 – Davis | 8 – El-Sheikh | 6 – Fields | Strahan Coliseum (2,638) San Marcos, TX |
| February 11, 2023 2:00 p.m. | | at Georgia Southern | L 53–68 | 10–17 (2–12) | 13 – Ford Jr. | 11 – El-Sheikh | 5 – Fields | Hanner Fieldhouse (1,727) Statesboro, GA |
| February 16, 2023 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Troy | L 62–67 | 10–18 (2–13) | 16 – El-Sheikh | 11 – El-Sheikh | 4 – Fields | First National Bank Arena (1,026) Jonesboro, AR |
| February 18, 2023 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Georgia State | W 75–70 | 11–18 (3–13) | 22 – Ford Jr. | 12 – El-Sheikh | 4 – Fields | First National Bank Arena Jonesboro, AR |
| February 22, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Louisiana | L 74–85 | 11–19 (3–14) | 18 – Tied | 13 – El-Sheikh | 3 – Tied | Cajundome (2,615) Lafayette, LA |
| February 24, 2023 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Louisiana–Monroe | W 64–61 | 12–19 (4–14) | 15 – Fields | 8 – Fields | 8 – Fields | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (2,286) Monroe, LA |
| Sun Belt tournament |||||||||
| February 28, 2023 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (13) | vs. (12) Coastal Carolina First Round | W 86–69 | 13–19 | 25 – Ford | 15 – El-Sheikh | 5 – Ford | Pensacola Bay Center Pensacola, FL |
| March 2, 2023 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (13) | vs. (5) Troy Second Round | L 59–63 | 13–20 | 21 – Davis | 9 – Nelson | 4 – Fields | Pensacola Bay Center Pensacola, FL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. |||||||||
Source