Little Rock Goes For 9-0 Start at UCA Wednesday

Game Notes

GM9: Little Rock (8-0) at Central Arkansas (1-7)
Wednesday, Dec. 16 | 7 p.m. (CST)
Conway, Ark. | Farris Center (5,500)
Radio: The Point 94.1 FM / KKPT.com
Talent: Ray Tucker (PxP), Bobby Vint (Analyst)
Live Stats | Live Video

LITTLE ROCK – One of eight undefeated teams in the nation and receiving votes in both polls, Little Rock enters Wednesday night's game at Central Arkansas going for a 9-0 start that would match the third-longest win streak in program history. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Farris Center in Conway.
 
A free live video stream will be provided through UCASports.com. Fans can also tune into The Point 94.1 FM, or listen online at KKPT.com, to hear Ray Tucker's call of the game.
 
The Trojans are coming off a 22-point win at BIG EAST-member DePaul on Saturday night that saw the program improve to 4-0 on the road this season, second only to Navy (5-0) for the best road record nationally. Little Rock's scoring defense (53.2 ppg) leads the country, while its defensive field goal percentage (.360) ranks 11^th.
 
Josh Hagins was named the National Mid-Major Player of the Week by CollegeSportsMadness.com for his performance in the DePaul win. Hagins finished with a season-high 19 points and eight assists against zero turnovers in 36 minutes. The senior guard leads the Sun Belt Conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.7) and ranks second in the league in assists per game (5.1).
 
Wednesday night's game at the Farris Center will be the second meeting in a home-and-home series with the Bears. Little Rock topped Central Arkansas 79-73 at the Jack Stephens Center on Dec. 1 as Marcus Johnson Jr. led all scorers with 28 points. The Bears, playing under second-year head coach Russ Pennell, are 1-7 on the season.
 
Quick Hits
• Little Rock continued its record start to the season with a 66-44 win at DePaul on Saturday night.
• The 8-0 start to the season is the best in both program and Sun Belt Conference history.
• Little Rock is one of eight unbeaten teams in the nation, and one of two with a road record of 4-0 or better.
• A win on Wednesday night would match Navy (5-0) for the best road record in the country.
• Little Rock is receiving votes in the AP Top 25 and USA Today Coaches polls. This is the first time a Little Rock team has received votes in the AP Poll since Feb. 1988.
• Little Rock is ranked No. 2 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll, receiving four No. 1 votes.
• Little Rock's scoring defense ranks first nationally (53.2 ppg) and its defensive FG% (.360) ranks 11th.
• The Trojans rank second nationally in free throw percentage (.813) and fourth in turnover margin (7.0).
• Seven different Trojans are scoring 5.3 ppg or more.
• Head coach Chris Beard comes to Little Rock after two seasons at Angelo State, where he went 47-15 and led ASU to the 2015 NCAA Division II Sweet Sixteen and No. 19 national ranking in 2014-15.
 
About Central Arkansas (1-7 Overall)
Central Arkansas will enter Wednesday's matchup on a four-game losing skid since its win over UTSA on Nov. 22. The Bears are 1-7 on the season, with recent losses at Oklahoma and Pitt.
 
The Bears are scoring 70.9 points per game, with Jordan Howard (15.8 ppg), Derreck Brooks (12.0 ppg) and Justin Foreman (10.3 ppg) averaging double figures. UCA's defense is allowing 90.1 points per contest, however, and has surrendered 100 points in back-to-back games.
 
Wednesday's meeting will be the 33rd in the history of the two programs, with UCA leading 23-9. Little
Rock and Central Arkansas met 25 times from 1930 through 1974, with UCA winning all but two of those
matchups. The Trojans have won all seven meetings since making the move to Division I in 1978-79, including the Dec. 1 matchup by a final score of 79-73.
 
In the first matchup between these teams this season, Marcus Johnson Jr. led all scorers with 28 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including a 4-of-6 effort from 3-point range. Roger Woods and Josh Hagins added 12 points each, with Hagins adding seven assists, five rebounds and two steals. Lis Shoshi scored 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
 
Receiving Votes
For the third straight week, Little Rock received votes – 14 total points – in the AP Top 25 poll released on Monday (Dec. 14). Additionally, Little Rock received nine votes in Monday's USA Today Coaches Poll.
 
The Trojans are the first Sun Belt Conference men's basketball program to earn AP Top 25 votes since Middle Tennessee during the 2012-13 season. The Blue Raiders received votes in the AP Top 25 in three separate weeks that season.
 
It is the first time Little Rock has received votes in the AP Poll since Feb. 1988.
 
Trojans Rising in Mid-Major Polls
Little Rock climbed to No. 2 in this week's CollegeInsider.com mid-major top-25 poll, and received four of 31 No. 1 votes in the poll. The Trojans are just three weeks removed from appearing at No. 15 in the poll.
 
Little Rock also appears in this week's MidMajorMadness.com poll at No. 7, up from No. 11 the previous week.
 
Road Victories
Little Rock is one of just two programs in the country with a road record of 4-0 or better, with Navy (5-0) being the other.
 
The 4-0 start on the road is the best in program history.
 
The Trojans are 1-0 in neutral court games, beating East Carolina 54-46 at the Las Vegas Invitational on Nov. 26.
 
Hot Start
Little Rock is 8-0 for the first time in program history. The streak is Little Rock's first time winning eight straight since the 1988-89 season.
 
A win Wednesday night at Central Arkansas would match the third-longest win streak in program history (9), and would be just one shy of matching the record of 10 straight wins set during the 1985-86 and 1987-88 seasons.
 
The 8-0 start is also the best-ever for a Sun Belt Conference member. The league dates back to the 1976-77 season.
 
A win Saturday at DePaul would give Little Rock just its fourth win streak ever of nine or more games, and would be one shy of matching the program record of 10 games.
 
As of Dec. 14, the Trojans are one of six teams in the country with a record of 8-0 or better.