Trojans Start Sun Belt Play at South Alabama

Game Notes

GM12: Little Rock (10-1, 0-0 SBC) at South Alabama (5-6, 0-0 SBC)
Wednesday, Dec. 30 | 7:05 p.m. (CST)
Mobile, Ala. | Mitchell Center (10,000)
Radio: The Point 94.1 FM / KKPT.com
Talent: Ray Tucker (PxP)
Live Stats | Live Video
 
LITTLE ROCK – Coming off its best non-conference season in program history, Little Rock opens Sun Belt Conference play at South Alabama on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 7:05 p.m. at the Mitchell Center.
 
The Trojans nearly finished non-conference play with a perfect record, starting 10-0 before its first loss of the season at Texas Tech on Dec. 22. The 10-game win streak to start the year was the best in program and Sun Belt Conference history. The streak matched a program record, and was Little Rock's first time winning 10-straight since the 1987-88 season.
 
Little Rock, one 19 teams in the country with a mark of 10-1 (.909) or better, was picked to finish fifth in the league's preseason poll. The Trojans continue to lead the nation in scoring defense (54.7 ppg) and rank 11^th in defensive field goal percentage (.369).
 
Josh Hagins will enter Wednesday's game needing nine points to tie Nick Zachery for 11^th on Little Rock's career scoring list, and three 3-pointers to match Mark Green for eighth place on the all-time list. Hagins is the first player in program history to total at least 1,000 points, 300 assists, 125 steals and 125 made 3-pointers.
 
South Alabama is off to a 5-6 start and will be coming off back-to-back wins over Samford and Rice entering Wednesday night. A First Team Preseason All-Sun Belt pick, Ken Williams is averaging a team-high 14.2 ppg. South Alabama was picked to finish seventh in the Sun Belt's preseason poll.
 
Quick Hits
• Little Rock is off to its best start in program history, and is one of 19 teams in the country with a record of 10-1 or better (.909).
• Little Rock's 10-0 start to the season was the best in both program and Sun Belt Conference history.
• Little Rock is 5-1 in true road games this season, trailing only Navy (5-0) for the best road win percentage in the country.
• The Trojans are ranked No. 4 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll and are No. 9 in the Mid-Major Madness Power 15.
• Little Rock's scoring defense ranks first nationally (54.7 ppg) and its defensive FG% (.369) ranks 11th.
• Little Rock is second in the nation in free throw percentage (.798) and fifth in turnover margin (6.5).
• Little Rock leads the Sun Belt in scoring defense, defensive FG%, turnovers per game (10.6), turnover margin, assist-to-turnover ratio (1.2) and free throw percentage.
• 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 South Alabama (5-6 Overall)
Picked to finish seventh in the Sun Belt in a preseason vote among coaches, South Alabama finished its non-conference season with a 5-6 record.
 
The Jaguars will enter Sun Belt play on a two-game win streak, with victories at Samford and at home against Rice. South Alabama in 3-1 at home on the year.
 
South Alabama leads the all-time series with Little Rock 28-16 and has won three straight entering Wednesday night.
 
The Jaguars are averaging 70.6 points per game and are led by Ken Williams (14.2 ppg), who was a Preseason First Team All-Sun Belt selection. Three more Jags are averaging at least 8.5 ppg.
 
Trojans in Mid-Major Polls
Little Rock appears at No. 4 in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll. The Trojans climbed as high as No. 2 in the poll on Dec. 21, receiving four of 31 No. 1 votes in the poll.
 
This is the fifth straight week the Trojans appeared in the poll.
 
Little Rock also appears in the MidMajorMadness.com Power 15 at No. 9.
 
Road Victories
Little Rock is one of five teams in the nation with five or more road victories.
 
The Trojans' 5-1 mark away from home trails only Navy (5-0) for the best win percentage on the road this season.
 
Little Rock won its first five true road games of the season to set a new program record.
 
The Trojans are 1-0 in neutral court games, beating East Carolina 54-46 at the Las Vegas Invitational on Nov. 26.
 
Among National Leaders in RPI
Little Rock is ranked No. 34 in the NCAA's latest RPI release on Dec. 28.
 
The Trojans have spent much of the season inside the top-five nationally, and appeared at No. 1 in Yahoo Sports' RPI rankings on Sunday, Nov. 29, following its win over Tulsa – its second top-50 RPI victory of the year.