Trojans Look to Clinch Share of SBC Thursday

GM28: Little Rock (24-3, 14-2 SBC) vs. UT Arlington (18-8, 9-6 SBC)
Thursday, Jan. 25 | 7:15 p.m. (CST)
Little Rock, Ark. | Jack Stephens Center (5,600)
TV: ESPN3
Talent: Matt Stewart (PxP), Bob Donewald (Analyst)
Radio: The Point 94.1 FM / KKPT.com
Talent: Ray Tucker (PxP), Bobby Vint (Analyst)
Live Stats | Live Video | Game Notes
 
LITTLE ROCK – Little Rock will have a chance to clinch a share of the regular season Sun Belt Conference title on Thursday when it hosts UT Arlington at the Jack Stephens Center in a game that can be seen on ESPN3. Tipoff is set for 7:15 p.m.
 
A win Thursday would clinch at least a share of the regular season title, the Trojans' first since the league moved away from divisions in 2013-14. A win combined with a ULM loss on Thursday would secure the program's first-ever outright regular season title, as well as the No. 1 seed at the Sun Belt Championship in New Orleans.
 
Little Rock captured five division championships from 2003-04 through 2011-12, and joined New Orleans as the regular season co-champions in the 1995-96 season.
 
In addition to holding a three-game lead in the Sun Belt race for first place, the Trojans are tied with No. 1 Villanova and No. 5 Xavier for the best record in the nation at 24-3. Little Rock's 12 true road wins are tied for the most nationally. A win Thursday would give the program its first 12-0 start at home since the 1988-89 season.­
 
UT Arlington is 18-8 overall, 9-6 in Sun Belt play and had won four straight games before its home loss to ULM on Saturday. UTA is 8-6 on the road this season with non-conference wins at Ohio State and Memphis.
 
The Mavericks rank in the top 20 nationally in rebounding margin and assists per game. UTA's 80.3 ppg are second in the Sun Belt Conference and 26th nationally.
 
The Mavs suffered a major blow in January when Kevin Hervey (18.1 ppg, 9.8 rpg) was lost for the season following a knee injury. Guard Erick Neal is averaging 13.6 points and a league-best 5.8 assists per game. Jalen Jones averages 12.6 points while Kaelon Wilson scores 9.5 per game for UTA.
 
Head coach Scott Cross is in his 10th season as head coach.
 
In the first meeting of the season between these teams, Little Rock held on for a 68-62 win over UT Arlington on Jan. 23 at College Park Center.
 
The Trojans never trailed, scoring the game's first 18 points en route to building a 42-14 halftime lead, only to withstand a second-half rally from the Mavericks that saw the margin cut to four with under two minutes to play.
 
UT Arlington leads 4-2 in the all-time series. Little Rock's road win on Jan. 23 snapped a three-game losing streak to the Mavs.
 
Quick Hits
• Little Rock is off to its best start in program history and tied for the best record in the nation at 24-3 (.889).
• Little Rock is in sole possession of first place in the Sun Belt Conference, and a win Thursday would clinch a share of the league title.
• A Little Rock win combined with a ULM loss would give the program its first-ever outright regular season Sun Belt Championship.
• Little Rock recently secured its first 20-win season since 2008-09, and 10th in its Division I history.
• Little Rock has established a new program record for regular-season wins, and is two wins shy of matching the overall record of 26 set in 1986-87.
• Little Rock is 11-0 at home and has won an arena-record 13 straight games at the JSC dating back to last season.
• Little Rock's 12 road wins are a program record and tied for the most nationally in 2015-16.
• Little Rock's scoring defense ranks first nationally (58.4 ppg) and its defensive FG% (.377) ranks fourth.
• 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.