Trojans Close Regular Season at App State

GM31: Little Rock (27-3, 17-2 SBC) at Appalachian State (7-22, 5-13 SBC)
Thursday, March 3 | 6:30 p.m. (CST)
Boone, N.C. | Holmes Convocation Center (8,325)
Radio: The Point 94.1 FM / KKPT.com
Talent: Ray Tucker (PxP)
Live Stats | Live Video | Game Notes
 
LITTLE ROCK – Little Rock will close its regular season on Thursday with a trip to Appalachian State. Tipoff from Holmes Convocation Center in Boone, N.C., is slated for 6:30 p.m. (CST).
 
An arena-record crowd of 5,619 watched Little Rock top Arkansas State by an 89-80 final on Tuesday. The win improved Little Rock to 27-3 on the season, good enough for the best record in the nation and the best 30-game start in Sun Belt Conference history.
 
Little Rock finished the game with 20 assists against just a single turnover. The one turnover matches the NCAA low for a single game in 2015-16. The 20-to-1 ratio is the NCAA's best dating back to at least the 2011-12 season.
 
A win at Appalachian State Thursday would give Little Rock its 13^th true road win of the season, tying Monmouth for the national lead.
 
The Trojans will also enter the game with a chance at the best two-year turnaround in Sun Belt history. Little Rock currently boasts a 14-win improvement from last season's 13-18 campaign, tying it with the 2000-01 Little Rock squad and others for the best in league history. No team in Sun Belt history has improved its win total by 15 or more games.
 
Appalachian State is 7-22 on the season and 5-13 in Sun Belt Conference play. The Mountaineers are coming off back-to-back losses at Georgia Southern and Georgia State.
 
Frank Eaves leads Appalachian State in scoring at 19.2 points per game. Eaves shoots 39.8 percent from 3-point range and 82.0 percent from the foul line. Ronshad Shabazz shoots 36.4 percent from deep and averages 11.8 points per game.
 
As a team, the Mountaineers are shooting 40.0 percent from the floor and 35.8 percent from 3-point range. App State averages 8.3 made 3s per game.
 
In the season's first meeting, Little Rock limited Appalachian State to 29.2 percent shooting from the floor en route to an 81-55 win at the Jack Stephens Center. App State made just five shots after halftime. Eaves, who entered the night as the Sun Belt's leading scorer, was held to 11 points on 1-of-8 shooting.
 
Little Rock has won four straight and leads 4-1 in the all-time series.
 
Quick Hits
• Little Rock boasts the best 30-game start in Sun Belt history and owns the nation's best record at 27-3 (.900).
• Little Rock has already secured its first-ever outright Sun Belt Championship and the No. 1 seed at the Sun Belt Tournament in New Orleans, La.
• Little Rock has now established new program records for overall wins and Sun Belt wins in a season.
• The Trojans are two victories shy of matching the Sun Belt record for wins in a season (29).
• Little Rock's 14-win improvement from last season's 13-18 record is currently tied for the best in Sun Belt Conference history.
• Little Rock went 14-0 at the JSC this year, giving the program its first unbeaten home slate since 1981-82.
• The Trojans have now won 16 straight at the JSC.
• Little Rock's 12 road wins are a program record and second-most nationally in 2015-16.
• Little Rock's scoring defense ranks second nationally (59.5 ppg) and its defensive FG% (.385) ranks eighth.
• 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.