OPENING TIP
Little Rock's challenging road trip continues this week as the Trojans will play their third-straight road game in their third different state. Little Rock heads to the Lone Star state for a meeting with Sam Houston State, tipping off against the Bearkats at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, December 15. Ray Tucker will have the call against the Bearkats from Johnson Coliseum on The Point 94.1 FM and online at KKPT.com.
WHERE ARE WE AGAIN?
Little Rock's challenging road schedule continues this week as the Trojans will play four of their final five non-conference games away from home. Beginning with the short trip to Conway on Saturday, Little Rock now travels to Illinois (Bradley), Texas (Sam Houston State) and Mississippi (Mississippi State), meaning each of the Trojans' first seven road games will have been played in different states, including Tennessee (Memphis), Arizona (Grand Canyon) and California (San Diego).
CHALLENGING ROAD AHEAD
Not only does Little Rock's non-conference schedule take them across the country, the Trojans will be facing some tough challenges along the way. Little Rock's seven non-conference road opponents have a combined record of 49-20 (.710) thus far in 2017-18 as all seven currently boast winning records. Mississippi State, Little Rock's opponent on December 20, is currently 8-1, coming off a loss to 25th-ranked Cincinnati Monday, with Memphis (7-2), San Diego (8-2) and Bradley (8-2) each sporting just two losses each this season.
SCOUTING THE BEARKATS
2017-18: 5-5 overall, 0-0 Southland Conference, 4-0 at home
Last Three Games: L at Mississippi (82-69); L at Baylor (84-56); W vs. St. Thomas (77-54)
Head Coach: Jason Hooten (Tarleton State, 1993). Eighth season at Sam Houston State (142-103, .580)
SERIES HISTORY
Little Rock and Sam Houston State meet for the fifth time Friday with the Trojans winning three of the previous four meetings between the two. The first meeting came in 1986, resulting in a 77-71 Bearkat win in Huntsville, followed by an 87-58 victory by the Trojans in Little Rock in 1987. The two teams then staged another home-and-home series in 1995 and 1996 with the Trojans taking the first meeting 93-89 in overtime in Huntsville, then followed that up with a 94-64 win in Little Rock the following year. The game at Sam Houston marks Little Rock's lone trip to the Lone Star state in 2017-18, compared to the five games the Trojans played in Texas in 2016-17.
LAST TIME OUT
Little went right for Little Rock in Peoria, Illinois, as the Trojans suffered an 86-46 defeat to Bradley Wednesday evening. Little Rock shot just 35.6 percent from the floor and attempted only eight free throws while watching the Braves hit 60.8 percent of their shots on their home floor. A 13-0 Bradley run early in the first half put the game out of reach early as the Braves led by as many as 45 in the second half, handing Little Rock its worst defeat since an 88-41 loss to Oklahoma State on December 12, 1998, nearly 19 years to the day.
FRESHMEN GUARD TANDEM
Little Rock set a new season-high Wednesday at Bradley, hitting nine three-pointers against the Braves. Seven of those nine threes were made by the freshman guard duo of
Cameron Corcoran and
Jaizec Lottie as the two led the Trojans with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Corcoran notched his career-high 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc while converting two of his three free throw attempts. Lottie was good on three of his five three-pointers and was 4-of-7 for the game with a team-high three assists. The 26 points for the two accounted for 56.5 percent of Little Rock's offensive ouput against the Braves.
CONTROLLING THE PAINT
One area that has become Little Rock's strength early in 2017-18 has been its play in the paint. The Trojans have outscored their opponents 284-232 in points in the paint through 10 games this season, averaging 28.4 points in the key per game. Little Rock has held the advantage in seven of its 10 games this season, including a 20+ point differential against both Ouachita Baptist (48-20) and Norfolk State (38-10).
ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH
Little Rock has faced its fair share of growing pains early in 2017-18 as the Trojans' roster has 11 newcomers on it, tied for the most in Division I with Pitt. One of those newcomers that has made his mark early is freshman
Jaizec Lottie, who has started nine of 10 games at the point guard position for the Trojans. Lottie ranks among the Little Rock leaders in a handful of categories, leading the team in assists (31) while ranking second in points (72), three-pointers (eight), free throws (18), steals (8) and minutes (269) and is third in field goals made (23).
IRON UNKIND
Despite Little Rock's success in the paint, beyond the arc has proven to be its Achilles heel. The Trojans enter Friday's game shooting just 26.3% from three-point range (55-of-209), ranking 347th out of 351 Division-I programs but did move up three spots following Wednesday's game. Little Rock sits ahead of Sacred Heart, North Dakota, UC Riverside and Fordham as the Trojans are coming off their best three-point shooting performance of the season, hitting a season-best nine threes on 25 attempts, making 36.0% of their shots from beyond the arc against the Braves.
TROJAN 2K
Saturday's game at Central Arkansas marked a small piece of Little Rock basketball history as the game against the Bears was the 2,000th game in Trojan program history. Little Rock has posted a 991-1,010 record (.495), leaving the Trojans just nine victories shy of reaching the 1,000-win plateau. Since beginning the program in the 1930-31 season, Little Rock has accumulated 35 winning seasons in program history and have won 20 games or more 11 times, including the memorable 30-win campaign in 2015-16.
SEEKING THEIR ROAD TOUCH
Little Rock's travel schedule early in the 2017-18 season has taken the Trojans to five different states for their first five road games, racking up nearly 6,000 miles thus far through the first month of the season. But the travel has yet to produce a victory as Little Rock is 0-5 in road games this season, extending its winless streak in true road games to six-straight while winning just one of its last 13 in enemy territory. Little Rock's last win away from the Jack Stephens Center came in a 62-57 against South Alabama in Mobile on March 2, 2017.
TROJANS AGAINST THE SOUTHLAND
Little Rock has an extensive history against the Southland Conference, posting an 85-82 (.509) record against 11 of the 13 current league members.
A handful of Southland Conference schools were once fellow league members of the Trojans in either the TAAC or the Sun Belt, including Houston Baptist, Lamar, New Orleans, Nicholls, Northwestern State, Southeastern Louisiana and Stephen F. Austin. The game against the Bearkats marks Little Rock's third meeting against a Southland Conference opponent this season, splitting the home-and-home series against rival Central Arkansas.
BACK AT THE JACK
Little Rock takes a break from its road travels early next week, playing its final non-conference home game of 2017-18 on Monday, December 18. The Trojans welcome University of the Ozarks to the Jack Stephens Center as tip against the Eagles is set for 6:30 p.m.
