OPENING TIP
Little Rock's Louisiana two-pack to open up the Sun Belt Conference schedule concludes Sunday when the Trojans play host to ULM on Sunday, December 31 at 4 p.m. Opening tip against the Warhawks will be at approximately 4 p.m. following the conclusion of the women's game, giving fans time to make their New Year's Eve plans. Ray Tucker and Kevin Crass will have the call between the Trojans and the Warhawks on The Point 94.1 FM and online at KKPT.com.
HOME SWEET HOME
Since 2005, Little Rock has called the Jack Stephens Center home, and the venue has helped the Trojans become one of the Sun Belt's toughest home teams. Little Rock has posted a 123-63 record (.661) at the Jack since the doors opened in 2005, including a 67-42 mark (.615) against Sun Belt Conference foes. The Trojans are 3-3 on their home court this season and have posted a winning home record every year at the Jack Stephens Center, winning 10 or more home games on five occasions.
ANOTHER YEAR IN THE BELT
This weekend marks the beginning of Little Rock's 27th season as a member of the Sun Belt Conference as the Trojans joined the league in the 1991-92 season. During that stretch, the Trojans have posted a 232-209 (.526) record in conference play, winning the 2016 Sun Belt title with five divisional championships. Little Rock and ULM have squared off as Sun Belt Conference foes every year since the 2006-07 season, going head-to-head 23 times as Sun Belt foes.Â
SCOUTING THE WARHAWKS
2017-18: 6-6 overall, 0-1 Sun Belt Conference, 0-5 on the road
Last Three Games: L at Arkansas State (75-64); W vs. Centenary (74-51); W vs. Millsaps (97-44)
Head Coach: Keith Richard (ULM, 1982). Eighth season at ULM (83-148, .359), 17th season overall (233-265, .468)
SERIES HISTORY
Little Rock and ULM meet for the 32nd time Sunday afternoon as the Trojans hold a 17-14 edge in the all-time series. Beginning in 1954-55 (an 83-81 ULM win in Little Rock), the two teams have squared off annually since the 2006-07 season when ULM joined the Sun Belt Conference. Little Rock has won three of the last five meetings but ULM enters the game with the last victory, Â a 68-52 win in Monroe. The Trojans are 7-4 all-time against the Warhawks at the Jack Stephens Center, including defeating ULM 79-75 on New Years Eve last season.
THREE-HEADED WARHAWK
ULM enters Sunday's game boasting a potent three-headed scoring attack. The trio of Travis Munnings (16.0 ppg), Sam McDaniel (14.6 ppg) and Marvin Jean-Pierre (12.5 ppg) are averaging  43.1 points per game for ULM this season, accounting for nearly 60% of the Warhawk offense. The three all rank among the Sun Belt Conference's top-20 scorers, ranking 12th, 14th and 18th, respectively.
LAST TIME OUT
Little Rock found itself in an 18-2 hole early against Louisiana in its Sun Belt Conference opener, then cold free throw shooting prevented the Trojans from making a comeback, falling to the Ragin' Cajuns 77-63. Little Rock held the advantage from the floor (46.6%) and from beyond the arc (46.2%), but were out-rebounded by 19 (45-26) while the Cajuns made 20 free throws, compared to just three for the Trojans.
MAKING HIS MARCUS
One of the quiet strengths of the Little Rock program in 2017-18 has been the play of junior
Ben Marcus. The Pine Bluff native had another strong showing against Louisiana, finishing with eight points and a career-high eight rebounds, converting on four of his six shots on the night. Marcus ranks fourth on the team in scoring (6.5 ppg) and boasts a 76.5% field goal percentage, which would rank first in the Sun Belt Conference if Marcus had met the minimum for shots per game.
COMING UP BIG
While typically the shortest player on the court, junior
Anthony Black has played big for Little Rock in his first season with the Trojans. Black led the team with 14 points against Louisiana Friday night, his sixth double-digit performance of the season, connecting on six of his eight shots. Black ranks second on the team in points per game (8.4) and has emerged as one of Little Rock's top three-point threats, hitting a team-high 22 threes in 2017-18 and shooting 35.5% from beyond the arc.
CONTROLLING THE PAINT
One area that has become Little Rock's strength through the non-conference portion of 2017-18 has been its play in the paint. The Trojans have outscored their opponents 414-330 in points in the paint through 14 games this season, averaging 29.6 points in the key per game. Little Rock has held the advantage in nine of its 14 games this season, including a 20+ point differential against Ouachita Baptist (48-20), Norfolk State (38-10) and Ozarks (46-10).
RINGING IN THE NEW YEAR
Once again, Little Rock will ring in the new year on the court as Sunday will be the Trojans' seventh game on New Year's Eve since Little Rock transitioned to Division I. The Trojans are 4-2 on games played on the final day of the calendar year, including a 3-1 mark at home on December 31st. Sunday's game against the Warhawks will be the third time the two will have met on New Year's Eve, and the second in as many years, with the Trojans winning 95-87 in 2006 and 79-75 last year.
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| Year |
Opponent |
W/L |
Score |
| 1988 |
Marshall |
W |
89-79 |
| 2006 |
at Troy |
L |
82-70 |
| 2008 |
ULM |
W (OT) |
95-87 |
| 2009 |
North Texas |
L |
83-78 |
| 2011 |
at Denver |
W |
66-59 |
| 2016 |
ULM |
W |
79-75 |
IRON UNKIND
Despite Little Rock's success in the paint, beyond the arc has proven to be its Achilles heel. Heading into the pair of Sun Belt Conference games this weekend, the Trojans are shooting just 28.3% from three-point range, ranking 344th out of 351 teams at the Division I level. Little Rock is averaging 22 threes per game but making, on average, just six, coming off a 6-for-13 performance against Louisiana, a season-high for percentage.
Anthony Black has the most made threes on the year with 22 (on 62 attempts) while
Cameron Corcoran leads the team shooting 42.1% (16-of-38).
PLAYING CATCH-UP
One of the biggest struggles Little Rock has faced through the first month of the 2017-18 season has been its habit of playing from behind. In the first 13 games of the season, the Trojans have led for just 169:07 of the 570 minutes played, roughly 29.6% of game time to date. Additionally, the Trojans have had to overcome some sizable deficits as Little Rock has found itself trailing by 10 points or more in 11 of its first 14 games, trailing by 16 or more in eight of those contests.Â
CLOSING IN ON 1,000
An impressive program milestone remains tantalizingly close for
Wes Flanigan's squad. Playing its 80th season of basketball, Little Rock has compiled an overall program record of 992-1,013 (.495), sitting just eight wins shy of reaching 1,000 victories. The Trojans have accumulated 35 winning seasons in program history and have won 20 or more games 11 times, highlighted by the memorable 30-win campaign in 2016-17. The Trojans have already hit another big milestone this season as the December 9th game at Central Arkansas marked the 2,000th game in program history.
GEORGIA ON MY MIND
Little Rock's Sun Belt Conference schedule continues with a trip to the Peach State next weekend, facing both Georgia State and Georgia Southern. The trip begins in Atlanta as the Trojans will face the Panthers on Thursday, January 4, tipping at 6:15 p.m. CT from the GSU Sports Arena.
