OPENING TIP
Little Rock closes out its Georgia trip in the southeast part of the state, venturing into Statesboro to take on Georgia State on Saturday, January 6. Opening tip against the Eagles is scheduled for 4 p.m. CT from Hanner Fieldhouse, streaming live on ESPN3. Ray Tucker will have the call between the Trojans and the Eagles on The Point 94.1 FM and online at KKPT.com, beginning at 3:45 p.m. CT
WHERE ARE WE AGAIN?
Little Rock's challenging road schedule continues this weekend as the Trojans will add yet another state to their growing travelogue. Georgia will be the eighth different state Little Rock will have played a road game this season, comprised of Tennessee (Memphis), Arizona (Grand Canyon), California (San Diego), Arkansas (Central Arkansas), Illinois (Bradley), Texas (Sam Houston State) and Mississippi (Mississippi State). To date, the Trojans have racked up nearly 7,000 miles traveled and will add another nearly 1,500 miles to that total this weekend.
ROCKY ROAD
Not only did Little Rock's non-conference schedule take them across the country, the Trojans faced some tough challenges along the way. Little Rock's eight road opponents have a combined record of 79-42 (.653) thus far in 2017-18 as six of the eight currently boast winning records. Mississippi State has just one blemish (13-1) this season, coming off a loss to 25th-ranked Cincinnati on December 12, with Bradley (12-4), San Diego (11-3), Grand Canyon (10-5) and Georgia State (10-6) each with double digit win totals. The trip to Statesboro will add to that challenging slate as Georgia Southern is 11-5 on the year, marking the fifth road foe for Little Rock with at least 10 victories.
PREVIEWING THE EAGLES
2017-18: 11-5 overall, 2-1 Sun Belt Conference (T-2nd), 5-0 at home
Last Three Games: W vs. Arkansas State (80-49); L at South Alabama (69-67); W at Troy (86-80)
Head Coach: Mark Byington (UNC Wilmington, 1998). Fifth season at Georgia Southern (80-68, .541); Sixth season overall (87-69, .558).
GEORGIA SOUTHERN SCOUTING REPORT
Little Rock will face another high scoring offense Saturday afternoon as Georgia Southern averages 78.4 points per game, ranking third in the Sun Belt. The Eagles rank second in scoring margin at +11.4 and are one of the league's top defensive teams, leading the Sun Belt in three-point field goal percentage (29.5%) and sitting third in overall field goal percentage (40.3%). Georgia Southern is also a force on the boards, leading the conference in rebounds per game (41.4), and is second in turnover margin at +3.3. The Eagles have four players averaging double figures in points, led by Tookie Brown's 18.4 ppg (fifth in the Sun Belt) while Montae Glenn nearly averages a double-double at 9.4 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.
SERIES HISTORY
Little Rock and Georgia State meet for the 32nd time Saturday as the Eagles hold a slim 16-15 edge in the all-time series that started in 1981. The two teams were TAAC conference foes from 1981 to 1991, then reunited as Sun Belt rivals in 2015. Little Rock has won the last three between the two teams, winning the lone meeting between the two last year, a 56-54 victory at the Jack Stephens Center. The Trojans are 4-10 all-time in Statesboro, however, with the last victory coming in 2016, defeating the Eagles 75-61 at Hanner Fieldhouse.
LAST TIME OUT
Camron Reedus and
Kris Bankston registered career-best performances, but Georgia State outlasted Little Rock en route to a 73-64 victory Thursday night in Atlanta. The Trojans pulled to within one on a pair of occasions in the second half but couldn't get over the hump. Little Rock had its best three-point shooting performance of the season, hitting 52.9 percent (9-of-17), but a 33-7 discrepancy in free throws proved to be the difference in the Panther victory.
ON THE MARC-US
One of the quiet strengths of the Little Rock program in 2017-18 has been the play of junior
Ben Marcus. At the midway point of the season, Marcus is setting himself up for a chance to join the Little Rock record books as he is shooting 75.9 percent in 2017-18, hitting 44 of his 58 field goal attempts, and leading the Sun Belt in shooting percentage. That mark is well above the single season field goal percentage record of 65.0 percent, set by Ryan Moss in 1997-98. Marcus would need to take 32 more shots over the next 15 games to reach the 90 field goals attempted minimum.
CAREER NIGHT FOR CAM
Junior
Camron Reedus put together his best performance in a Trojan uniform Thursday night, hitting six of his eight shots, including going 5-of-7 from three-point range, to record a career-high 19 points at Georgia State. Reedus also hit both of his free throws as he continues to lead the Trojans, hitting 87.5% of his attempts from the charity stripe (14-of-16). The Decatur, Alabama native has had a pair of productive games for Little Rock, scoring 32 points on 10-of-17 shooting in the last two outings, and has moved into fourth among the Trojan scoring leaders at 7.0 points per game.
BRING IT BANKSTON
Freshman
Kris Bankston is starting to come into his own for Little Rock, finding his place among the Trojan rotation. The Little Rock native set career highs in both points (eight) and rebounds (nine) at Georgia State, just missing becoming the first Little Rock player with a double-double this season. Bankston is tied for second on the team in blocks (10), leading the team on four occasions already this season.
BREAKING THROUGH FROM OUTSIDE
Little Rock had its best performance from beyond the three-point arc against Georgia State, making nine of its 17 three-point attempts (52.9%). That performance is tied for the second-most made threes on the year (tying the performance at Bradley) and the best shooting percentage from beyond the arc, besting the 46.2 percent against Louisiana on December 29. It was a surge of confidence for Little Rock as the team has ranked near the bottom of the 351 Division I teams in three point field goal percentage thus far in 2017-18.
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 468-364 in points in the paint through 16 games this season, averaging 29.3 points in the key per game. Little Rock has held the advantage in 11 of its 16 games this season, including a 20+ point differential against Ouachita Baptist (48-20), Norfolk State (38-10) and Ozarks (46-10).
HITTING THE GROUND RUNNING
The four true freshmen on Little Rock's 2017-18 roster haven't had much time to settle into things as all four have been relied upon early and often. The quartet of
Cameron Corcoran,
Jaizec Lottie,
Damir Hadzic and
Kris Bankston have combined to play 992 minutes already this season, accounting for nearly 33% of the Trojans' 3,050 minutes. The freshmen foursome enter the game Saturday averaging 19.5 points per game, nearly 31% of Little Rock's offensive production, as Lottie and Hadzic have both been constants in the Little Rock starting five.
SEEKING THEIR ROAD TOUCH
The Trojans head to Statesboro in search of their first victory away from the Jack this season. Little Rock is 0-8 in road games this season, extending its winless streak in true road games to nine-straight, while winning just one of its last 16 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.
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 16 games of the season, the Trojans have led for just 211:35 of the 650 minutes played, roughly 32.5% 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 12 of its first 16 games, trailing by 16 or more in eight of those contests.
HOME SWEET HOME
Following the trip to Statesboro, Little Rock returns home for three-straight at the Jack Stephens Center. That home stand begins on Thursday, January 11, when the Trojans welcome preseason Sun Belt favorite UT Arlington to Arkansas' capital city for a 7:15 p.m. tip.
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