Thanksgiving Hoops Weekend Begins With Howard Friday

OPENING TIP
Little Rock opens up a lengthy stay in central Arkansas serving as the host institution of a bracket of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Holiday Classic. The Trojans open up the two-day event hosting Howard at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, November 23, with Ray Tucker handling the call on The Point 94.1 FM.

TOURNAMENT TIME
Little Rock's last two games have been part of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Holiday Classic, taking the Trojans to both Nevada and Oklahoma for the opening two games. This weekend, Little Rock welcomes Howard, Cal Baptist and Arkansas-Pine Bluff to the Jack Stephens Center for a two-day, four-game feast. It marks the second-straight year Little Rock has served as the host institution for a Thanksgiving weekend event.

Friday, November 23
• Game One: Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs. Cal Baptist - 1 p.m.
• Game Two: Little Rock vs. Howard - 3:30 p.m.

Saturday, November 24
• Game Three: Games One and Two Losers - 1 p.m.
• Game Four: Games One and Two Winners - 3:30 p.m.

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 125-69 record (.644) at the Jack since the doors opened in 2005, including a 69-45 mark (.605) against Sun Belt Conference foes. The Trojans have posted a winning home record every year at the Jack Stephens Center, winning 10 or more home games on five occasions. Little Rock's longest home Jack Stephens Center winning streak is 19 games from February 19, 2015 through November 18, 2016. 

HOME COOKING
This weekend's games marks the start of a nearly month-long stretch in which Little Rock will not leave the central Arkansas region. The Trojans play six of their next seven games at the Jack Stephens Center, beginning with hosting the Continental Tire Las Vegas Holiday Classic, before four-straight against Sam Houston State, Bradley, Central Arkansas and Miles College to open up the month of December. The lone road trip during that span will be the short trip to Conway for the yearly showdown with the rival Bears, taking place November 28 at the Farris Center.

LAST TIME OUT
Little Rock raced out to a double digit lead in the first half and held a five-point advantage on Tulsa at halftime Monday evening. But the Golden Hurricane rallied before pulling away over the final 10 minutes, handing the Trojans an 88-78 loss at the Donald W. Reynolds Center. The loss came despite a double-double from Rayjon Tucker, who finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds, as 39 combined fouls and 19 turnovers proved to be Little Rock's undoing. 

RAYJON RISING
Redshirt junior Rayjon Tucker continues to impress in his first season on the court for Little Rock. Tucker notched Little Rock's first double-double of the season Monday at Tulsa, scoring 21 in the first half and finishing with 24 points and 10 rebounds, both of which were career highs. The Charlotte, North Carolina native is shooting 57.1% from the floor, ranking third in the Sun Belt Conference, while his 18.5 ppg average is fifth in the league. He is the only player to score in double figures in Little Rock's first four games.

TRENDING UPWARD
One of the first orders of business for head coach Darrell Walker when he assumed the head coaching role was to improve Little Rock's offensive identity. Through four games this year, the Trojans are averaging 80.2 points per game, nearly 17 points higher than its 63.7 ppg average last season. The Trojans are shooting 49.8 percent from the floor, ranking second in the Sun Belt and 45th nationally, with three players averaging in double figures.

TROJANS AMONG SUN BELT LEADERS
The season is still young but Little Rock has already made strides in a number of statistical categories in 2018-19. As a team, Little Rock ranks second in field goal percentage (49.8%), fourth in scoring offense (80.2 ppg), third in rebounding (38.0 rpg) and third in assists (15.5 apg). Individually, Rayjon Tucker is fifth in scoring (18.5 ppg) and third in field goal percentage (57.1%) while Markquis Nowell is fifth in assists (4.3 apg) and Kris Bankston ranks seventh in steals (1.8 spg) and sixth in blocks (1.5 bpg).

STRUGGLES FROM THE STRIPE
A glaring weakness of the Trojans' last season was its struggles from the free throw line as Little Rock shot just 61.0%, ranking 349th of 351 Division I schools. Unfortunately, the struggles have continued into 2018-19 as the Trojans are connecting on just 55.2% of its attempts from the charity stripe, ranking 348th out of 353 Division I programs. Rayjon Tucker as the Trojans' top free throw shooter, making 12 of his 18 attempts and making 66.7%, leading the team in both free throws made and attempted.

WHISTLES UPON WHISTLES
One key that hindered Little Rock's ability to establish a consistent offensive scheme against Tulsa Monday evening was the excessive among of whistles. The Trojans were whistled for 39 fouls against the Golden Hurricane, three shy of the program record 42 against Lamar on January 14, 1995. Four different Trojans reached the five-foul limit against Tulsa, marking the first time Little Rock had four players foul out since the four-overtime slug fest against Arkansas State on March 14, 2014.

WIN #1,000
Little Rock notched a milestone victory in its 83-67 win over Tennessee State last Tuesday in Nashville, registering the 1,000th victory in program history. Playing its first season in 1930-31, the Trojans have accumulated 35 winning seasons, winning 20 or more games 11 times, as 663 of those 1,000 victories have come at the Division I level.

SCOUTING THE BISON
2018-19: 4-1 overall, 0-0 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, 1-1 on the road
Last Three Games: L at Southern Illinois (83-69); W at UMass (68-63); W vs. Regent (108-51)
Series: First all-time meeting between Little Rock and Howard
Head Coach: Kevin Nickelberry (Virginia Wesleyan, 1986). Ninth season at Howard (83-178), 12th season overall (132-222)
Key Players:
• #13 Charles Williams (Jr. G) - 21.8 ppg, 1.0 rpg
• #2 R.J. Cole (So. G) -  19.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg
• #21 Chad Lott (R-Jr. G) - 14.0 ppg, 5.4 rpg
• #1 Andre Toure (Fr. F) - 6.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg
• #12 Akuwovo Ogheneyole (Fr. C) - 6.0 ppg, 7.4 rpg

TWO FOR THE CAPITOL CITY
When Little Rock takes to the court against Howard Friday afternoon, it will mark the first time in program history Little Rock will go head-to-head against a team based out of our nation's capitol. Howard will hold the distinction of being Little Rock's only Washington D.C. opponent for just a month, however, as the Trojans will head to the nation's capitol to take on Georgetown at Capital One Arena on Saturday, December 22. 

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