OPENING TIP
Little Rock closes out 2018 in our nation's capital, taking on Big East foe Georgetown Saturday, December 22 at Capital One Arena, tipping at 11 a.m. C.T. The game against the Hoyas will be covered by Fox Sports, airing on the Mid Atlantic Sports Network, which can be picked up with extended sports package on DirecTV channel 640. The game will also be available through the Fox Sports Go app. Live stats are available at GUHoyas.com with Ray Tucker carrying the call live on The Point 94.1 FM.
STARTING FIVE
• Little Rock and Georgetown meet for the first time Saturday as the Trojans will play the program's first-ever game in our nation's capital and 12th game against current Big East members.
• Saturday's game marks the second-straight for head coach Darrell Walker against a former NBA opponent-turned-coach, facing former New York Knicks teammate Patrick Ewing.
• Little Rock remains one of the country's top field goal shooting teams, connecting on 49.7% of its shots from the floor and ranking 22nd nationally.
• Rayjon Tucker continues to pace the Trojan offense, averaging 21.3 points and 36:31 minutes per game, ranking 28th and 25th nationally, respectively. Tucker has scored in double figures in all 11 games he's played with six games of 20 points or more.
• Kris Bankston has emerged as one of the country's top dunkers, logging 39 through 12 games this season. 39 of his 55 shots have been dunks as his 84.6% field goal percentage would lead the NCAA had he met the minimum of 5.0 FGs made per game.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Little Rock's trip to our nation's capital is the first in program history and will be the second longest trip of the year for the Trojans, sitting just over 1,000 miles from the Jack Stephens Center to Capital One Arena. The trip to D.C. is the furthest east the Trojans will have traveled since a pair of games in the British Virgin Islands in 2013, and marks the fifth different state/district for Little Rock's six road games this season.
WE MEET AGAIN
Saturday's game at Georgetown features a unique reunion for Little Rock head coach Darrell Walker and Georgetown head coach Patrick Ewing as the two former NBA teammates will go head-to-head. The two were teammates during Ewing's rookie season with the New York Knicks in 1985-86, then squared off multiple times both as players and coaches in the NBA.Â
EFFICIENT FROM THE FLOOR
Through the first 12 games of the season, the Trojans are shooting 49.7% from the floor, ranking second in the Sun Belt and 22nd nationally. Through the first third of the 2018-19 season, Little Rock has shot 50.% or better from the floor in seven of its first 12 games, including a season-high 63.8% (30-of-47) against Central Arkansas on December 8. Five different Trojans are making more than half of their field goals on the year, led by Kris Bankston's 84.6% shooting percentage (55-of-65).
IRON MAN
Redshirt junior Rayjon Tucker has been a mainstay on the court for Little Rock in 2018-19, averaging 36:31 of playing time to rank first in the Sun Belt and 25th nationally in minutes played. Tucker has played 35 or more minutes in nine of his 11 games, including a season-high 40 against Southeastern Oklahoma on November 8. Additionally, Tucker is among the national leaders in a handful of categories, ranking 27th in free throw attempts (79), 28th in points per game (21.3), 34th in free throws made (59) and 38th in total points (234).
DOUBLE FIGURE TUCKER
Rayjon Tucker' has scored in double figures in each of the 11 games he has played in, surpassing the 20-point plateau six times. His 11-straight games of scoring in double figures is tied for the longest for a Little Rock player since Josh Hagins accomplished the feat in 11-straight games from 2015-16. With another game of 11 points or more against Memphis, Tucker would join Nick Zachary's streak of 12 games in double figures (2001 and 2003) in a tie for the fourth-longest stretch by a Trojan since the 2000-01 season.Â
BANKSTON COMING UP BIG
Sophomore Kris Bankston continued his breakout sophomore season against Memphis, finishing with 11 points against the Tigers on 5-of-6 shooting for his seventh double-figure game of the season. Bankston's field goal percentage of 84.6% would rank first in the NCAA had he met the minimum of 5.0 made field goals per game (Bankston is currently averaging 4.6). Additionally, 39 of his 55 field goals have been dunks, which ranks among the national leaders as well.
LAST TIME OUT
Little Rock gave Memphis everything it could handle on the Tigers' home court, overcoming five different deficits of five points or more to take a two-point advantage with just under four minutes remaining. But Memphis closed out the game on a 15-2 run, thwarting the Trojans' comeback bid in a 99-89 loss Wednesday at the FedEx Forum. The teams combined for 10 ties and 16 lead changes but a dominant 49-23 rebounding edge for Memphis helped turned the tide.
THROW IT DOWN, BIG MAN
Little Rock is earning a reputation as one of the nation's top dunking teams as the Trojans have recorded 59 dunks through 12 games of the 2018-19 season, averaging 4.9 per game. Kris Bankston has become the poster boy for slams for Little Rock with 39 of his 55 field goals coming off dunks. Rayjon Tucker has thrown it down 14 times this season as well as the Trojans are out-dunking their opponents 59-28.
MAKE WAY FOR MARIC
One of the early bright spots for Little Rock has been the play of freshman Nikola Maric. The Bosnia-Herzegovina native ranks third on the team in points (124) and fourth in rebounds (46) while playing just 20.4 minutes per game. Maric has scored in double figures eight times with a double-double against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Nov. 24), shooting 57.1% from the floor and 62.7% from the free throw line, ranking second and third on the team, respectively.
STRONG INSIDE
Little Rock remains a force in the paint as the Trojans have outscored their opponents 438-338 this season, averaging 36.5 points per game. Little Rock has held an edge in the paint in seven of 12 games in 2018-19, outscoring their opponents by 10 or more points on six occasions. The Trojans have posted three games with a 20+ point advantage in the paint, coming against Southeastern Oklahoma (44-24), Tennessee State (52-22) and Miles college (38-12).Â
STRUGGLES FROM THE STRIPE
In contrast to Little Rock ranking among one of the nation's top field goal shooting teams, the Trojans rank 348th out of 353 Division I teams, connecting on just 60.3% of its attempts. The disparity has not come from lack of opportunity as Little Rock has attempted more free throws than their opponents in all but two games in 2018-19, outscoring its opponents from the charity stripe 14.2 to 13.3 per game.
HITTING THE GROUND RUNNING
With such a young roster, head coach Darrell Walker knew he would need to rely on some youngsters to step up early and often. Little Rock's five freshmen, including Markquis Nowell, Terrell Curtis II, Kamani Johnson, Horace Wyatt Jr. and Nikola Maric, have logged 833 of the Trojans' 2,425 minutes (34.4%) and have combined to score 294 of Little Rock's 928 points (31.7%). The freshmen five have also accumulated 150 rebounds (34.4%) with a combined 26 starts (43.3%).
SCOUTING THE HOYAS
2018-19: 8-3 overall, 0-0 Big East, 6-1 at homE
Last Three Games: W vs. Appalachian State (83-73); L vs. SMU (81-73); L at Syracuse (72-71)
Series: First meeting between Little Rock and GeorgetownÂ
Head Coach: Patrick Ewing (Georgetown, 1985). Second season at Georgetown (23-18)
Key Players:
• #15 Jessie Govan (Sr., C): 18.5 ppg., 7.7 rpg., 55.4 FG%
• #3 James Akinjo (Fr., G): 13.6 ppg., 2.9 rpg., 4.5 apg., 39.3 FG%
• #2 Mac McClung (Fr., G): 10.0 ppg., 1.8 rpg., 36.4 FG%
• #23 Josh LeBlanc (Fr., F): 9.2 ppg., 7.7 rpg., 1.2 bpg., 64.4 FG%
• #33 Trey Mourning (Gr., F): 7.7 ppg., 5.4 rpg., 42.9 FG%
LITTLE ROCK vs. THE BIG EAST
Saturday's game at Georgetown marks Little Rock's 12th game in program history against current members of the Big East as the Trojans are 2-9 (.182) all-time against the league. The last time Little Rock squared off against a Big East foe, it was victorious in a 66-44 win at DePaul on Dec. 12, 2015, as the Trojans also notched a 71-69 win over Creighton at the Jack Stephens Center on Nov. 25, 2008. Little Rock has faced Creighton four times, the most of any current schools, with three meetings against Xavier, two against Marquette and one against Providence.
TWO FOR THE CAPITAL CITY
Entering the 2018-19 season, Little Rock had never faced a team from Washington, D.C. Saturday's game against Georgetown will be its second all-time, however. The Trojans squared off against Howard on Nov. 23 at the Jack Stephens Center, earning a 97-76 win over the Bison. Little Rock raced out to a 51-30 lead at the half and never looked back behind a career-high 29-point outburst from Deondre Burns.
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