Little Rock Opens Sun Belt Play at ULM Thursday

OPENING TIP
Little Rock begins the New Year by opening up its 2019 Sun Belt Conference schedule with a Louisiana road trip, beginning in Monroe. Little Rock faces ULM at Fant-Ewing Coliseum on Thursday, January 3, tipping at 7 p.m. on ESPN+. Live stats are available at ULMWarhawks.com with Ray Tucker carrying the call live on The Point 94.1 FM.

STARTING FIVE
• Little Rock opens its 28th season as a member of the Sun Belt Conference, posting an overall SBC record of 236-222 (.515) with a pair of conference titles and five divisional championships.
• Little Rock and ULM meet for the 34th time overall Thursday with the Trojans holding an 18-15 (.545) edge in the series. But the Warhawks won the last meeting and are 10-6 in Monroe.
• 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 16th nationally.
• Rayjon Tucker continues to pace the Trojan offense, averaging 20.8 points and 36:38 minutes per game, ranking 31st and 21st nationally, respectively. Tucker has scored in double figures in all 12 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 41 through 13 games this season. 41 of his 58 shots have been dunks as his 85.3% field goal percentage would lead the NCAA had he met the minimum of 5.0 FGs made per game.

BACK IN THE BELT
The 2018-19 season marks Little Rock's 28th year as a member of the Sun Belt Conference, joining the league in the 1991-92 season. During that stretch, the Trojans have posted a 236-222 (.515) record in conference play, winning the 2016 Sun Belt regular season title to complement Little Rock's five divisional championships. Little Rock and ULM have been Sun Belt foes since the Warhawks joined the league in 2006, with the Trojans holding a 14-11 (.560) mark as conference opponents.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Little Rock's road trip continues with the journey south to Louisiana this weekend, marking the sixth different state/region the Trojans will play a road contest this season. Little Rock will travel to Monroe for Thursday's game at ULM, then continue on to Lafayette for Saturday's tilt against the Ragin' Cajuns, bringing the Trojans total travels following this weekend to just shy of 7,500 miles on the year.

MAKING IT COUNT
Through the first 13 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 36:38 of playing time to rank first in the Sun Belt and 21st nationally in minutes played. Tucker has played 35 or more minutes in 10 of his 12 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 31st in points per game (20.8), which leads the Sun Belt Conference, in addition to ranking 43rd in free throw attempts (87) and 49th in field goals made (65).

DOUBLE FIGURE TUCKER
Rayjon Tucker' has scored in double figures in each of the 12 games he has played in, surpassing the 20-point plateau six times. His 12-straight games of scoring in double figures is tied for the longest for a Little Rock player since Nick Zachary did it on two separate occasions in both 2001 and 2003. The streak is tied for the fourth-longest for the Trojans since the 2000-01 season trailing the 20-game streaks from Solomon Bozeman (2010-11) and Stan Blackmon (2000-01) and the 19-game run for Will Neighbor (2013-14). 

TAKE IT TO THE BANK-STON
Sophomore Kris Bankston continues to establish himself as one of the nation's most efficient scorers, converting 58 of his 68 field goal attempts (85.3%). Bankston would rank as the national leader in the category but falls slightly short of the NCAA minimum of 5.0 made field goals per game, currently sitting at 4.5 made field goals per game. Of his 58 made field goals, 41 have come in the form of dunks.

LAST TIME OUT
Little Rock and Georgetown staged a battle in our nation's capital as the Trojans rallied from five points down in the final minute, forcing overtime off a 30-foot shot from Ryan Pippins as time expired. But the Hoyas pulled away in the extra stanza, handing the Trojans the 102-94 loss at Capital One Arena. Turnovers plagued Little Rock in the loss as the Trojans committed 19 in the final 25 minutes, overshadowing a career-high for Nikola Maric (27) and a double-double for Rayjon Tucker.

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 63 dunks through the first 13 games of the 2018-19 season, averaging 4.8 per game. Kris Bankston has become the poster boy for slams for Little Rock with 41 of his 58 field goals coming off dunks. Rayjon Tucker has thrown it down 15 times this season, with Kamani Johnson tallying four and Horace Wyatt Jr. adding three, as the Trojans are out-dunking their opponents 63-29.

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 had arguably the best game of his Trojan career against Georgetown, scoring a career-high 27 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor and 9-of-12 from the free throw line. Maric ranks second on the team in scoring (11.6 ppg) and field goal percentage (59.8%) while ranking fourth in free throw percentage (65.1%) and fifth in rebounds (4.2 rpg). Maric has scored in double figures nine times with a double-double against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Nov. 24 (20 pts., 12 reb.).

THE GOOD...
Little Rock remains a force in the paint as the Trojans have outscored their opponents 474-366 this season, averaging 36.5 points per game. Little Rock has held an edge in the paint in eight of 13 games in 2018-19, outscoring their opponents by 10 or more points on six occasions. The Trojans also rank 38th nationally in defensive rebounds per game (28.6), 65th in assists per game (15.8), 81st in total assists (206) and 84th in scoring offense (78.6 ppg).

...AND THE BAD
In contrast to Little Rock ranking among one of the nation's top field goal shooting teams, the Trojans rank 333rd out of 353 Division I teams at the free throw line, connecting on just 62.7% of its attempts. That ranking has improved over the last few games as the Trojans hit 32 of their 40 attempts at Georgetown. Another glaring weakness has been on the offensive glass as the Trojans rank 325th nationally, including being out-rebounded 18-5 at Memphis and 17-5 at Georgetown.

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 947 of the Trojans' 2,650 minutes (35.7%) and have combined to score 355 of Little Rock's 1,022 points (34.7%), including 27 from Maric and 24 from Nowell at Georgetown. The freshmen five have also accumulated 166 rebounds (34.9%) with a combined 30 starts (46.2%) as Walker started four true freshmen against the Hoyas on December 22.

SCOUTING THE WARHAWKS
2018-19: 7-5 overall, 0-0 Sun Belt, 5-0 at home
Last Three Games: L at LSU (81-69); W vs. Coppin State (80-63); W vs. Nicholls (95-68)
Series: Little Rock leads, 18-15 (.545) | Streak: ULM won 1 | First: 1954-55 (L, 83-81) | Last: Mar. 1, 2017 (L, 48-44) 
Head Coach: Keith Richard (ULM, 1982). Ninth season at ULM (100-163); 18th season overall (250-280)
Key Players:
• #5 Daishon Smith (Sr., G): 18.4 ppg., 3.4 rpg., 48.0 FG%
• #1 Travis Munnings (Sr., F): 13.8 ppg., 6.8 rpg., 39.0 FG%
• #2 Michael Ertel (So., G): 13.8 ppg., 2.3 rpg., 44.4 FG%
• #3 J.D. Williams (Jr., G): 12.2 ppg., 4.5 rpg., 41.6 FG%
• #11 Andre Washington (Jr., F): 4.3 ppg., 5.8 rpg., 47.2 FG%

LAST TIME vs. THE WARHAWKS
Scoring was at a premium in the last meeting between Little Rock and ULM, ending with a 48-44 win by the Warhawks at Fant-Ewing Coliseum on March 1, 2018. The teams combined to shoot just 30% from the floor as ULM held a 19-18 lead at halftime. Little Rock rallied in the second half, tying the game at 44-44 with just under two minutes to go, but the Trojans missed its final three shots and committed a pair of costly turnovers to help the Warhawks preserve the victory.

#LittleRocksTeam