OPENING TIP
Little Rock's final road trip of the regular season will be challenging one, heading to the Peach State to face a pair of Sun Belt contenders. The first stop is in Statesboro to face Georgia Southern at 6 p.m. CT Thursday, February 28. Greg Talbot and Griffin Lail will call the action on ESPN+ with Ray Tucker handling the radio call for the Trojans on The Point 94.1 FM.
STARTING FIVE
• Little Rock and Georgia Southern meet for the 34th time with the Eagles holding an 18-15 lead in the all-time series. Georgia Southern has won two-straight, sweeping last year's series.
• The Trojans begin a challenging final two weekends in its quest to make the 2019 Sun Belt Conference tournament, having to face the two teams tied for second on the road before returning home to play two of the teams currently tied for fifth in the standings.
• Thursday's game will feature the top two field goal shooting teams in the Sun Belt with Georgia Southern at 50.1% (sixth nationally) and Little Rock at 48.5% (19th nationally).
• Rayjon Tucker continues to pace Little Rock, recording his sixth double-double of the year at Arkansas State Saturday. He has scored in double figures in 25 of his 26 games while ranking 25th nationally in minutes played at nearly 37 a game.
• Kris Bankston remains one of the nation's top dunking threats, posting his 60th dunk of the year Saturday at Arkansas State and ranking third nationally behind Arkansas' Daniel Gafford (71) and Texas' Jaxon Hayes (67).
THE RACE FOR NEW ORLEANS
With two weekends to go in the regular season, Little Rock has its work cut out for it if it wants to qualify for the 2019 Sun Belt Conference tournament. At 5-9, the Trojans are currently the number 10 seed, meaning if the tournament started today, Little Rock would hit the road for a play-in game at the site of the number seven overall seed, which be either Louisiana or ULM. After the trip to Georgia, Little Rock hosts both Louisiana schools at the Jack Stephens Center to close out the regular season.
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 241-231 (.511) record in conference play. Little Rock and Georgia Southern have competed as Sun Belt rivals since the 2014-15 season with the Eagles holding a slim 4-3 edge against the Trojans since joining the league.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Little Rock heads back on the road this weekend, getting set to play a game in its ninth different state/territory in 2018-19. The Trojans will head to Georgia for the first time since the Southern/State swing last season and are seeking their first victory in the Peach State since sweeping the Eagles and Panthers in February of 2016 and its first win in the Eastern time zone since the 76-68 win at Appalachian State on Jan. 7, 2017. The trip to Statesboro and Atlanta will bring Little Rock's miles traveled on the year to just over 11,500.
IRON MAN
Rayjon Tucker has been a mainstay on the court for Little Rock this season, compiling 956 minutes in his 26 games played this season, ranking 25th nationally in minutes played (36:44 per game). Tucker has been on the floor for 87.7% of the time for the Trojans this season, despite missing the entire game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff due to an injury. The Charlotte, North Carolina native has played 35 or more minutes in 19 games this year, playing 40 or more minutes on six occasions.
BANKSTON ATOP RECORD BOOK
Kris Bankston has officially entered the Trojan record book as he now sits atop the program's single season field goal percentage list. Bankston has made 93 of his 115 field goal attempts for 80.9%, shattering the previous record of 65.0% set by Ryan Moss in the 1997-98 season. For his career, Bankston is shooting 73.4% from the floor (141-of-192), which would be nearly 90 points higher than Moss' 64.7% clip as he needs 59 more field goals to reach the minimum.
DOUBLE DOUBLE TUCKER TUCKER
Rayjon Tucker picked up his sixth double-double of the year at Arkansas State Saturday, finishing with 24 points and 10 rebounds, which is tied for the sixth-most in the Sun Belt Conference this season. Tucker has finished in double figures in 25 of his 26 games played this year, surpassing the 20-point plateau on 13 occasions, and ranks fifth in the Sun Belt in scoring at 20.1 points per game.
MOVING UP THE CHARTS
A handful of Trojans continue to move up the all-time charts, including Rayjon Tucker becoming the 14th player in program history to surpass 500 points in a season. His 20.3 points per game is currently fourth in Trojan history in scoring average while ranking seventh all-time in free throws made in a season (142). Kris Bankston sits atop the field goal percentage leaders at 80.9%, sitting 12th in career blocks at 60.
1,000 MINUTE CLUB
Heading into this weekend's games in Georgia, a pair of Trojans sit on the verge of logging their 1,000th minutes in a Little Rock uniform. Kris Bankston currently sits at 994 minutes played while Rayjon Tucker is at 956 in just his first season in Little Rock. Should the duo both surpass the milestone as expected, they will join Jaizec Lottie (1,395) and Deondre Burns (1,221) as the third and fourth players on the current roster to log 1,000 minutes during their Little Rock careers.
MAKE WAY FOR MARIC
Freshman Nikola Maric has been a solid presence inside for the Trojans this season. Maric ranks third on the team in scoring at 10.4 points per game and has finished in double figures 17 times this season, including in each of the last five games. He is third on the team in field goal percentage (51.8%) and is shooting 51.7% from three-point range, making 15 of his 29 attempts.
THROW IT DOWN, BIG MEN
Little Rock is earning a reputation as one of the nation's top dunking teams as the Trojans have recorded 97 dunks through 27 games of the 2018-19 season, averaging 3.6 dunks per game. Kris Bankston has become the poster boy for slams for Little Rock with 60 of his 93 field goals coming off dunks (64.5%), ranking third nationally behind Arkansas' Daniel Gafford and Texas' Jaxon Hayes. Little Rock has nearly doubled-up its opponents, out-dunking the competition 97-50.Â
2018-19 TROJAN DUNKS Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
• 60 - Kris Bankston (High of 6 at Tennessee State, 11/13/18)
• 23 - Rayjon Tucker (High of 4 vs. Two Teams)
• 9 - Kamani Johnson (High of 2 vs. South Alabama, 1/12/19)
• 4 - Horace Wyatt Jr. (High of 2 vs. Central Arkansas, 12/8/18)
• 1 - Deondre Burns (High of 1 vs. South Alabama, 1/12/19)
LAST TIME OUT
Once again, an extended second half run proved costly for the Trojans as a late Little Rock rally fell short in a 72-65 loss at rival Arkansas State Saturday afternoon. The Trojans found themselves down 13 with 3:56 to go, the 16th time Little Rock has trailed by double digits in the second half this season. The loss came despite a double double from Rayjon Tucker (24 points, 10 rebounds) and 16 points from Nikola Maric.Â
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
2018-19: 18-10 overall, 10-5 Sun Belt (T-2nd), 8-3 at home
Last Three Games: W at Appalachian State (92-69); W at Coastal Carolina (79-74); W vs. Troy (76-51)
Series: Georgia Southern leads, 18-15 (.545) | Streak: GASO won 2 |Â First: Feb. 12, 1981 (L, 91-74) | Last: Feb. 1, 2018 (L, 67-61)Â
Head Coach: Mark Byington (UNC Wilmington, 1998). Sixth season at Georgia Southern (108-82); Sixth season overall
Key Players:
• #4 Tookie Brown (Sr., G): 17.8 ppg., 4.1 rpg., 50.7 FG%
• #13 Quan Jackson (R-So., G): 15.4 ppg., 4.7 rpg., 44.7 FG%
• #3 Ike Smith (Sr., G): 14.7 ppg., 5.7 rpg., 45.2 FG%
• #53 Isaiah Crawley (Jr., F): 10.8 ppg., 5.6 rpg., 55.3 FG%
• #0 Montae Glenn (Sr., F): 9.9 ppg., 7.2 rpg., 63.0 FG%
LAST TIME vs. THEÂ EAGLES
Little Rock led by as many as 12 in the first half against Georgia Southern at the Jack Stephens Center on February 1, 2018, but turnovers and free throws once again proved costly as the Trojans fell to the Eagles 67-61. Little Rock shot 48 percent from the floor and limited Georgia Southern to just 4-of-19 from beyond the arc, but a 19-5 deficit in points off turnovers and shooting just 42.1 percent from the free throw line resulted in a second half deficit the Trojans couldn't overcome.
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