Little Rock Begins Key Road Stretch at Troy Thursday

OPENING TIP
Little Rock embarks on a crucial Sun Belt Conference road trip this weekend in Alabama with postseason implications on the line. The trip starts in Troy on Thursday, February 7 at 6 p.m. with the battle of the Trojans, streaming live on ESPN+.  Ray Tucker will once again carry the radio call live on The Point 94.1 FM and online at KKPT.com.

STARTING FIVE
• Little Rock and Troy meet for the 23rd time overall and the second time in 2018-19. Little Rock holds a 13-9 edge in the all-time series and is coming
off a 73-59 win on January 10.
• Kris Bankston continues to rank among the nation's dunk leaders, throwing down 55 this season to sit second in the nation, tied with Arkansas' Daniel Gafford. His 82.8% field goal percentage would lead the NCAA had he met the minimum of 5.0 made field goals per game (he is currently at 3.7).• Rayjon Tucker notched his fourth double-double of the year against Arkansas State, finishing with 23 points and 10 rebounds. He has scored in double figures in 20 of his 21 games.
• In the last three games, Little Rock has trailed by 12 with four minutes remaining in each before outscoring its opponents 49-21. The Trojans have lost those three games by a combined six points.
• The road continues to be unkind to the Trojans, who are 1-9 in road games this season. In the last three years, Little Rock has won seven road games and is 4-18 in opposing Sun Belt venues.

CRITICAL WEEKEND
With the second half of the Sun Belt season getting underway, the trip to Alabama is an important one for Little Rock in terms of the postseason. The Trojans are 12th in the conference standings entering the weekend at 2-7 in league play, one game back of Troy, who is tied for 10th at 3-6. Little Rock is two games behind four teams tied for sixth at 4-5, including South Alabama - Little Rock's Saturday opponent. Little Rock defeated both Troy and South Alabama in Little Rock in January and would hold the tiebreaker with wins this weekend.

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 238-229 (.510) record in conference play. The two Trojans have been Sun Belt rivals since the 2005-06 season with Little Rock posting a 13-8 (.619) record over Troy during that span.

IRON MAN
Rayjon Tucker continues to be a mainstay on the court for Little Rock as the redshirt junior is averaging 36:23 minutes per game - first in the Sun Belt and 28th nationally. Tucker has played 35 or more minutes in 15 of his 20 games this season, playing 40 or more minutes three times. That time on the court has allowed him to put up some impressive numbers, ranking fourth in the Sun Belt in points per game (20.2), sixth in field goal percentage (50.0%), seventh in three-pointers (2.2) and fourth in defensive rebounds (5.9). Tucker also knows how to get to the free throw line, ranking 25th in free throws made (117) and 28th in free throws attempted (151).

TROJANS AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS
As a team, Little Rock finds itself ranked among the national leaders in a number of categories. The Trojans are 15th nationally in field goal percentage at 49.0%, ranking second in the Sun Belt behind Georgia Southern. Little Rock is one of the nation's top teams in getting to the foul line, ranking 25th nationally with 524 attempts, while ranking 53rd in turnovers forced (15.4) and 67th in three point field goal percentage (37.0%).

BIG MAN BANKSTON
Kris Bankston continues to put together a solid sophomore year for Little Rock, making his presence felt inside. Bankston has registered 55 dunks on the year, tied with Arkansas' Daniel Gafford for the second-most in the NCAA this season behind Texas' Jaxon Hayes' 57. The sophomore is shooting 82.8% from the floor and would rank first nationally had he met the minimum of 5.0 made field goals per game. With 82 field goals on the year, Bankston needs just eight more to qualify for the Trojan single season field goal percentage lead as he would shatter the previous mark of 65.0% set by Ryan Moss in 1997-98.

FRESHMAN FOURSOME
Little Rock's freshman foursome have been called on early and often as the group of Markquis Nowell, Kamani Johnson, Horace Wyatt Jr. and Nikola Maric have started eight of the Trojans' last nine games. Little Rock's freshmen have combined to play 1,719 of Little Rock's 4,450 minutes this season (38.6%), providing 616 of the Trojans' 1,693 points (36.4%). The group has accounted for 267 rebounds (35.3%) while combining for 64 of Little Rock's 110 starts in 2018-19 (58.2%).

LITTLE BIG MAN
While typically the smallest player on the court, 5-8 freshman guard Markquis Nowell has come up big time and time again for the Trojans this season. Nowell ranks second on the team in points per game (12.9), scoring in double figures 13 times this season. He ranks fourth in the Sun Belt in assists (4.5 apg.) and is seventh in steals (1.4 spg.), ranking second on the team with a 78.7% free throw percentage.

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 87 dunks through the first 22games of the 2018-19 season, averaging 3.95 per game. Kris Bankston has become the poster boy for slams for Little Rock with 55 of his 82 field goals coming off dunks (67%). Little Rock has more than doubled-up its opponents thus far in 2018-19, out-dunking the competition 87-38. 

2018-19 TROJAN DUNKS                                                
• 55 - Kris Bankston (High of 6 at Tennessee State, 11/13/18)
• 18 - 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)

BIG OFF THE BENCH
Redshirt junior Deondre Burns has been a spark off the bench for Little Rock this season, scoring all 19 of his points in the second half Saturday against Arkansas State. Burns is averaging 10.6 points per game, third on the team, including 12.0 points per game in Sun Belt Conference play, while leading the team at the free throw line at 78.8%.

DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN
Little Rock's last three games have been an odd case of déja vu as in each of them, the Trojans have found themselves trailing by 12 with four minutes to go before staging furious rallies in the closing minutes. Little Rock took the lead in two of those games, dropping all three games by a combined six points while outscoring their three opponents 49-21 in the closing minutes.
 

ROADS WOES
The road continues to be unkind to Little Rock this season as the Trojans are 1-9 away from the Jack Stephens Center and are 0-4 in Sun Belt play. Little Rock has won just seven road games over the last three seasons and are 4-18 on the road in league games with the Trojans' last Sun Belt road win the 72-61 overtime shocker at Louisiana in the regular season finale last year. 

LAST TIME OUT
In a game that saw a number of monumental runs, Little Rock's final rally came up one point short, falling 84-83 to rival Arkansas State Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center. The Trojans built a 14 point lead in the first half, only to see the Red Wolves use a 37-7 run of its own to swing momentum back in their favor. Trailing by as many as 22, and by 12 with 1:37 to go, Little Rock staged one final rally, taking an 83-82 lead with six seconds to play off a three from Rayjon Tucker. But a pair of free throws put the Red Wolves back on top and Little Rock's potential game-winning shot as time expired fell short of the rim.

SCOUTING THE (ALABAMA) TROJANS
2018-19: 10-11 overall, 3-6 Sun Belt (T-10th), 7-4 on the road
Last Three Games: L at South Alabama (81-75); L at Louisiana (86-81); L at ULM (75-69)
Series: Little Rock leads, 13-9 (.591) | Streak: Little Rock won 1 | First: 1962-63 (L, 76-49) | Last: Jan. 10, 2019 (W, 73-59) 
Head Coach: Phil Cunningham (Campbellsville, 1990). Sixth season at Troy (78-104); Sixth season overall
Key Players:
• #23 Jordon Varnado (Sr., F): 21.5 ppg., 7.8 rpg., 52.6 FG%
• #30 Alex Hicks (Sr., F): 12.4 ppg., 8.2 rpg., 55.2 FG%
• #11 B.J. Miller (Sr., G): 10.1 ppg., 2.7 rpg., 56.0 FG%
• #1 Javan Johnson (So., F): 9.5 ppg., 4.1 rpg., 39.3 FG%
• #3 Darian Adams (R-So., G): 7.0 ppg., 2.8 rpg., 34.5 FG%, 88.6 FT%

LAST TIME vs. THE TROJANS
Little Rock found itself in a substantial hole early against Troy on January 10, trailing by nine in the first half thanks to shooting just 25% from the floor. But the Trojans responded over the final 30 minutes, outscoring the Alabama Trojans 46-30 in the second half en route to the 73-59 win. Markquis Nowell provided the second half spark, scoring 14 of his 16 points in the final 20 minutes, as Little Rock turned the tables on Troy in the turnover department. After averaging over 20 turnovers in its previous four games, Little Rock committed just 13 on the night and forced 23 from Troy, leading to a 27-10 edge in points off turnovers.

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