LITTLE ROCK - A busy start to Sun Belt play continues Saturday when Little Rock returns to the Jack Stephens Center to face preseason Sun Belt favorite South Alabama. Opening tip against the Jaguars is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. as part of the lone doubleheader of the year for the Trojans as the Little Rock women face Georgia State at 2 p.m. Ben Creighton and Steve Shields will have the call of the game on ESPN+.
"Last night was disappointing because we didn't execute the way we had for the last few weeks," said head coach
Darrell Walker. "We weren't hitting shots and we were allowing too many open looks for Troy, who took advantage. But its a short turnaround. We need to forget about that one and get ready for another tough game against a South Alabama team that was the league favorites."
GAME STORYLINES
• Little Rock and South Alabama meet for 52nd time Saturday, making it the third-longest active series for the Trojans behind Arkansas State (89 games) and Louisiana (54 games). The Jaguars hold the 29-22 lead in the all-time series but Little Rock has won six of the last seven, including sweeping the season series in 2018-19.
• Saturday's game marks the last of four home games in the opening two weeks of 2020, all against the projected top-four teams in the Sun Belt. Little Rock's home stretch has included Texas State (4th), UT Arlington (2nd), Georgia Southern (3rd) and South Alabama (1st).
• Little Rock enters Thursday's game with a one game lead for sole possession of first place in the Sun Belt standings at 5-1, marking the first time the Trojans have sat atop the league standings since going 17-3 in the 2015-16 championship season.
• Little Rock's 11 victories on the year has already surpassed its 2018-19 season win total (10 games) while its five Sun Belt victories has already matched its total from last season.
•
Ruot Monyyong has registered double-doubles in five-straight games and has nine on the year, leading the Sun Belt Conference and ranking eighth nationally. He is also the league's leading rebounder, averaging 10.2 per game with 33 dunks.
•
Kamani Johnson is shooting 77.7% from the free throw line this season and ranks in the top-20 nationally in both attempts and made. He is 79.1% in Sun Belt play, improving his overall free throw percentage by nearly 30 points after averaging 50.8% as a freshman in 2018-19.
NEWS AND NOTES
SCOUTING THE JAGUARS
2019-20: 10-7 overall, 3-3 Sun Belt Conference
Last Three Games: W vs. Arkansas State (75-59); W at UT Arlington (66-54); L at ULM (69-49)
Head Coach: Richie Riley (Eastern Kentucky, 2005). Second season at USA (27-24), 4th season overall (62-52)
Key Players:
• #33 Josh Ajayi (Sr., F): 14.9 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 58.0 FG%
• #21 Chad Lott (Gr., G): 14.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 58.0 FG%
• #22 Andre Fox (Sr., G): 13.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 85.7 FT%
• #42 Trhae Mitchell (Sr., F): 9.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 80.0 FT%
• #4 Tyreke Locure (Fr., G): 5.9 rpg, 2.0 rpg, 82.1 FT%
LAST WE MET
Little Rock rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit to register its second-straight road win, upending South Alabama 73-68 at the Mitchell Center on February 9, 2019. Trailing by as many as 10 in the first half and 38-29 at the break, Little Rock outscored South Alabama 44-30 in the second half, led by 24 points and nine rebounds from Rayjon Tucker.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE
Ruot Monyyong continues to make a strong case for Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year, finishing with 16 points and 15 rebounds at Troy Thursday. It was Monyyong's fifth-straight double-double and ninth of the season, ranking him first in the Sun Belt and eighth nationally. He leads the conference in rebounding (10.2 rpg) and is averaging 14.7 points and 11.3 rebounds in Sun Belt play, shooting 68.5%% from the floor.
ALL GOOD THINGS MUST END
The loss at Troy brought to end a pair of impressive streaks for LIttle Rock. The Trojans lost their first game in 33 days, ending a six-game winning streak, its longest since 2016-17. Little Rock also suffered its first Sun Belt Conference defeat of the season, ending its season-opening league winning streak at five games, matching the 2015-16 team for the best start in program history.
PROPS FOR LOTTIE
Jaizec Lottie earned his first start of the season at Troy Thursday filling in for Markquis Nowell and made the most of it, finishing with 12 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals while playing all 40 minutes. Lottie is averaging 13.0 points and 5.5 assists in the last two games, averaging 31.3 minutes per game.
CRASHING THE BOARDS
The duo of Ruot Monyyong and Kamani Johnson have helped Little Rock establish a presence on the boards early in 2019-20. Monyyong (10.2 rpg) and Johnson (7.2 rpg) rank first and fourth, respectively, in the Sun Belt in rebounding average with Monyyong leading the conference in defensive rebounds (7.7) and Johnson ranking first in offensive rebounds (2.9).
WELCOME BACK
Thursday's game at Troy marked the first game back for Nikola Maric, who finished with six points and four rebounds in 17 minutes of action. Maric sat the first 16 games of the season to satisfy an NCAA ruling regarding his eligibility from earlier this summer. Thursday also marked Marko Lukic's Trojan debut from a similar ruling as he saw three minutes of playing time.
500 FOR LOTTIE
With his 12 points at Troy Thursday, Jaizec Lottie reached an impressive career milestone, logging 500 career points as a Trojan. He is the active roster leader for Little Rock in both games (72) and minutes played (1,947) and is second in career points to just Markquis Nowell's 579.Â
SECOND HALF SURGE
Little Rock has played its best basketball in the second half of games this season, outscoring the opposition 664-572 for a +92 point differential. The first half has been a challenge for the Trojans who have a -47 point differential, being outscored 581-534 in the opening 20 minutes of games.
THROWING IT DOWN
Little Rock has made a name for itself with its inside game and continues to emerge as one of the top dunking teams in the Sun Belt. The Trojans are out-dunking the opposition 55-29 on the year, registering four or more dunks in eight games this season, led by Ruot Monyyong with 33 on the year.
#LittleRocksTeam
