LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Little Rock returns to action Friday evening in Louisville in one of the marquee early season mid-major showdowns. The Trojans face UNC Greensboro at 6 p.m. CT at the KFC Yum! Center, streaming live on ESPN3 with Trojan Hall of Famer Ray Tucker handling the radio call on 106.7 FM The Ride.
Schedule Note: Little Rock's game against Western Kentucky has been moved to Friday, December 4 due to the Hilltoppers competing in the Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Tip time between the former Sun Belt rivals is set for 6 p.m. CT.
GAME STORYLINES
• Little Rock continues its stay at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky, facing UNC Greensboro Friday at 6 p.m. CT in the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
• The meeting between Little Rock and UNC Greensboro will be one of the marquee early season non-conference showdowns at the mid-major level. Both the Trojans and Spartans are their respective preseason conference favorites and are ranked fourth and 12th, respectively, in the preseason College Insider Mid-Major Top-25 poll.
• Friday's game will also feature a head-to-head matchup between two preseason Players of the Year and All-Americans in Little Rock's
Ruot Monyyong and UNC Greensboro's Isaiah Miller. Monyyong is the reigning Sun Belt Newcomer and Defensive Player of the Year and a Lefty Driesell Defensive All-American while Miller has been tabbed the Preseason Mid-Major Player of the Year by ESPN's Myron Metcalf.
• Little Rock engineered one of the best turnarounds in the country in 2019-20, posting a +11 margin in wins. After winning 10 games in 2018-19, the Trojans won 21 in 2019-20, tied for the second-greatest improvement in the nation.
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Ruot Monyyong picked up right where he left off in 2019-20, scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in the Trojans' win over Prairie View A&M for his 17th double-double in 32 career games played at Little Rock.
• Little Rock went 17-of-18 from the free throw line in the second half against Prairie View A&M, led by a perfect 9-for-9 from
Markquis Nowell. With the game tied at 59-59, eight of the Trojans' final 12 points came from the line as Little Rock was a perfect 8-for-8 down the stretch.
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Markquis Nowell eclipsed the century mark in career steals, registering a personal-best six in the win over the Panthers. He ranks 13th in program history with 104 for his career.
NEWS AND NOTES
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
2019-20: 23-9 overall, 13-5 SoCon (3rd)
First Three Games: vs. Little Rock (Nov. 27), vs. Winthrop (Nov. 29), vs. Prairie View A&M (Dec. 1) - all at KFC Yum! Center
Head Coach: Wes Miller (North Carolina, 2007).10 th season at UNC Greensboro (182-134)
Key Players (2019-20 Statistics):
#1 Isaiah Miller (Sr., G): 17.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 42.2 FG%
#44 Kaleb Hunter (R-Jr., G): 10.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 51.0 FG%
#13 Angelo Allegri (Jr., F): 7.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 39.9 FG%
#0 Keyshawn Langley (So., G): 6.6 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 90.7 FT%
#4 Mohammed Abdulsalam (Jr., F): 3.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 50.5 FG%
THE TROJAN WAR
While not on the scale of the original Trojan War, fought between the Trojans and Spartans in ancient Greece, Little Rock and UNC Greensboro will have a battle in their own right Friday in Louisville. Little Rock is 16-11 all-time against programs with the Trojan nickname (Troy, Southern California) and is 2-2 all-time against Spartans (Michigan State, Norfolk State, San Jose State).Â
FAMILIAR FACE
While Little Rock and UNC Greensboro have never met before, there will be one familiar face on the opposing bench for the Trojans. UNCG's Hayden Koval spent three seasons at Central Arkansas and averaged 12.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game in five meetings against Little Rock.Â
EARLY SEASON TARGET
Little Rock heads into the 2020-21 season with a target on its back, tabbed as the preseason favorite to win the Sun Belt's west division. The Trojans received nine of 12 possible first place votes among the league's head coaches - a far cry from the predicted 11th place finish heading into the 2019-20 season.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE
Ruot Monyyong picked up right where he left off last season, registering 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Trojans in the 71-66 win over Prairie View A&M Wednesday. It was the 17th double-double of Monyyong's career as he ranked 17th nationally in 2019-20 with 16 double-double games.
CLOSING IN ON 1,000
Markquis Nowell sits well within striking range of joining an elite Trojan club, needing 241 points to become the 21st member of the Little Rock 1,000-point club. With his 17 points in the win over Prairie View A&M, he upped his career point total to 776, needing 224 more to become the first member of the Trojan 1,000-point club since Will Neighbour in 2014.
THE CENTURY CLUB
With his career-high six steals against Prairie View A&M Wednesday, Markquis Nowell surpassed 100 career steals in a Trojan uniform. He now sits at 104, moving into 13th all-time in program history. He also joined the leaderboard in career assists, dishing out five and upping his career total to 246, ranking 14th all-time in Trojan basketball history. Nowell also moved into a tie for 13th all-time in three pointers made with 125, tying Trojan legend Derek Fisher.
INSIDE, STRONG SIDE
Little Rock's physical presence inside proved to be a key factor in the 71-66 win over Prairie View A& Wednesday. Ruot Monyyong and Nikola Maric combined for 33 points and 19 rebounds as Maric finished one board shy of a double-double. The duo was a combined 13-of-19 from the floor as eight of their combined 19 rebounds came off the offensive glass.
NOT TODAY
Little Rock's presence inside should be a factor for the Trojans throughout the season as they return two of the top shot blockers in program history. Kris Bankston (67 career blocks) and Ruot Monyyong (64) rank 12th and 13th, respectively, on the program's career block list. Monyyong's 62 blocks in 2019-20 was the third-most in a season in program history and the most for a Trojan since becoming a Division I program in 1978-79.
TROJANS vs. THE SOCON
Little Rock has a limited history with the Southern Conference, facing just four current league members heading into Friday's game against UNC Greensboro. Mercer and Samford were both former TAAC members with the Trojans as Little Rock is 19-6 against both schools, facing each for the last time in 1991. The Trojans squared off against SoCon member East Tennessee State at the Jack Stephens Center in 2019, falling 67-63.Â
LITTLE ROCK AGAINST THE TAR HEEL STATE
Friday's game will mark the 10th team from the state of North Carolina the Trojans will have faced in program history compiling an overall record of 17-12. Sun Belt foe Appalachian State has been the most common opponent, meeting 14 times, while the Trojans also squared off against NC State in Raleigh just over a year ago, dropping a 74-58 decision to the Wolfpack.
EUROPEAN CONNECTIONÂ
A hallmark of Darrell Walker's teams in Little Rock has been its European pipeline, a connection that grew again during the offseason. The Trojan roster consists of six players from European countries, including three from Serbia (Marko Andric, Marko Lukic and Jovan Stulic), two from Bosnia-Herzegovina (Admir Besovic and Nikola Maric) and one from France (Yacine Toumi).
LENGTH, LENGTH, LENGTH
Another characteristic of Darrell Walker's teams is length, something that comes with abundance with the 2020-21 Trojan squad. Little Rock's roster boasts an average height of 6' 5 1/2" as 11 of the 15-man roster sits 6' 5" or taller. The tall, physical presence is especially felt inside where the quintet of Nikola Maric (6' 10"), Kris Bankston (6' 8"), Yacine Toumi (6' 9"), Ruot Monyyong (6' 10") and Admir Besovic (7' 0") boast an average height of 6' 9 1/2."
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