Trojans Close Stay in Louisville Facing Eagles Thursday

GAME 4 | WINTHROP
Date	Thursday, December 3
Time	3 p.m. CT
Location	Louisville, Ky.
Arena	KFC Yum! Center
Records	Little Rock (2-1. 0-0 SBC) Winthrop (1-0, 0-0 Big South)
Watch	ESPN3
Listen	106.7 FM The Ride
Live Stats	TrojanStats.com
Notes	Little Rock | Winthrop

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Little Rock closes its stay in Louisville Thursday with its first-ever meeting against Winthrop at 3 p.m. CT at the KFC Yum! Center. The game will once again stream live on ESPN3 with Trojan Hall of Famer Ray Tucker handling the radio call on 106.7 FM The Ride, starting at 2:40 p.m. 

"Once again, we will be facing another very good basketball team, one coming off a win over UNC Greensboro" said head coach Darrell Walker. "This is a team that you better be ready to go with your transition defense. They have a great basketball history and are a perennial NCAA tournament team. It will be another great test for us as we wrap up our time in Louisville. This has been a very good tournament for us and our preparation for the season."

GAME STORYLINES

• Little Rock concludes its stay at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky, facing Winthrop Thursday at 3 p.m. CT in the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

• Thursday's game will mark the third-straight opponent Little Rock will face for the first time in program history, adding UNC Greensboro and Duquesne to the all-time opponent list.

• Thursday's game will once again pit together a pair of preseason conference favorites as Little Rock and Winthrop are the preseason picks to win the Sun Belt and Big South, respectively.

• Both teams boast a pair of preseason first team all-conference selections in Little Rock's Ruot Monyyong and Markquis Nowell and Winthrop's D.J. Burns Jr. and Chandler Vaudrin.

• Markquis Nowell came up one rebound shy of the first triple-double in program history Monday against Duquesne, finishing with 13 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds against the Dukes.

• Ruot Monyyong notched his 18th double-double Monday against Duquesne in 34 games played in a Trojan uniform, tied for 12th nationally among active Division I players.

• Nikola Maric is shooting 75.9% from the floor for Little Rock through the first three games, ranking seventh in the Sun Belt and has led the Trojans in scoring every game this season

• Little Rock ranks 17th nationally in total steals (29), led by 11 from Markquis Nowell, which is fifth nationally. He also is ninth in total assists (22) and 19th in assists per game (7.3) following Tuesday's games.

• Little Rock's game against Western Kentucky, originally scheduled for Saturday, November 28 and then moved to Friday, December 4, has been canceled due to travel/logistical issues for the Trojans. The game will not be rescheduled.

NEWS AND NOTES

SCOUTING THE EAGLES
2019-20: 24-10 overall, 15-3 Big South (T-1st)
First Three Games: W vs. UNC Greensboro (74-67), vs. Little Rock (Dec. 3), vs. Duquesne (Dec. 4) - All at KFC Yum! Center
Head Coach: Pat Kelsey (Xavier, 1998). Ninth season at Winthrop (164-93)
Key Players:
• #52 Chandler Vaudrin (Sr., G): 14.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 60.0 FG%
• #25 Adonis Arms (Sr., G): 14.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 37.5 FG%
• #30 D.J. Burns (So., F): 6.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 50.0 FG%
• #4 Kelton Talford (Fr., F): 12.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 80.0 FG%
• #11 Charles Falden (Sr., G): 9.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 30.0 FG%

LAST TIME OUT
A near triple-double by Markquis Nowell and Ruot Monyyong's second double-double of the season helped Little Rock pull away in the second half for a 76-66 win over Duquesne at the KFC Yum! Center. Nikola Maric once again led the way with 16 points as Little Rock set season-highs in both field goal percentage (55.8%) and assists (18).

MISSED IT BY THIS MUCH...
Markquis Nowell came within a whisker of being the first player in program history to register a triple-double, finishing with 13 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds in the win over Duquesne Monday. It is the second double-double of Nowell's Trojan career as the 11 assists are two shy of his personal-best 13, set against Appalachian State on February 1, 2020.

CHASING THE CROWN
Ruot Monyyong continues to draw closer to establishing himself as Little Rock's all-time leader in double-doubles, posting his 18th Monday with 10 points and 13 rebounds against Duquesne. His 16 in 2019-20 tied Rashad Jones-Jennings for the single-season Trojan record and he is 10 back of matching Jones-Jennings' all-time program record of 28 double-doubles. Monyyong's 18 career double-doubles is currently tied for 11th among the active national leaders.

NIKOLA STANDING TALL
Nikola Maric has been a force inside for Little Rock through the first three games of 2020-21. He is averaging 18.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, leading the Trojans in scoring in all three games in Louisville. He has shot an efficient 22-of-29 from the floor (75.9%) and is 10-of-13 from the free throw line (76.9%). 

DOUBLE FIGURE CLUB
A handful of Trojans continue to add to their all-time double figure totals as Markquis Nowell and Nikola Maric have both finished in double figures in all three games thus far in 2020-21. Nowell extended his double-digit streak to eight games and has finished with 10 or more points 39 times in his career. Maric upped his double-figure games to 28 with Ruot Monyyong (26) and Ben Coupet Jr. (20) both eclipsing 10 points 20 or more times as Trojans.

WELCOME TO THE SHOW
The Trojan freshman duo of Marko Andric and Yacine Toumi both registered their first career points in the win against Duquesne Monday. Andric finished with nine points in 27 minutes, including seven in the second half, while Toumi added four points in nine minutes off the bench.

CLOSING IN ON 1,000
Markquis Nowell continues to inch closer to joining an elite Trojan club. With his 13 points against Duquesne Monday, he upped his career point total to 799, leaving him 201 shy of becoming the 21st member of the Trojan 1,000-point club and the first since Will Neighbour in 2014.

LIVING AT THE LINE
For the last two seasons, Little Rock has made a name for itself on its ability to get to the free throw line. In 2019-20, the Trojans ranked 11th nationally in free throw attempts (744) and 13th in free throws made (528). Through the first three games of 2020-21, they are picking up right where they left off, ranking 18th in the NCAA in free throws attempted (74) and 13th in free throws made (55), leading the Sun Belt.

THROWING IT DOWN
Little Rock's size inside has helped the Trojans become one of the Sun Belt's top dunking teams under head coach Darrell Walker. Through three games this year, the Trojans have out-dunked the opposition 9-7, building off last years' 96-43 advantage. Ruot Monyyong has thrown it down six times for the Trojans in 2020-21, upping his career total to 57, while Kris Bankston sits at 94 career dunks in a Little Rock uniform.

TROJANS vs. THE BIG SOUTH
Little Rock has a limited history against current members of the Big South, posting a 7-1 record against the league. The Trojans' most common opponent is Campbell, posting a 4-0 all-time mark against the Camels, and Little Rock's last game against the conference was in the First Four of the 2011 NCAA tournament in Dayton, Ohio, falling to UNC Asheville 81-77 in overtime.

LITTLE ROCK AGAINST THE PALMETTO STATE
Winthrop will be Little Rock's sixth opponent in program history from the state of South Carolina as the Trojans are 4-8 all-time against the Palmetto state. Sun Belt foe Coastal Carolina has been the most common foe as the Trojans are 2-5 all-time against the Chanticleers and Little Rock is 1-3 all-time within the South Carolina state lines.

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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