| GAME 5 | CENTRAL ARKANSAS |
| Date |
Sunday, December 6 |
| Time |
2 p.m. |
| Location |
Little Rock, Ark. |
| Arena |
Jack Stephens Center |
| Records |
Little Rock (2-2. 0-0Â SBC)
Central Arkansas (0-1, 0-0 SLC) |
| Watch |
ESPN+ |
| Listen |
106.7 FM The Ride |
| Live Stats |
TrojanStats.com |
| Notes |
Little Rock | Central Arkansas |
LITTLE ROCK - After spending 12 days in the Louisville bubble, Little Rock opens its 2020-21 home schedule Sunday, facing Central Arkansas in the Governor's I-40 Showdown, presented by Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield. Tip against the Bears is set for 2 p.m. at the Jack Stephens Center. The game will stream live on ESPN+ with Hayden Balgavy and Patrick Newton handling the broadcast duties. Trojan Hall of Famer Ray Tucker will have the radio call on 106.7 FM The Ride, getting underway at 1:40 p.m.
"We're very excited to be able to come home and play in front of our home fans," said head coach
Darrell Walker. "Our time in Louisville was very good for our team, and we learned a lot about ourselves against some great competition. But we're excited to be able to be home for an extended stretch, starting Sunday against Central Arkansas."
GAME STORYLINES
• Little Rock begins its 16th season at the Jack Stephens Center Sunday where the Trojans are 145-80 (.644) all-time on their home court, coming off a 13-2 home record in 2019-20. Little Rock is 13-2 all-time in home openers at the Jack.
• Sunday's game is the 51st all-time meeting between the two schools, separated by 34 miles. Central Arkansas leads the all-time series 36-14 and has won three of the last four, snapping a 10-game winning streak by the Trojans from 1981 to 2017.
• Last year's 76-56 win by the Trojans in Conway snapped a three-game losing skid for Little Rock. UCA was held to just 13 made field goals and 25.5% shooting as the Trojans were led by a 25-point performance from
Markquis Nowell and a 17-point, 14-rebound effort from
Ruot Monyyong for his first career double-double.
• Central Arkansas holds a 14-2 edge in the Governor's I-40 Showdown standings thanks to a strong fall for the Bears with Sunday's game accounting for four points in the rivalry battle.
• The Trojans have seen six double-double performances on the year, including three for
Ruot Monyyong, two for
Markquis Nowell and one for
Nikola Maric. All three posted a double-double in the 80-75 loss to Winthrop Thursday.
•
Markquis Nowell ranks fourth nationally in assists (32), ninth in steals (11) and 11th in assists per game (8.0) while
Ruot Monyyong is tied for first in double-doubles (three) and is 11th in total rebounds (38) through games of Friday.
• Little Rock (three) and Central Arkansas' (five) rosters boast a combined total of eight players from the state of Arkansas.
NEWS AND NOTES
SCOUTING THE BEARS
2019-20: 10-21 overall, 9-11 Southland (9th)
First Three Games: L at Memphis (68-85), Dec. 6 at Little Rock, Dec. 8 at Saint Louis
Head Coach: Anthony Boone (Ole Miss, 1998). Second season at Central Arkansas (9-14)
Key Players:
• #1 Rylan Bergersen (Sr., G): 22.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 57.1 FG%
• #55 DeAndre Jordan (Sr., G): 8.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 66.7 3FG%
• #34 Jaxson Baker (So., G/F): 11.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 37.5 3FG%
• #23 Samson George (Gr., F): 8.0 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 22.2 FG%
• #13 Eddy Kayouloud (Jr., G): 6.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 6.0 apg
LAST TIME OUT
Three Trojans finished with double-doubles, but a 14-4 run by Winthrop to start the second half put the Trojans in a 12-point deficit they couldn't recover from in an 80-75 loss at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville. Little Rock shot 50.8% from the floor and was 10-for-10 at the free throw line as Markquis Nowell, Nikola Maric and Ruot Monyyong all posted double-doubles.
TROJANS IN HOME OPENERS
Since the move to Division I, Little Rock has been tough to beat in its first home game of the season. The Trojans are 38-3 (.927) in home openers since making the transition in the 1978-79 season with their only losses coming at the hands of Oklahoma State (1999), North Florida (2013) and Ouachita Baptist (2017).
ALL TOURNAMENT HONORS
Markquis Nowell was named to the Wade Houston Classic All-Tournament team for the Trojans' stay in Louisville, averaging 16.3 points, 8.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds while shooting 95.0% from the line during Little Rock's four games. Nowell posted a pair of double-doubles, including just missing the program's first-ever triple-double in the win over Duquesne.
CHASING THE CROWN
Ruot Monyyong continues to draw closer to establishing himself as Little Rock's all-time leader in double-doubles, posting his 19th Thursday with 10 points and 12 rebounds against Winthrop. His 16 in 2019-20 tied Rashad Jones-Jennings for the single-season Trojan record and he is nine back of matching Jones-Jennings' all-time program record of 28 double-doubles. Monyyong's 19 career double-doubles is 14th among the active national leaders.
NIKOLA STANDING TALL
Nikola Maric has been a force inside for Little Rock early on, averaging 18.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, including shooting 73.8% from the floor. Maric led all player in the Louisville bubble with 74 total points in four games and has also been efficient from the free throw line, knocking down 12-of-15 attempts (80.0%). His 21-point, 11-rebound performance against the Eagles marked his third career double-double and first since facing Louisiana on March 7, 2019.
PERFECT FROM THE LINE
The Trojans were a perfect 10-for-10 from the charity stripe against Winthrop Thursday, marking the third time Little Rock has gone perfect from the line in a game with at least 10 attempts in program history. The last time it happened was against Southern Arkansas in 2003 when the Trojans knocked down all 12 of their free throw attempts.
TAKING THEIR SHOTS
Little Rock is shooting 49.8% from the floor this season, ranking 49th nationally, and has made at least 50% of their shots in each of the last three games. The Trojans were 29-of-58 against Winthrop (50.0%), just shy of tying their season high of 50.8%, set against Duquesne Monday.
CLOSING IN ON 1,000
Markquis Nowell continues to inch closer to joining an elite Trojan club. With his 25 points against Duquesne Monday, he upped his career point total to 824, leaving him 176 shy of becoming the 21st member of the Trojan 1,000-point club and the first since Will Neighbour in 2014.
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 four games thus far in 2020-21. Nowell's 25-point performance Thursday against Winthrop marked his 17th game of 20 points or more as a Trojan and was the 40th double figure game of his Little Rock career, followed by 29 from Maric and 27 from Ruot Monyyong.
RECORD WATCH
Markquis Nowell moved into the top-10 in two more categories Thursday against Winthrop. The program's all-time leader in free throw percentage (86.2%), Nowell is tied for 10th in career three pointers made (133) and is 10th in career assists (273). He is knocking on the door of cracking another top-10 list, sitting 13th all-time in career steals (109).
FIRST, AND LAST
Little Rock holds the distinction of playing the first and last games during its stay at the Louisville multi-team bubble event. The Trojans tipped off the event on Wednesday, November 25, and ended up playing the final game of the tournament in its game against Winthrop on Thursday, December 3 as the final three games of the event, scheduled for Friday, December 4, were all canceled. The Trojans also tied host Louisville for the most games played in the event with four.
TROJANS vs. THE SOUTHLAND
Little Rock has an extended history against the Southland Conference, posting an 86-96 (.472) all-time record against current members of the league. Central Arkansas is the lone Southland school the Trojans will face in 2019-20 and has been the most frequent opponent, meeting 50 times since the Trojans' first season of basketball in 1930-31.
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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