Rivalry Resumes as Little Rock Heads To Jonesboro Saturday

GAME 28 | ARKANSAS STATE
Date	Saturday, February 22
Time	4 p.m.
Location	Jonesboro, Ark.
Arena	First National Bank Arena
Records	Little Rock (18-9, 12-4 SBC) Arkansas State (15-13, 7-10 SBC)
Watch	ESPN+
Listen	The Point 94.1 FM
Live Stats	TrojanStats.com
Notes	Little Rock | Arkansas State

LITTLE ROCK - Little Rock concludes a challenging three game road swing with the yearly trip to Jonesboro for the showdown with Arkansas State Saturday. Tip time against the rival Red Wolves is set for 4 p.m. at First National Bank Arena, streaming on ESPN+.

"It's been good to have a week off and I think it has helped refocus our players," said head coach Darrell Walker. "We know we're in for a battle Saturday against an Arkansas State team that is hungry for a win. It was a physical game at our place and we expect more of the same Saturday."

GAME STORYLINES

• Little Rock and Arkansas State renew the Sun Belt's longest standing rivalry, playing for the 91st time Saturday. A-State holds the 55-35 lead in the all-time series as the Trojans are 10-25 in Jonesboro, the last win coming in 2018. Little Rock is seeking its first season sweep of the Red Wolves since 2014-15.

• Little Rock remains in first place in the Sun Belt, holding a one and a half game lead on both Georgia State and Texas State. The Trojans are the only team that controls its own destiny for a conference title as Little Rock's magic number to clinch is three.

• Little Rock's 18 wins this season has surpassed the program's win total from both the 2017-18 (seven wins) and 2018-19 (10 wins) seasons combined.

• Ruot Monyyong continues to lead the Sun Belt Conference in both rebounds (10.0) and blocks (2.1) per game. Monyyong is averaging a double-double at 12.0 points per game and has 14 double-doubles on the year, ranking 10th nationally.

• Both Little Rock and Arkansas State frequent the free throw line as the Red Wolves are first nationally in attempts (728) while the Trojans are 15th (615). The duo rank one-two in the Sun Belt in both free throws made and attempted.

• Markquis Nowell is the league's leading free throw shooter at 88.5%, ranking 18th nationally. He is among the top-three in the Sun Belt in seven different statistical categories.

• Little Rock is one of two teams nationally who is leading its conference after being picked 11th in the respective preseason polls, joined by Merrimack in the Northeast Conference.

NEWS AND NOTES

SCOUTING THE RED WOLVES
2019-20: 15-13 overall, 7-10 Sun Belt (T-8th)
Last Three Games: L vs. ULM (66-52); L at Texas State (69-64); L at UT Arlington (77-67)
Head Coach: Mike Balado (St. Thomas, 1998). Third season at Arkansas State and overall (39-53)
Key Players:
• #23 Marquis Eaton (Jr., G): 12.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 79.3 FT%
• #0 Caleb Fields (Fr., G): 11.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 40.0 FG%
• #12 Canberk Kus (Sr., G): 9.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 43.2 FG%
• #1 Jerry Johnson (Sr. G): 9.0 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 86.6 FT%
• #11 Melo Eggleston (So., G): 8.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 38.7 FG%

LAST WE MET
Little Rock led by 14 early in the second half, then withheld a furious Arkansas State rally to notch a hard-fought 90-87 victory at the Jack Stephens Center on February 8. Markquis Nowell's 24 points paved the way for the Trojans while Ruot Monyyong registered another double-double with 13 points and 11 boards.

RUOT BLOCK PARTY
With his two blocks against UT Arlington, Ruot Monyyong upped his season block total to 58 as he continues to lead the Sun Belt Conference. He recently surpassed Ryan Moss (1997-98) for the most in a single season in program history at the Division I level.

No.	Player	Season	Blocks
1.	Larry Johnson	1974-75	113
2.	Larry Johnson	1976-77	82
3.	Ruot Monyyong	2019-20	58
4.	Ryan Moss	1997-98	55
5.	Muntrelle Dobbins	1996-97	52

 

MAKING A STATEMENT
Making a strong case for Sun Belt Newcomer and Defensive Player of the Year, Ruot Monyyong ranks in the top-30 nationally in four statistical categories. He ranks 10th nationally in double-doubles and has posted double digit rebounding totals in 16 games while scoring in double figures a team-best 21 times, leading the league in both rebounds and blocks.

DOUBLE FIGURE TROJANS
Four players finished in double figures in the loss at UT Arlington Saturday, led by Nikola Maric's 13 points and 12 from Ben Coupet Jr. As a team, Little Rock has posted 94 individual double figure games this season, led by 21 from Ruot Monyyong, who has done it in seven-straight games. Ben Coupet Jr. has finished with 10 or more points in 19 games for the Trojans while Markquis Nowell has accomplished the feat 17 times.

TOUGH TRIP OUT WEST
Little Rock's trip out west proved to be a mirror opposite of the success it had in recent games. During the seven game winning streak prior to the trip, Little Rock led for 137:30 of the possible 140 minutes of the second half of those games.  Against Texas State and UT Arlington, the Trojans never led in either game and forced just five ties with the Mavericks Saturday. 

THIS CLOSE ...
Ruot Monyyong finished with 10 points and nine rebounds in the loss at Texas State Saturday, coming one rebound shy of logging his 15th double-double on the year. His 14 is the tops in the Sun Belt and 10th nationally, sitting six double-doubles ahead of Josh Ajayi of South Alabama in second place.

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 86-39 on the year, registering four or more dunks in 13 games this season and averaging 3.6 slams per game in Sun Belt play. Ruot Monyyong leads the way with 53 on the year, including 36 in Sun Belt Conference play alone.

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