| GAMES 14 & 15 - UT ARLINGTON |
| Game One |
Friday, January 22 - 6 p.m. |
| Game Two |
Saturday, January 23 - 4 p.m. |
| Location |
Arlington, Texas |
| Arena |
College Park Center |
| Records |
Little Rock (7-6, 3-3 SBC)
UT Arlington (7-7, 3-3 SBC) |
| Watch |
ESPN+
Friday | Saturday |
| Listen |
106.7 FM The Buz2 |
| Live Stats |
Friday | Saturday |
| Notes |
Little Rock | UT Arlington |
LITTLE ROCK - Little Rock looks to bounce back from a rough weekend in Texas, facing UT Arlington on Friday, January 22 and Saturday, January 23 at the College Park Center. The two games will stream on ESPN+ with Ron Thulin and Mike Petersen comprising the broadcast team while Trojan Hall of Famer Ray Tucker will handle the radio call on 106.7 FM The Buz2.
"It was a tough weekend last week and our team knows it has some work to do," said head coach
Darrell Walker. "It was a good week of practice and we know it will be a tough test in Arlington. (UTA) I'm sure will be looking for some payback againist us from a few weeks ago. It will be another challenging road test."
GAME STORYLINES
• Little Rock and UT Arlington enter the weekend tied in the Sun Belt West Division standings at 3-3 overall, a full game back of Texas State in first place at 3-1.
• Little Rock heads into the weekend with an 8-7 all-time series advantage on UT Arlington. The Trojans are 2-4 all-time against the Mavericks in Arlington with their last win coming in a 68-62 decision on January 23, 2016.
• Little Rock swept a weekend home series against UT Arlington to begin league play earlier this month at the Jack Stephens Center. The Trojans earned a 102-93 victory on Friday, January 1, before a 75-62 on Saturday, January 2.
•
Ruot Monyyong has five-straight double-doubles and nine on the year, tied for second nationally. He is averaging 16.8 points and 12.0 rebounds in Sun Belt play as his 25 career double-doubles is tied for 11th among active Division I players.
• Despite having an off shooting weekend, Little Rock still leads the Sun Belt Conference in field goal percentage at 49.4%, ranking 24th nationally. The Trojans have shot 50% or better in six games this season.
• As a team, Little Rock boasts 14 double-doubles on the year (
Ruot Monyyong - 9,
Markquis Nowell - 4,
Nikola Maric - 1). That is second nationally behind Illinois of the Big 10, which has a combined 15, and one better than Louisiana's 13.
•
Markquis Nowell enters the weekend ranking eighth nationally in assists per game (7.2) while
Ruot Monyyong is second in double-doubles (9), 11th in total rebounds (134) and 16th in rebounds per game (10.3).
NEWS AND NOTES
SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS
2020-21: 7-7 overall; 3-3 Sun Belt
Last Three Games: L vs. Louisiana (68-51), W vs. Louisiana (91-86), W at ULM (75-74)
Head Coach: Chris Ogden (Texas, 2004). Third season at UT Arlington (38-41)
Key Players:
• #13 Shahada Wells (Jr., G): 16.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 45.2 3FG%
• #1 Sam Griffin (So., G): 12.4 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 39.2 FG%
• #4 David Azore (Jr., G): 11.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 47.6 3FG%
• #10 Fredelin De La Cruz (Jr., F): 8.9 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 50.6 FG%
• #2 Jordan Phillips (Jr., F): 7.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 43.4 FG%
WE MEET AGAIN
Little Rock swept the two-game series against UT Arlington earlier this season in Little Rock, taking a 102-93 decision on January 1 before a 75-62 victory on January 2. In those two games, Little Rock shot 63.6% from the floor, including 70% in the Friday game, as Ben Coupet Jr. combined for 53 points while shooting 77.3% from the floor and 73.3% from three.
LAST TIME OUT
Little Rock hit a weekend stumble at home against Texas State, dropping a pair of sloppy games to the Bobcats. The Trojan comeback effort fell short in a 63-59 loss on January 15, followed by late Texas State surge to take the 67-56 victory on January 16. The 59 and 56-point efforts by the Trojans were the lowest of the season as Little Rock shot a combined 42%.
DROP AND GIVE ME 20
Ben Coupet Jr. had the hot hand for Little Rock Saturday against Texas State, leading the team with 20 points. It was Coupet's third 20+ point performance of the season, coming off the 27 and 26-point games against UT Arlington, leading the Trojans. The Chicago native now has five 20-point games for his career.
CHASING THE CROWN
Ruot Monyyong continues to draw closer to becoming Little Rock's all-time double-double leader. One of the national leaders, Monyyong has registered a double-double in five-straight games and has nine on the season, ranking second nationally. His efforts over the weekend upped his career total to 25, sitting three shy of matching Rashad Jones-Jennings (2005-07) for the program's all-time mark of 28. Monyyong's 25 career double-doubles is tied for 11th among active Division I players.
STUMBLE AT HOME
Little Rock hit a stumble with the pair of losses at home to Texas State over the weekend as the offense never found its scoring touch. The 59 and 56 points scored were the two lowest point totals of the season as the Trojans led for a combined 2:00 in both games. The losses snapped the 10-game home winning streak for Little Rock and eight game Sun Belt home streak.
RUOT BLOCK PARTY
With a pair of blocks over the weekend, Ruot Monyyong has moved into the top-10 all-time in program history with 80 career blocks, tied with Lis Shoshi for ninth all-time. Monyyong has registered at least one block in every game this season, coming off his 62-block performance in 2019-20, ranking third all-time in program history and first at the Division I level.
CLOSING IN ON 1,000
Markquis Nowell continues to inch closer to joining an elite Trojan club. With his nine points against Texas State Friday, he upped his career point total to 904, leaving him 96 shy of becoming the 21st member of the Trojan 1,000-point club and the first since Will Neighbour in 2014. He continues to move up the all-time Trojan greats in a handful of other categories.
THROWING IT DOWN
Little Rock's size has made it one of the Sun Belt's top dunking threats, holding a 39-21 advantage on the opposition this year following last years' 96-43 advantage. Ruot Monyyong has thrown it down 19 times for the Trojans in 2020-21, upping his career total to 76, while Kris Bankston sits at 101 career dunks.
WESTWARD WOES
Little Rock heads to the DFW Metroplex looking to end a pair of extended streaks. The Trojans are seeking their first win in Texas since capturing the Lone Star Showcase in Cedar Park on November 21-23, 2016. Little Rock is 0-8 in games in the Lone Star state since then and 0-12 in games played west of Little Rock during that span, dating back to the 72-67 win at Northern Arizona on December 14, 2016.
CHASING 700
Little Rock heads into this weekend's games in Texas seeking to reach 700 program victories at the Division I level. The Trojans have notched an all-time mark of 699-549 (.560) since joining the Division I level prior to the 1978-79 season.
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