| GAMES 20 & 21 - ARKANSAS STATE |
| Game One |
Friday, February 12 - 7:30 p.m.
FNB Arena - Jonesboro |
| Game Two |
Saturday, February 13 - 5 p.m.
Jack Stephens Center - Little Rock |
| Records |
Little Rock (10-9, 6-6 SBC)
Arkansas State (8-9, 5-5Â SBC) |
| Watch |
ESPN+
Friday | Saturday |
| Listen |
106.7 FM The Buz2 |
| Live Stats |
Friday | Saturday |
| Notes |
Little Rock | Arkansas State |
LITTLE ROCK - After being pushed back a few days by Mother Nature, Little Rock and Arkansas State are set to resume the Sun Belt's longest standing active rivalry this weekend with a home-and-home series. The in-state rivals will meet for the 92nd time Friday night at First National Bank Arena in Jonesboro, tipping at 7:30 p.m., then make the drive down to Little Rock for a 5 p.m. tip Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center in the 93rd all-time meeting. Both games will stream live on ESPN+ with Trojan Hall of Famer Ray Tucker handling the radio calls for both games.
GAME STORYLINES
• Little Rock continues a challenging stretch of the schedule where it will play five of six on the road. Friday's game in Jonesboro is the third-straight road game after a pair at Texas State last weekend.
• Little Rock and Arkansas State resume the Sun Belt's longest standing active rivalry as the in-state foes have met 91 times all-time with the Red Wolves holding a 55-36 series advantage.
• Little Rock swept the season series in 2019-20, winning 90-87 in Little Rock on Feb. 8 before taking an 81-78 decision in Jonesboro on Feb. 22. It was the Trojans' first season sweep of the Red Wolves since the 2014-15 season.
• Little Rock is 11-25 in Jonesboro since making the move to the Division I level in 1978, winning two of the last three years at First National Bank Arena.
• This weekend's games features the Sun Belt's top two rebounding threats in Arkansas State's Norchad Omier (11.9 rpg) and Little Rock's
Ruot Monyyong (10.9 rpg). The two rank 5th and 7th, respectively, nationally in rebounds per game.
•
Ruot Monyyong is the Sun Belt's active leader in rebounding (510), blocks (94) and double-doubles (27), being named to the Lou Henson Award mid-season watch list. He is the only active Sun Belt player with over 600 points (603) and 500 rebounds (510), ranking third nationally with 11 double-doubles.
• As a team, Little Rock boasts 17 double-doubles on the year ranking second nationally behind Illinois' 20. Three Sun Belt schools are among the top-10 six with Louisiana third (16) and Arkansas State sixth (14).
•
Nikola Maric has scored in double figures 18 times this season and in each of the last 13 games for Little Rock, the sixth-longest double-digit streak for the Trojans since 2000.
NEWS AND NOTES
SCOUTING THE RED WOLVES
2020-21: 8-9 overall, 5-5 Sun Belt
Last Three Games: W vs. Louisiana (83-77), W vs. Louisiana (95-87), L vs. UT Arlington (65-64)
Head Coach: Mike Balado (St. Thomas, 1998). Fourth season at Arkansas State (48-57)
Key Players:
• #23 Marquis Eaton (Sr., G): 13.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 37.3 FG%
• #15 Norchad Omier (Fr., F): 13.0 ppg, 11.9 rpg, 54.5 FG%
• #0 Caleb Fields (So., G): 12.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 44.8 FG%
• #22 Keyon Wesley (Jr., F): 8.0 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 55.6 G%
• #10 Malcolm Farrington (Fr., G): 7.9 ppg, 0.9 rpg, 48.3 3FG%
SUN BELT'S OLDEST RIVALRY
Little Rock and Arkansas State hold the distinction of holding the longest active rivalry in the Sun Belt Conference, meeting 91 times since the 1927-28 season. The two teams have met 62 times as members of the Sun Belt Conference since the rivals joined the league together in the 1991-92 season.
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| Rivalry |
Games |
First |
| Little Rock vs. Arkansas State |
91 |
1927-28 |
| Arkansas State vs. Louisiana |
86 |
1963-64 |
| ULM vs. UT Arlington |
77 |
1974-75 |
| Texas State vs. UT Arlington |
74 |
1983-84 |
| Louisiana vs. ULM |
73 |
1957-58 |
LAST TIME OUT
Little Rock suffered a pair of setbacks in San Marcos, Texas, dropping a pair of games to Texas State. The Trojans scored a season-low 47 points in a 57-47 defeat on Friday, February 5, then rallied from a 23-point second half deficit to force overtime the following day, but dropped a 77-67 contest to fall to 0-4 on the year against the Bobcats. Little Rock has now lost 9 of 10 to the Bobcats as Darrell Walker is 1-7 against Texas State.
500-500 MAN
Ruot Monyyong reached an impressive milestone over the weekend, becoming the only active Sun Belt player to reach 500 points and 500 rebounds. Monyyong currently sits at 603 points and 510 rebounds for his career, and is the Sun Belt's active leader in rebounds (510), blocks (94) and double-doubles (27).
CHASING THE CROWN
Ruot Monyyong continues to draw closer to becoming Little Rock's all-time double-double leader, registering 11 on the season and ranking third nationally. He boasts 27 for his career, sitting one shy of matching Rashad Jones-Jennings (2005-07) for the program's all-time mark of 28. Monyyong's 27 career double-doubles is tied for 15th among active Division I players.
CONSISTENT MARIC
Nikola Maric has been arguably Little Rock's most consistent player in 2020-21, scoring in double figures in 18 of 19 games and leading the team with a 14.5 scoring average. He has scored in double figures for 13-straight games, the sixth-longest streak for the Trojans since 2000.
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| Player |
Games |
From |
To |
| Solomon Bozeman |
20 |
12/16/10 |
2/26/11 |
| Stan Blackmon |
20 |
12/30/00 |
3/3/01 |
| Will Neighbour |
19 |
11/11/13 |
1/23/14 |
| Rayjon Tucker |
15 |
11/8/18 |
1/12/19 |
| Rayjon Tucker |
14 |
1/17/19 |
3/9/19 |
| Nikola Maric |
13 |
12/21/20 |
Current |
CLEANING THE GLASS
Ruot Monyyong continues to establish himself as one of the nation's top rebounders, ranking first nationally in total rebounds with 208 after pulling down 20 at Texas State. The Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year, Monyyong is seventh in rebounds per game (10.9) and eighth in defensive rebounds (7.95).
PLAYING EVEN
Over the last 11 game, Little Rock's defensive effort has been key, holding opponents to 64.0 points per game and under 70 points in nine of the last 11. However, the Trojans are just 4-5 in those games as they've struggled to find their shooting touch, averaging 64.0 points themselves. Both Little Rock and their opponents have each scored 704 points over the last 11 games.
TROJAN BLOCK PARTY
Ruot Monyyong upped his career block total to 94 and remains in fifth all-time in program history. He has registered at least one block in all but one game this season and is six shy of becoming the fifth player in program history to amass 100 career blocks. Kris Bankston also sits at 71 career blocks, giving Little Rock the top two active blocking threats in the Sun Belt.
THROWING IT DOWN
Little Rock's size has made it one of the Sun Belt's top dunking threats, holding a 48-30 advantage on the opposition this year following last season's 96-43 advantage. Ruot Monyyong has thrown it down 24 times for the Trojans in 2020-21, upping his career total to 81, while Kris Bankston sits at 103 career dunks following his nine on the season.
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