| GAME 22 - TROY |
| Date/Time |
Saturday, February 12 | 4 p.m. |
| Location |
Troy, Ala. |
| Arena |
Trojan Arena |
| Records |
Little Rock (7-14, 2-7Â SBC)
Troy (17-7, 8-3 SBC) |
| Watch |
ESPN+ |
| Listen |
106.7 FM The Buz2 |
| Live Stats |
StatBroadcast |
| Notes |
Little Rock | Troy |
LITTLE ROCK - Little Rock continues its four-game road trip with the final trip to Alabama as a league member, taking on Troy Saturday afternoon. Opening tip against the Alabama Trojans is set for 4 p.m. at Trojan Arena and will stream live on ESPN+. Trojan Hall of Famer Ray Tucker will handle the radio call on 106.7 FM The Buz2, starting at 3:45 p.m.
GAME STORYLINES
• Little Rock continues a stretch of six of eight games on the road, traveling to the Carolinas, Alabama and Texas. If all eight games are played, the Trojans will travel approximately 4,500 miles, spending time in seven different states over four weeks.
• Little Rock holds a 15-10 all-time edge in the series against Troy, going 7-5 in both Little Rock and Troy with a neutral site win in 2014. Little Rock has won three of the last four against the Alabama Trojans as head coach
Darrell Walker is 3-1 all-time against Troy.
• Little Rock is seeking its first true road win of the year, going 0-8 thus far. The Trojans have lost 14-straight road games, dating back to the win over UT Arlington in January of 2021.
•
Isaiah Palermo notched his 13th double-digit performance of the year at South Alabama Thursday, leading the Trojans with 16 points. He has led the team in scoring in six games this year.
•
Nikola Maric enters Thursday's game 16 points shy of becoming the 21st member of the Trojan 1,000-point club. Maric is questionable for the game against Troy, missing the last two games with a lower body injury.
• 11 different Trojans have combined to miss 110 games due to injuries this season. The Trojans are expected to dress nine players at Troy Saturday if Maric is unable to play.
NEWS AND NOTES
SCOUTING THE (ALABAMA) TROJANS
2021-22: 17-7 overall, 8-3 Sun Belt Conference
Last Three Games: W vs. Arkansas State (79-77), W at Georgia Southern (61-52), W at Georgia State (67-63)
Head Coach: Scott Cross (UT Arlington, 1998). Fourth season at Troy (37-46); 14th season overall (262-201)
Key Players:
• #23 Efe Odigie (Jr., F): 11.7 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 50.2 FG%
• #21 Duke Deen (Fr., G): 9.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 37.8 FG%
• #15 Duke Miles (Fr., G): 8.9 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 39.8 FG%
• #10 Zay Williams (Jr., F): 8.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 47.7 FG%
• #11 Desmond Williams (So., G): 7.2 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 39.7 FG%
SERIES HISTORY
Little Rock and Troy meet for the 26th time Saturday as Little Rock holds a 15-10 edge in the all-time battle of Trojans. Little Rock is 7-5 all-time against Troy both in the Arkansas capital city as well as in Troy, winning three of the last four meetings between the two. Head coach
Darrell Walker is 3-1 against Troy, including 1-1 at Trojan Arena.
DO I KNOW YOU?
Only three players on the Troy roster have squared off against Little Rock as the two Trojans are meeting for the first time in two years. Nick Stampley and Desmond Williams played in both games between the teams in 2019-20 as Stampley averaged 8.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in 26.5 minutes with Williams averaging 12.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in 32.5 minutes in the two meetings. Zay Williams played both games during the 2018-19 season, averaging 2.5 points and 2.0 rebounds in 14.5Â minutes.
LAST TIME OUT
Little Rock was within one of South Alabama near the midway point of the first half, but the Jaguars took control in a major way, outscoring Little Rock 62-32 over the final 30 minutes in a 77-46 win at the Mitchell Center Thursday night.
Isaiah Palermo led the Trojans with 16 points, but he was the lone Trojan to reach double figures as the Jaguars shot 60.0% for the game, compared to 36.0% for the Trojans.
CONSISTENT PALERMO
Isaiah Palermo remains the most consistent player on the Trojan roster, finishing with 16 points against South Alabama Thursday night for his team-best 13th double-figure performance of the season. Palermo ranks second on the team in scoring (12.9 ppg), rebounding (4.8 rpg) and field goal percentage (49.7%) while ranking first in steals (28), leading the team in scoring in six different games.
COMING INTO HIS OWN
Jordan Jefferson has been a key contributor as of late for Little Rock, tying his career-high with 18 points against ULM Saturday. Jefferson has scored in double figures in three of the last five games, averaging 12.8 points over that span, shooting 35.2% from the floor and 88.9% from the free throw line.
CHASING 1,000
Senior
Nikola Maric continues to chase down an impressive career milestone. Maric has scored in double figures in nine game this season, upping his career point total to 984 and sitting just 16 points shy of becoming the 21st member of the Trojan 1,000 point club. Maric would be the first to join the club since Will Neighbour in 2014, but is questionable for Saturday's game after sitting out the last three games.
DOUBLE FIGURE TROJANS
13 different Trojans have combined for 63 double-figure performances in 2021-22.
Isaiah Palermo was the lone Trojan to score in double figures at South Alabama, finishing with 16 points, as marking the least amount of double digit scorers in a game this season. The output was Palermo's 13th double-digit output of the season, four better than
Nikola Maric's nine in second.
STRUGGLING ON THE BOARDS
Rebounding has been a struggle for the Trojans this year as Little Rock is at -5.8 in rebounds per game on the year and -10.3 on the boards in conference play. Little Rock has held the rebounding advantage in just two conference games this season, being outrebounded 35-24 in Mobile Thursday. Little Rock has been out-rebounded by more than 20 on a pair of occasions - against Texas State (42-20) and against Louisiana (41-18).
PLAYING FROM BEHIND
Little Rock has had to play from behind for the majority of the season, facing a double-digit deficit in 16 of its 21 games this season. 14 of those games have seen the Trojans trailing by 10 or more in the second half as Little Rock has rallied to win three of those games this season.
SHORTHANDED TROJANS
Injuries have played a major factor for the Trojans as 11 different players have combined for 110 missed games this season.
Chris Walker,
DeAntoni Gordon,
Marko Andric and
Ethan Speaker are all expected to miss the remainder of the season and
Nikola Maric is questionable with a lower body injury as Little Rock has used 13 different starting lineup combinations with 12 different Trojans earning starts due to those injuries.
ROAD WOES
Little Rock is still in search of its first true road win of the season, sitting at 0-8 on the year. The Trojans have dropped 14-straight road games, dating back to the 66-59 win at UT Arlington on January 22, 2021, giving up an average of 79.0 points per game on the road this season while scoring just 60.4 points per outing. Little Rock has trailed by at least 14 points in the second half of each of this season's road games.
STRIVING FOR 70
70 points a game has been the goal for head coach
Darrell Walker since arriving at Little Rock and the Trojans have found success when reaching the mark. Under Walker, Little Rock is 35-21 (.625) when scoring 70 or more points and just 14-39 (.264) when it scores 69 points or less.
LAST TRIP AROUND THE SUN
Little Rock continues its 31st, and final, season in the Sun Belt this weekend, making its final trip as league members to its Alabama counterparts. Joining the conference in 1991-92 season, the Trojans are tied with Arkansas State and Louisiana as the second-longest tenured members of the conference with a 265-258 (.507) all-time record. Little Rock will officially leave the Sun Belt and join the Ohio Valley Conference on July 1, 2022.
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