LITTLE ROCK - Little Rock begins a four-game road trip with the final trip to Alabama as a league member, beginning with a showdown with South Alabama on Thursday, February 10 in Mobile. Opening tip against the Jaguars is set for 7 p.m. at the Mitchell Center with the game streaming on ESPN+. Trojan Hall of Famer Ray Tucker will have the radio call on 106.7 FM The Buz2, beginning at 6:45 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 is in its 31st, and final, season as a member of the Sun Belt Conference, posting an all-time record of 265-257 as a member of the league. The Trojans are tied with Arkansas State and Louisiana as the second-longest tenured members of the conference.
• Little Rock and South Alabama meet for the 54th time Thursday, the third-longest active rivalry for the Trojans behind Arkansas State (93 games) and Louisiana (60 games).
• South Alabama is 30-23 all-time against the Trojans and hold a 13-9 mark in Mobile, but Little Rock has won seven of the last nine meetings between the two, including four of the last five at the Mitchell Center.
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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 the Jaguars, missing the last two games with a lower body injury.
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Jordan Jefferson has averaged a team-best 14.8 points over the last four games, leading the team with 37.2 minutes per game and shooting 88.9% from the free throw line.
• 11 different Trojans have combined to miss 105 games due to injuries this season. The Trojans are expected to dress 10 players against the Jaguars Thursday if Maric is cleared to play.
NEWS AND NOTES
SCOUTING THE JAGUARS
2021-22: 15-8 overall, 5-5 Sun Belt Conference
Last Three Games: L at Georgia State (69-62), L at Georgia Southern (58-57), L at Troy (77-68)
Head Coach: Richie Riley (Eastern Kentucky, 2005). Third season at South Alabama (69-47); Sixth season overall (104-75)
Key Players:
• #21 Charles Manning Jr. (Sr., G): 16.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 44.1 FG%
• #22 Jay Jay Chandler (Gr., G): 16.4 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 46.5 FG%
• #13 Javon Franklin (Sr., F): 11.9 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 65.2 FG%
• #4 Kayo Goncalves (Gr., F): 7.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 36.0 FG%
• #10 Diante Smith (Jr., F): 7.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 37.8 FG%
SERIES HISTORY
Little Rock and South Alabama meet for the 54th time Thursday, marking the third-longest active rivalry for the Trojans behind Arkansas State (93 games) and Louisiana (60 games). The Jaguars hold a 30-23 lead in the all-time series and are 13-9 against the Trojans in Mobile, but Little Rock has had the upper hand as of late, winning seven of the last nine meetings, including four of the last five at the Mitchell Center.
DO I KNOW YOU?
Only two players on the South Alabama roster have played against Little Rock - and neither were a member of the Jaguars when they did. Graduate forward Kayo Goncalves played against the Trojans when he was at Southeastern Oklahoma State, scoring 12 points in the 101-92 overtime win by Little Rock in head coach
Darrell Walker's first game on Nov. 8, 2018. Graduate forward Lance Thomas scored two points for Memphis in the 68-58 win at the FedEx Forum on Nov. 20, 2019.
LAST TIME OUT
Little Rock had five players finish in double figures and held a lead in the waning seconds of regulation, but ULM rallied to send the game to overtime and pulled away from the Trojans to hand Little Rock a 75-72 loss Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center. Little Rock's five starters combined for 70 of the Trojans' 72 points on the afternoon as all five played at least 38 minutes, led by
Isaiah Palermo's 19 points with
Jordan Jefferson tying his career-high with 18 points.
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 Thursday's game after sitting out each of the last two 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 four games, averaging 14.8 points over that span, shooting 37.8% from the floor and 88.9% from the free throw line.
DOUBLE FIGURE TROJANS
12 different Trojans have combined for 62 double-figure performances in 2021-22. Five different Trojans scored in double figures against ULM Saturday, led by 19 from
Isaiah Palermo for his team-best 12th double figure output of the season. Palermo has led the Trojans in scoring five times in 2021-22.
HOMETOWN CONNECTION
Local products
CJ White (Little Rock) and
D.J. Smith (North Little Rock) each scored 10 points against ULM Saturday while combining for nine of the Trojans' 11 assists on the afternoon. White led the team with five assists and pulled down seven rebounds while Smith dished out four helpers with four boards as well. Combined with Terrell Curtis (Maumelle), the 501 trio is averaging a combined 14.6 points per game.
STRUGGLING ON THE BOARDS
Rebounding has been a struggle for the Trojans this year as Little Rock is at -4.0 in rebounds per game on the year and -9.6 on the boards in conference play. Saturday was the first time since the Sun Belt opener the Trojans have held the edge in rebounding (34-26) as 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 15 of its 20 games this season. 13 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 105 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 0-7 on the year. The Trojans have dropped 13-straight road games, dating back to the 66-59 win at UT Arlington on January 22, 2021, giving up an average of 79.3 points per game on the road this season while scoring just 62.4 points per outing. Little Rock has trailed by at least 14 points in the second half of each of this season's road games.
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 265-257 (.508) 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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