EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Little Rock will open postseason play Friday as the Trojans make their first Ohio Valley Conference Tournament appearance with a semifinal round match-up against Southeast Missouri.
Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. with the game airing live on ESPN+ as Jeff Hem and Teresa Phillips have the call. Trey Schaap will be on air on the Little Rock Sports Network (920 AM The Sports Animal) for fans back in Little Rock.
Southeast Missouri, the No. 4 seed, advanced out of the quarterfinal round with a 77-38 win over No. 8 seed Morehead State. The Eagles upset No. 5 seed UT Martin in the opening round. SEMO and LR are presently the hottest teams in the league. The Trojans have won 12-straight while the Redhawks have claimed seven in a row.
Opening Tip
- Little Rock looks to reach a tournament championship game for the 10th time in the past 20 years.
- A win would mark the 13th consecutive win for Little Rock and the 19th win in the past 21 games.
- The Trojans are holding opponents to just 51.4 ppg (and 46.3 ppg in OVC play). Both marks are the lowest of any OVC team in league history.
- Only three players to face the Trojans this season have recorded five or more assists in a game against Little Rock.
- Little Rock has only allowed more than 60 points once in OVC play this year.
- LR is averaging 1.34 charges drawn per game. Angelique Francis leads the way with 12 drawn charges while Jayla Brooks has 11.
- The Trojans rank 6th nationally in opposing team assists per game (8.5) and 13th in the country in opposing team steals per game (5.7).
- Including this season, Little Rock has reached its conference tournament semifinal round in 15 of the past 16 years.
Series History
- This will be the seventh meeting between Little Rock and Southeast Missouri. The Trojans have taken the past three meetings, including both match-ups this season.
- In their previous meeting, Little Rock held Southeast Missouri to just four points in the second quarter and four points in the fourth quarter.
- Only once (back in 2000) has SEMO scored more than 60 points on Little Rock.
- This marks the first-ever neutral site meeting between the two teams.
Five Things to Know
- Conference Tournament History
Little Rock is making its 22nd conference tournament appearance in school history with the previous 21 taking place in the Sun Belt Conference. And while the OVC is new, this is still the same ol' Little Rock. The Trojans are 29-17 (.630) all-time in conference tournament games.
- Semifinals Success
The Trojans have now reached the semifinals in 15 of the past 16 years and success in the semifinals is not hard to find for Little Rock's Team. Little Rock enters this week with a 9-5 (.643) mark all-time in conference tournament semifinal games but the Trojans are looking for their first tournament title game appearance since 2019.
- Look to Extend the Streak
A win by the Trojans on Friday would mark the team's 13th straight victory. That would make this the longest winning streak for the program since the 2015-16 season when Little Rock won 15 consecutive games. We hope there's a better long-term outcome as the Trojans fell in the Sun Belt title game that season before dropping a one-point, 70-69 decision at Saint Louis in the first round of the WNIT.
- Twenty Something
Make it 13 times in the past 20 years. With Little Rock's 64-50 win over Lindenwood in the regular season finale on Feb. 25, the Trojans secured their 20th win of the season making this the 13th time in the past 20 years that Little Rock's Team has secured at least 20 wins in a season.
- Bracketology - It's Definitely Not Science
In the Feb. 28 edition of Bracketology by ESPN, Charlie Creme pegged the Trojans as a No. 16 seed getting sent to a First Four play-in game against Norfolk State with the winner facing Indiana. Respectfully sir, Norfolkin' way.
A Win Would…
- Secure the 10th tournament championship game appearance for the Trojans under Joe Foley.
- Mark a win in Little Rock's first neutral site game of the year.
- Secure a 13th-straight win, the program's longest winning streak since the 2015-16 season.
- Mark the 19th win in the past 21 tries for Little Rock's Team.
- Move the Trojans 1-0 all-time in OVC Tournament games.
- Register Joe Foley's 854th win as a head coach (but who's counting?).
- Give Joe Foley his 398th win as head coach of the Trojans.
- Be better than a loss.
For the latest information on Little Rock Basketball, make sure to check out
LRTrojans.com. You can also find the team on social media at @LittleRockWBB on
Facebook,
Instagram and
Twitter.
Get the latest Trojan news – including the weekly Trojan Report – delivered to you direct to your inbox by
signing up for Little Rock Trojan E-News here.
#LittleRocksTeam
