Little Rock men set for meeting with UT Martin with teams tied in OVC standings

The Little Rock men's basketball team looks to separate itself from a logjam in the OVC when they face UT Martin on Saturday afternoon at the Elam Center in Martin, Tenn. The game is scheduled to begin at 3 pm and can be streamed on ESPN+ and heard locally on 106.7 FM The Buz2.
 
Little Rock (8-9, 2-2 OVC) is one of four teams currently tied for third in the conference standings, a group that includes the Skyhawks (9-8, 2-2 OVC) as well as SIUE and Eastern Illinois. Morehead State and Western Illinois are tied for first at 4-0 in OVC play.
 
The Trojans have had a week to prepare for Saturday's contest, having last played Jan. 6 at home against Eastern Illinois, when Little Rock let a second-half lead slip away and fell to the Panthers, 90-88. The Trojans posted shooting splits of 55/52/78 but turned the ball over 17 times to a team that shot 52/55/83 on its own. Jamar Chaplin led the team with 19 points and KK Robinson had 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting with seven assists and five rebounds. Bradley Douglas connected on 6-of-8 from long range and finished with 18 points with five rebounds, and DeAntoni Gordon had 15 points and seven boards.
 
UT Martin is looking for its first win in a three-game homestand, having dropped decisions to Eastern Illinois (79-72) and Western Illinois (73-64) after opening their home schedule with a 5-0 start. Jacob Crews leads the Skyhawks with 17.1 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Crews posted his fifth career double-double against Western Illinois, finishing with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
 
The all-time series is heavily in Little Rock's favor as the Trojans lead, 5-1. However, the teams split their OVC series last year, with each team winning at home. UT Martin has the most recent win, an 84-61 rout in Martin on Feb. 11, 2023, snapping a string of five straight wins in the series by the Trojans.