CARBONDALE, Ill. – After a week of rest, the Little Rock men's basketball team is back at it Saturday night. The Trojans (2-4) travel to face Missouri Valley Conference member Southern Illinois (3-4) at 6 p.m. at the Banterra Center on the SIU campus.
All the action can be heard on 106.7 FM Buz2 with Ray Tucker on the call, and an ESPN+ stream is also available.
GAME INFO
Who: Little Rock (2-4) at Southern Illinois (3-4)
When: 6 p.m., Saturday, November 29
Where: Banterra Center (8,339), Carbondale Ill.
Radio: 106.7 The Buz2 (Ray Tucker, pxp) Listen HERE
Video: ESPN+ Watch HERE.
SERIES HISTORY
• The series is tied 2–2.
• Southern Illinois won the most recent matchup, 94–63, on Nov. 22, 2002.
COACH SPEAK
"We are looking forward to this game after a week of rest and practice. The players were able to relax at home, and we had some productive practices where we focused on team defense and getting more in sync offensively. It's a process, and we are working on coming together by the time we start OVC play in a few weeks."
— Darrell Walker, Little Rock Head Coach
TROJAN TIDBITS
• Junior transfer Cam Wallace is second on the team in scoring (12.3 ppg) and rebounding (4.8 rpg) while coming off the bench in every game.
• Senior guard
Johnathan Lawson ranks fourth in the OVC with 1.7 steals per game.
• The Trojans did not practice on Thanksgiving Day; they worked out Friday morning before making the five-hour bus trip that afternoon.
• Little Rock has two rivalry games next week:
– at UCA on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in the Governor's I-40 Showdown presented by Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield
– vs. Arkansas State on Dec. 6 at 8 p.m., following the women's game vs. UCA
• The Dec. 6 doubleheader will feature 20th-anniversary celebrations of the Jack Stephens Center and recognition of all-time leading scorers Chasity Reed and James Scott.
• Tickets are available at lrtrojans.com.
SCOUTING THE SALUKIS
• Head Coach Scott Nagy is in his second year at SIU after an eight-season run at Wright State that included NCAA Tournament appearances in 2018 and 2022. His 594–352 record ranks 17th among active Division I coaches.
• SIU was picked 7th in the MVC Preseason Poll after finishing 14–19 (8–12 MVC) last season.
• The Salukis enter Saturday on a two-game skid with losses to UAB and Memphis.
• Ali Dibba leads SIU at just over 17 ppg. The 6-5 guard from Stockholm previously played at Chicago State and Abilene Christian.
• Kenard Davis Jr. has made a sophomore leap, averaging 16.3 ppg and 4.9 rpg after starting 10 games as a freshman.
