UALR Welcomes North Texas to JSC Thursday Night for SBC West Tilt

Courtesy UALR Athletics Department

 

GM18 // UALR (9-8, 3-3 SBC) vs. North Texas (6-10, 1-4 SBC)

Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013 • 7 PM (CST)

Little Rock, Ark. • Jack Stephens Center (5,600)

Radio: KABZ – 103.7 FM

Online Radio: 1037TheBuzz.com

Radio Talent: Ray Tucker (PXP) & Pat Bradley (Analyst)

Live Video: UALRTrojans.com

Live Stats: UALRTrojans.com

UALR Trojans

2012-13 Record: 9-8

Home Record: 8-1

Head Coach: Steve Shields (10th year)

Record at UALR: 156-136

Career Record: Same

UALR Statistical Leaders

Points: Will Neighbour (11.4)

Rebounds: Will Neighbour (6.6)

Assists: Josh Hagins (2.6)

Steals: Leroy Isler (1.4)

Blocks: James White (1.2)

North Texas Mean Green

2012-13 Record: 6-10

Road Record: 3-4

Head Coach: Tony Benford (1st year)

Record at NT: 6-10

Career Record: Same

North Texas Statistical Leaders

Points: Tony Mitchell (14.8)

Rebounds: Tony Mitchell (9.1)

Assists: Chris Jones (5.0)

Steals: Emil Jones (2.2)

Blocks: Emil Jones (2.6)

Quick Hits

• In terms of minutes played by class, UALR is the youngest team in the nation. Nine of UALR’s first 11 players (by minutes played) are freshmen and sophomores.

• UALR has played the fifth-most games in the country (17) at this point in the season.

• UALR is 8-1 at home this season and 100-41 in the tenure of head coach Steve Shields. Most recently, UALR defeated Western Kentucky 75-67 on Jan. 3 at the Jack Stephens Center.

• UALR is currently 0-6 on the road with one neutral court victory (SMU).

• UALR leads 16-9 in the all-time series vs. North Texas, but the Mean Green have won three straight at the Jack Stephens Center to tie the series at 6-all in games played in Little Rock.

• UALR leads the SBC in free throws made (260) and attempted (396) on the season and is averaging 15.3 points per game from the foul line. The Trojans are 8-1 this season when outscoring their opponents at the FT line.

• UALR’s’ defensive field goal percentage (41.3 percent) ranks third in the Sun Belt, while its defensive three-point field goal percentage (29.2 percent) is second-best in the league.

• UALR is 9-1 on the season when holding opponents under 70 points and 0-7 when surrendering 70 or more.

• UALR has held eight of its opponents below 40 percent shooting and is 6-2 in such games.

• Under Shields, UALR is 136-54 when holding opponents below 70 points and 81-20 when keeping opponents under 40 percent shooting from the field.

• Junior Will Neighbour leads UALR in scoring (11.4 ppg) and rebounding (6.6 rpg). Those numbers jump to 12.7 ppg and 8.5 rpg in conference games.

Troy Recap

• Freshman Kemy Osse’s game-tying three-point attempt at the end of regulation landed slightly off the mark, as UALR stayed winless on the road this season with a 67-64 loss at Troy Saturday night at the new Trojan Arena. The Trojans failed to pull out the win for the first time this season when holding their opponent under 70 points.

• As a team, UALR finished the night shooting 48.1 percent from the floor (25-of-52) and 52.3 percent from three-point range (8-of-15), but Troy outrebounded UALR 33-to-28 and held a 40-to-15 lead in bench scoring.

• Troy also knocked down 15-of-18 free throws, while UALR struggled to a 6-of-14 effort from the foul line.

• Hagins and Neighbour led UALR with 14 points each, and junior Leroy Isler scored 13 points to give UALR three players in double figures.

• Hagins added four assists and four steals while getting his second-straight start and playing a career-high 33 minutes.

• Neighbour finished with a team-high five rebounds. Osse chipped in nine points, all on three pointers, to lead UALR in scoring off the bench.

About North Texas

• The unanimous pick to win the Sun Belt’s West Division, North Texas enters Thursday’s game with a 6-10 overall record and a 1-4 mark in conference play.

• The Mean Green’s roster features the Preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year in forward Tony Mitchell. Mitchell is currently averaging 14.8 ppg, 9.1 rpg and leads the Sun Belt with 2.6 blocks per contest.

• North Texas leads the league in offensive rebounding at 14.1 per game and sports an overall +0.9 margin on the boards.

• Head coach Tony Benford is in his first season with the Mean Green after spending last year as Associate Head Coach at Marquette.

All-Time Against the Mean Green

• UALR leads 16-9 in the all-time series with North Texas, but the Mean Green have won three-straight games at the Jack Stephens Center to even the series at 6-all in games played in Little Rock.

• The last time these teams met, North Texas beat UALR 75-67 in overtime at the Jack Stephens Center (2/24/12). Alzee Williams scored a game-high 25 points and Tony Mitchell added a 13-point, 16-rebound double-double to help the Mean Green deny UALR’s bid to clinch the No. 2 seed in the Sun Belt Tournament and an outright West Division championship.

• Head coach Steve Shields is 9-7 all-time against the Mean Green.

Sun Belt Conference Race

• UALR finds itself one game back of Arkansas State for first place in the SBC’s West Division. ASU leads the division at 4-2, while UALR is 3-3.

• Middle Tennessee leads the East Division at 4-1.

Neighbourhood Watch

• Preseason First Team All-Sun Belt selection Will Neighbour posted his fifth career double-double with 17 points and a career-best 14 rebounds at Louisiana-Lafayette (12/29/12).

• Neighbour’s three double-doubles this season are tied for seventh-most in the Sun Belt.

• Neighbour has reached double figures in scoring 11 times in 17 games this season.

• Neighbour currently ranks ninth in the Sun Belt in rebounding (6.6 rpg) and is averaging 11.4 ppg while shooting 47.1 percent from the field.

• In SBC games only, Neighbour’s numbers jump to 12.7 ppg and 8.5 rpg.

• His 8.5 rpg in league games tie him for third in the Sun Belt, while his 21 offensive rebounds in league games (3.5 per game) tie him for first in the conference.

• Neighbour has led UALR in scoring seven times this season and has led the team in rebounding in ten games.

• Neighbour has two other double-doubles on the season: a 14-point, 11-rebound effort vs. Troy (11/29/12) and a 13-point, 13-rebound effort vs. UT Martin (11/9/12).

• In 44 career games, Neighbour has reached double figures in scoring 26 times, grabbed 5+ rebounds 30 times and blocked 2+ shots 10 times.

Gillon Continues Stellar Play

• Freshman John Gillon ranks second on UALR in scoring (10.8 ppg), and leads the Trojans in three-point shooting (41.5 percent), made three pointers (25) and free throw shooting (84.5 percent).

• Gillon’s 84.5 percent shooting clip at the foul line ranks second in the Sun Belt.

• Gillon has reached double figures in scoring seven times and has led the Trojans in scoring six times on the season.

• The Houston, Texas-native has knocked down three treys in four different games this season.

• Gillon’s 22 points against UT Martin (11/9/12) were the most by a UALR freshman in their college debut since the Trojans moved to Division I in 1979, a record previously held by the UALR’s all-time leading scorer, James Scott (1987-91).

White Knight

• Redshirt freshman James White is averaging 8.8 points and 4.5 boards on the season.

• White’s shooting percentage of 52.0 ranks sixth in the Sun Belt Conference.

• UALR is 6-2 in White’s eight starts this season.

• White’s 21 blocked shots lead the team and tie him for seventh-most in the Sun Belt Conference.

• White has reached double figures in scoring in seven games and blocked 2+ shots in six games this season. White has blocked at least one shot in 14 of 17 games this season.

• UALR is 6-1 when White scores 10+ points and 4-2 when he blocks 2+ shots.

• The Jonesboro, Ga.-native has grabbed 5+ rebounds in nine games this year and UALR is 6-3 in those games.

Block Party

• Sophomore Michael Javes sits in eighth place all-time at UALR with 64 blocks in 47 career games.

• Javes has 18 multi-block games in his career with the Trojans, and UALR is 11-7 in Javes’ multi-block games.

• Javes has blocked 2+ shots in seven different games this season.

• Javes’ 20 blocks this season currently tie him for ninth in the Sun Belt.

• Javes’ 44 blocked shots as a freshman were the seventh-most in a single season in school history.

Leading the Charge

• UALR has been most successful this season when junior Leroy Isler is playing his best.

• One of UALR’s best defenders, the Trojans are 5-1 when Isler has 2+ steals in a game.

• UALR is 4-1 when Isler grabs 5+ rebounds.

• The Trojans are also 4-2 when Isler scores 10+ points.

• Isler has scored 13 points in back-to-back games for the Trojans.

Double Figure Scoring

• UALR is 4-0 on the season when at least four Trojans finish the game in double figures.

Getting Defensive

• UALR’s scoring defense (65.9 ppg) currently ranks fourth in the Sun Belt Conference.

• UALR’s defensive FG percentage (41.3 percent) ranks third in the Sun Belt and its and defensive 3FG percentage (29.2 percent) ranks second in the league.

• The Trojans are 9-1 this season and 136-54 under Shields when holding opponents under 70 points.

• UALR is 6-2 this season and 81-20 under Shields when holding its opponents under 40 percent shooting from the field.

Charity Stripe

• UALR is 8-1 this season when outscoring its opponent at the free throw line and 1-0 when free throws are tied.

• Conversely, UALR is 0-7 when it is outscored at the free throw line.

• UALR leads the Sun Belt in free throws made (260) and attempted (396) on the season and is averaging 15.3 points per game from the foul line.

• The Trojans are shooting 65.7 percent from the line and have shot 396 free throws on the season, compared to 355 attempts by their opponents.

Limiting Mistakes

• UALR is averaging 15.4 turnovers per game this season and currently has a +0.8 turnover margin through 17 games.

• In games played at home, UALR is averaging just 14.0 turnovers per game.

• UALR has committed fewer or the same number of turnovers than its opponent in 12 of 17 games this season, including all nine home games.

• The Trojans are 8-2 when committing fewer turnovers than their opponents this year, 1-1 when turnovers are even and 0-5 when committing more turnovers than their opponents.

Spreading the Wealth

• UALR’s 12.8 assists per game this season currently rank second in the Sun Belt.

• Freshman Josh Hagins leads the Trojans at 2.6 assists per game.

• UALR is averaging 14.7 assists per contest in games played at the Jack Stephens Center.

Osse Coming on Strong

• Freshman Kemy Osse finished with 11 points, three rebounds, two steals and no turnovers in his first career start at South Alabama (12/22/12).

• Osse has appeared in all 17 games, and has just nine turnovers in 176 minutes of action this season.

Sophomore Surge

• Sophomore Taggart Lockhart has seen his minutes increase to 23.8 per game this year, up from 15.5 as a freshman in 2011-12, and has started nine of 17 games this season.

• Lockhart set new career highs in points (14), FGM (6) and FGA (11) in UALR’s win vs. Jacksonville (11/21/12).

• Lockhart is averaging 6.4 points and 3.1 rebounds and is shooting 43.4 percent from the field.

Century Mark

• UALR ‘s win over WKU at the Jack Stephens Center on Thursday gave coach Steve Shields 100 home victories in 9+ seasons as head coach of the Trojans.

Up Next

• UALR will host FIU on Saturday in a doubleheader that will be televised on Comcast Sports Southeast as part of the Sun Belt Network. The women’s game will tip at 1 p.m. and the men’s game is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m.