BOONE, N.C. – Appalachian State University men's basketball will look to create its first winning streak this season on Thursday night at Little Rock.
The Mountaineers are coming off of their first Sun Belt victory in dominating fashion in the form of a 20-point rout of Texas State, 76-56, last Saturday evening. Frank Eaves tallied his third 30-point scoring game of the season to help propel the Mountaineers.
Tip off at Little Rock is set for 8:15 p.m. EST.
FOLLOW THE MOUNTAINEERS
Listen live on the Appalachian IMG Sports Network. You can also choose to follow the game by following App State Men's Basketball (@AppStateMBB) or App State Athletics (@appstatesports) on Twitter.
SERIES HISTORY
• Little Rock took both games of the season series a year ago and lead all time, 3-1.
• Appalachian State dropped a 64-46 decision in Boone on Jan. 10 last season and fell to Little Rock 79-74 on the road on Feb. 12.
• Prior to last season, App State and Little Rock matched up twice during the 2005-06 season. App State won on Nov. 18, 2005 in Boone, 75-65, but fell on Dec. 20 of that year on the road 78-63.
• Last season, Appalachian had three student-athletes average double-figures against the Trojans: Chris Burgess (13.0 ppg), Frank Eaves (12.0 ppg) and Jake Babic (10.5 ppg)
SCOUTING THE TROJANS
• Little Rock enters Thursday's contest with App State sporting a 14-1 overall record, including a perfect 4-0 mark in Sun Belt play.
• Their lone loss came on the road in a 12-point defeat to the Tubby Smith led Texas Tech Red Raiders, 65-53.
• Little Rock went on the road to start league play and downed both Troy and South Alabama before returning home to defeat ULL and ULM.
• The Trojans are currently receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll and have also previously received votes in the AP Top-25 poll this season.
• They are ranked No. 3 in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25.
• This season, Little Rock is outscoring its opponents by an average of 13.0 ppg (68.8-55.8) and are led offensively by Marcus Johnson, Jr. with 14.2 ppg.
• The 55.8 points per game allowed by the Trojans currently leads the nation.
• Johnson, Jr.'s contribution has come strictly off of the Trojan bench this season having appeared in all 15 games without a start.
• Josh Hagins joins Johnson, Jr. with a double-figure scoring output with 11.5 ppg. Jalen Jackson isn't far behind with 9.5 ppg.
• However, the Trojans post a negative rebounding margin this season (-0.9) and average 34.4 rebounds per game. Lis Shoshi leads with 5.3 rebounds per game.
UP NEXT
• After its trip to Arkansas, Appalachian will return home to host both Georgia State (Jan. 21) and Georgia Southern (Jan. 23).
