Arkansas Little Rock Trojans
Sun Belt Conference (23-8, 15-3)
Seed: #
RPI: 91
Big Wins: 11/25 Creighton (71-69), 12/8 at Oral Roberts (69-66), 2/21 at North Texas (58-54)
Bad Losses: 12/3 at Missouri State (37-59), 12/28 Rice (72-79), 3/9 vs South Alabama (44-54)
Coach: Steve Shields
Probable Starters:
Brandon Patterson, Senior, Guard, 6.0 ppg, 2.8 apg, 4.0 rpg
Matt Mouzy, Sophomore, Guard, 10.1 ppg, 1.5 apg
John Fowler, Senior, Forward, 10.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg
Shane Edwards, Senior, Forward, 11.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg
Wayne Burton, Junior, Forward, 3.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg
Key Roleplayers:
Courtney Jackson, Freshman, Forward, 3.6 ppg, 2.2 rpg
Mike Smith, Junior, Forward, 7.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg
Why They Can Surprise:
Arkansas Little Rock will usually win games with their defense. The guys on the perimeter will not tally a ton of steals, but there are some shot blocking threats on this team and that makes it difficult for the opposition to get open looks. No player on the team averages more than one blocked shot per contest, but Shane Edwards, John Fowler and Brandon Patterson are all threats under the basket. Edwards and Fowler are both forwards who will do some scoring inside and out.
Patterson is a more intriguing player. He is a 6-6 point guard who will use his size to block shots and help the team out on the glass. He is not much of a scorer, but Patterson can use his size and quickness to get to the basket and occasionally score a dozen points or so. While no individual puts up great numbers, the Trojans are a decent rebounding team and having a 6-6 guard certainly helps in that regard.
Why They Can Disappoint:
However, Patterson is not a true point guard and he does have some trouble keeping control of the game. His turnover numbers are way too high and he will commit nearly 2.5 turnovers per game and Patterson will not get much help from the frontcourt either in that department. Edwards and Fowler both average over two turnovers per game as well and for a team that does not push the tempo very often that is way too many.
Who To Watch:
Steven Moore did a ton of scoring while he was with the Trojans. The 6-0 junior averaged 13.6 points per game and was a capable outside shooter who would do a great job of attacking the basket. On average, 4.6 of his 13.6 points per game came from the charity stripe. However, Moore was kicked off the team and missed the last five games of the season and will miss the postseason. The team won four of the five games during Moore’s absence, but it will put a lot of pressure on Matt Mouzy to replace his production. Mouzy is a superb outside shooter and most of his points will come from beyond the arc. Mouzy has had some big scoring outputs during the 2008-2009 campaign, yet most of those were early in the season and he will disappear for games at a time. UALR needs him to get hot at the right time.
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 67.2 (179th in nation, 6th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 63.7 (72, 2)
Field-Goal Percentage: 45.5 (88, 4)
Field-Goal Defense: 40.2 (38, 1)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 5.2 (264, 9)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 36.7 (70, 4)
Free-Throw Percentage: 67.2 (223, 10)
Rebound Margin: 2.6 (90, 4)
Assists Per Game: 13.0 (161, 6)
Turnovers Per Game: 15.1 (256, 12)
Joel’s Bracket Says:
