After the postponement of its doubleheader against Arkansas State, Texas State men’s basketball (7-4 overall, 1-1 Sun Belt) will be back on the road to face the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Trojans (7-4, 3-1 Sun Belt) on Jan. 15-16.
Texas State has a 7-9 all-time record against Little Rock, but the Bobcats have won five of the last six matchups. In their last meeting on Feb. 13, 2020, the Bobcats beat the Trojans 74-66. Then sophomore now junior forward Alonzo Sule led both teams with a career-high 26 points along with 10 rebounds.
The Bobcats’ junior guard Mason Harrell leads the team with 13.4 points per game and is tied for No. 2 in the Sun Belt in minutes per game (34.5). Senior forward Isiah Small is tied for No. 4 in the conference in blocks per game (1.5) and No. 10 in rebounds per game. Graduate guard Marlin Davis is No. 4 in assists per game (4.6) and tied for No. 9 in steals per game (1.7).
A rising star for the Bobcats is junior guard Caleb Asberry. In his five starts this season, Asberry has averaged 17.4 points per game on 57.8% (33-57) from the field and 45.8% (11-24) from deep along with 1.6 steals per game in that span.
Little Rock has four players who average double-digit points per game: Junior guard Markquis Nowell (15.1), junior forward Nikola Maric (15), senior forward Ruot Monyyong (13.6), senior guard Ben Coupet Jr. (10.1).
In the Sun Belt, Nowell ranks No. 1 in assists per game (7.7), No. 3 in steals (2.6) and No. 7 in points per game. Maric is No. 2 in the conference in field goal percentage (59.5%) and No. 8 in points per game. Monyyong ranks No. 5 in rebounds per game (10.4) and is tied for No. 4 in blocks per game (1.5).
Due to concerns with COVID-19 protocols, the Bobcats haven’t played since Jan. 2 where they beat the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns 71-59.
Despite the game being tied 24-24 at halftime, the Bobcats were firing on all cylinders shooting an astounding 75% (18-24) in the second half and 60% (27-45) in the contest.
Small led the ‘Cats with 18 points on a near-perfect 88.8% (8-9, 1-1 three-pointers) from the floor, along with four rebounds. Asberry, who went 0-1 in the first half, found his legs late, scoring all of his 12 points in the second period. On the day Asberry shot 57.1% (4-7) overall and 50% (2-4) from deep with four assists.
The Trojans are coming off a 78-76 overtime victory against the Ragin’ Cajuns. Despite being down 42-32 at halftime, the matchup proved to be a back-and-forth affair with 19 lead changes.
In the game, the Trojans shot 42.9% (27-63) from the field but struggled from the three-point line, going 0-9 in the first half and shooting 12.5% (2-16) for the contest.
Monyyong’s performance was a strong point for the Trojans as he grabbed his sixth double-double of the season with 19 points (5-10, 9-11 free throws) and 16 rebounds (six offensive).
Texas State will face Little Rock at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 15 and 4 p.m. on Jan. 16 at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+.