UALR Rewind: Guy player of game as UALR beats Troy

BURN THE HORSE

BTH Rewind

It was Tuesday night, December 20 and UALR had just lost to Illinois State to drop to 3-10 on the season. One UALR fan was upset with the team and we corresponded by email. I told him not to worry. UALR was going at least 10-6 in Sun Belt play. This UALR team was never as bad as its record showed. And they had some pretty strange circumstances that caused them to lose many of those games. And most were against teams that were equal to or better than most Sun Belt teams.

I was wrong. I shot way too low. UALR notched its 11^th victory in Sun Belt play on Saturday with an overtime victory at Troy.

BTH Keys to Victory

DON’T GET CAUGHT UP: For the most part, UALR didn’t get caught up. But they just couldn’t score. Then D’Andre, Chuck and Will started hitting threes and the Trojans pulled it out. Grade: B.

TURN, TURN, TURN: UALR had 14 turnovers in 45 minutes while Troy had 17 turnovers. But UALR outscored Troy 18-6 in points off turnovers. Grade: A+

TAKE ADVANTAGE: UALR struggled throughout the first half to get Courtney Jackson and Will Neighbour involved in the offense. But Jackson had a more than solid second half before fouling out. Grade: C

FINE AT THE LINE: UALR made 21 of 27 free throws to Troy’s 18 of 23. That’s a win. Grade: A

Vegas, baby

The line opened with UALR being favored by 2.5. It swelled to 4.5 by game time. Would be losers turned into winners with UALR’s big start to overtime.  UALR is now 5-1 this season in games when it is the favorite.

Predictions

Jeff Sagarin and The Sports Network are winners while Omni Rankings, CBS Sportsline and Real Time RPi are losers. Jeff Sagarin now has the best overall mark at 18-9 on the season.

Always negative

23.1: UALR’s shooting percentage in the first half.

Keep it positive

50: Chuck Guy’s shooting percentage from three-point range. He made 4 of 8 on Saturday.

Stat of the game

12 of 13: UALR made 12 of 13 shots in overtime, including 4 of 5 field goals and 8 of 8 free throws.

Player of the game

Chuck Guy finished with 16 points, including 4 of 8 three-pointers. That all came after halftime.

Up next                                                                                                                

NBA scouts have already starting requesting media credentials to watch North Texas’ NBA prospect Tony Mitchell. UALR hosts North Texas  at 7 p.m. on Thursday.