UALR scores points with Louisiana Tech coach

Check out what Louisiana Tech women's Coach Teresa Weatherspoon (@Finisher_11) had to say via Twitter about their visit to UALR yesterday:

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Lockhart's scoring numbers down, but probably won't be for long

We like UALR sophomore Taggart Lockhart because he plays hard and isn’t afraid to stand in there and take a charge. He can also score a little bit when needed. That’s why his past four games have been perplexing to watch.

South Alabama coach talks about Thursday's game vs. Arkansas State

UALR doesn't play again until Saturday. But South Alabama, Saturday's opponent, plays on Thursday at Arkansas State. Here's what interim coach Jeff Price had to say about that game.

University of South Alabama - MEN'S BASKETBALL TAKES WIN STREAK ON THE ROAD TO ARKANSAS STATE

Check out former UALR Trojan Shane Edwards playing in Australia

He plays for CAIRNS TAIPANS:

Up next: UALR (14-9, 7-4) vs. South Alabama (11-8, 8-3)

South Alabama plays on Thursday at Arkansas State. We'll update this after Thursday's game.

WHEN 7 p.m. Saturday

WHERE Jack Stephens Center, Little Rock

TICKETS Available at the Stephens Center box office or by calling (501) 565-UALR. Prices: End zone ($7 adults/$5 children); Level 200 ($12); Level 100 ($18); Leather ($24); Club ($38).

ALL-TIME SERIES South Alabama leads 24-14

LAST MEETING South Alabama 77, UALR 62 (Dec. 22)

VEGAS SAYS TBA

RADIO KABZ 103.7 in Little Rock (Ray Tucker, Pat Bradley)

TV None

TWEETCAST www.burnthehorse.blogspot.com

AND ONES  South Alabama is 4-1 on the road in Sun Belt Conference play. The Jaguars have beat FAU, FIU, ULM and ULL and their only loss came at North Texas. … USA is playing without Freddie Goldstein, who is out for the season with a broken right clavicle. … Since the last time UALR played South Al, the Jags are also without Xavier Roberson. He was dismissed from school after scoring 13 points in the first meeting with UALR.

UALR's Will Neighbour named Sun Belt player of the week

UALR junior Will Neighbour has been named this week's Sun Belt Conference player of the week.

Neighbour averaged 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds this week as UALR beat Florida Atlantic and North Texas to remain atop the Sun Belt's West Divsion standings. It's the second time Neighbour has won the award and first time this season.

UALR returns to action on Saturday against South Alabama.

Here's the official release from the Sun Belt.

UALR remains second in Sun Belt Tournament seeding through weekend games

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There were a couple of slight changes in 2013 Sun Belt Tournament seeding after this weekend's games. Arkansas State moved up into the first-round bye with its victory over Florida Atlantic. And Louisiana-Lafayette moved ahead of North Texas after the Mean Green lost on Saturday.

UALR remains the No. 2 seed and holds a 1 1/2 game lead over Arkansas State for that spot. That half game will be made up on Thursday when Arkansas State hosts South Alabama. UALR then hosts South Alabama on Saturday. UALR and Arkansas State still have two meetings against each other to look forward to.

The top team in each division will be seeded 1 and 2. Teams will then be slotted from 3 through 11. The top five teams earn a first-round bye.

BTH Analysis: Neighbour gets the better of Mitchell head to head again

Tony Mitchell will likely go on to have a better professional career. Let’s rephrase that. He’s probably going to go on to get drafted and will get a real shot to be a NBA player. But head-to-head, there’s not a lot of difference between Mitchell and UALR’s Will Neighbour.

Well, there is one difference, at least this season. North Texas plays about the same with Mitchell in the game or on the bench. UALR picks it up when Neighbour is on the court.

BTH Morning After: UALR exploited matchup to get Mitchell out

UALR baited North Texas’ Tony Mitchell into his fifth foul on Saturday night.

Mitchell was playing with four fouls and UALR had the ball leading 56-48 with 1:27 left. Knowing North Texas was switching ball screens, UALR had James White, who was guarded by Mitchell, set a screen for John Gillon. North Texas switched it, leaving the 6-8 Mitchell guarding Gillon, a 6-0 point guard.

BTH Vote: Who was the UALR player of the game on Saturday vs. North Texas?

	Will Neighbour
	James White
	Josh Hagins
	Leroy Isler
	John Gillon
pollcode.com free polls

UALR locks up defensively, beats North Texas 62-57

62    57

Ugly is beginning to suit this UALR team just fine.

UALR went ugly for the second consecutive road game and earned its second consecutive road victory with a 62-57 victory over North Texas at The Super Pit in Denton, Texas.

UALR (14-9, 8-4 Sun Belt Conference) holds on to its 1.5-game lead over Arkansas State in the Sun Belt’s West Division.

UALR beats North Texas 62-57

More to come in a bit. UALR wins its second consecutive road game, beating North Texas 62-57 at The Super Pit in Denton, Texas.

BTH Live Tweetcast: Game updates as UALR travels to North Texas at 7

UALR travels to North Texas at 7 p.m. tonight. We'll have live game updates, observations, commentary and more right here:

Mobile users. Follow along on Twitter at this link: CLICK HERE

BTH Gameday: Roller coaster ride continues for UALR

Why does it take digging itself a huge first-half hole before this UALR team decides to play to its potential? It’s a question UALR Coach Steve Shields would love the answer to.

UALR returns to action at 7 p.m. tonight against North Texas at The Super Pit in Denton, Texas.

UALR's 22 point comeback biggest in Shields era

UALR rallied from 22 points down to beat Florida Atlantic 65-62 on Thursday. It was the largest comeback for a Trojan team in Shields' 10 seasons as head coach. This graphic shows the biggest six comebacks:

Osse got up off his back to grab offensive rebound and score UALR winner

UALR Coach Steve Shields always talks about players making championship plays. UALR freshman Kemy Osse definitely made one against Florida Atlantic on Thursday.

Check out this photo (sorry for the quality). I've highlighted Leroy Isler, who took the shot with :03 left on the shot clock. I've also highlighted the ball in flight. And check out where Osse is when this shot is taken. He's laying on his back on the left block. From there, Osse gets up and in one motion jumps, grabs the ball and puts it in. The shot leaves his hand with :01 on the shot clock. It proved to be the game winner.

Up next: UALR (13-9, 7-4) vs. North Texas (8-13, 3-7)

WHEN 7 p.m. Saturday

WHERE Super Pit, Denton, Texas

ALL-TIME SERIES UALR leads 17-9

LAST MEETING UALR 67, North Texas 53 (Jan. 10)

VEGAS SAYS TBA

RADIO KABZ 103.7 in Little Rock (Ray Tucker)

TV None

TWEETCAST www.burnthehorse.blogspot.com

AND ONES  Just figuring out who is available to play for North Texas is a chore. The Mean Green have been badly disabled by injuries throughout the season. It’s expected that Jacob Holmen (concussion) is out tonight. It’s unclear whether Alzee Williams (knee) will play. He’s missed the past two games, including Thursday’s loss to Middle Tennessee. … Justin Patton (knee) has returned and played on Thursday. …. In the first meeting this season, UALR won 67-53 behind 16 points from James White.

A look at where UALR stands in the Sun Belt Conference race

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Here's a look at where we stand in Sun Belt Conference Tournament seeding through last night's games. UALR now has a 1.5-game lead on Arkansas State in the West Division. The top five teams will earn first-round byes in the tournament.

BTH Analysis: Neighbour fights back as UALR rallies

At one point during Thursday’s game, UALR trailed 33-11 and looked like it was headed to its first home Sun Belt Conference loss of the season. At that point, UALR’s Will Neighbour was a -26 in the plus/minus rating.

But as UALR turned the game around, Neighbour fought back. He finished a +26 the rest of the game as UALR rallied for a 65-62 victory. Neighbour finished the game at even, a remarkable feat after being -26. He led UALR with 24 points and 11 rebounds.

Watch highlights of UALR-FAU, including Osse's putback

Check out the highlights from last night's game thanks to KATV. You get a pretty good look at the Osse putback. Osse drove inside and passed to Isler as he fell down. When Isler's shot was well short, Osse hopped up stepped in front of an FAU player and put the ball back in to beat the shot clock buzzer. It gave UALR a 64-62 lead with about 34 seconds left.
KATV - Breaking News, Weather and Razorback Sports

BTH Morning After: Crass' inspiration leads UALR to second-half rally

When creating last night’s player of the game poll, we probably should have included UALR senior guard Ted Crass in that list of nominees.

Crass didn’t have any points or assists on Thursday. But his three minutes of game action in the first half was as important as anything that happened in Thursday’s 65-62 victory over Florida Atlantic at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.

Watch UALR's postgame press conferences

BTH Vote: Who was UALR's player of the game in Thursday's 65-62 win over FAU?

	Will Neighbour
	Kemy Osse
	Leroy Isler
	Josh Hagins
pollcode.com free polls

Osse putback caps comeback as UALR tops Florida Atlantic

62   65

An improbable putback capped an even more improbable comeback for UALR on Thursday. Kemy Osse’s putback with 35 seconds left was the game winner as UALR rallied from a 22-point first-half deficit to beat Florida Atlantic 65-62 at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.

UALR was lifeless in the first half before responding with a huge second half. Will Neighbour scored a career high 24 points to lead the Trojans (13-9, 7-4), who hold on to their narrow lead over Arkansas State in the Sun Belt’s West Division.

UALR beats FAU 65-62

UALR rallies from 21 down to win 65-62. More to come.

BTH Live Tweetcast: UALR vs. Florida Atlantic game updates from the JSC at 7 p.m.

UALR returns home to face Florida Atlantic at 7 p.m. tonight. We'll have live game updates, observations, commentary and more right here:

Mobile users. Follow along on Twitter at this link: CLICK HERE

Check out the KATV feature on UALR point guard Josh Hagins

KATV - Breaking News, Weather and Razorback Sports

UALR's Gillon expected to return tonight

This morning on 103.7 The Buzz, UALR Coach Steve Shields said he expects freshman guard John Gillon to be available tonight.

“John Gillon was able to practice the last couple of days," Shields said. "That will help out with our depth."

Gillon was injured Jan. 3 vs. Western Kentucky and has not played since. He is UALR's second leading scorer at 10.3 points per game.

BTH Gameday: UALR needs to utilize size advantage vs. FAU

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Quick, undersized team exploits UALR’s size advantage against the Trojans. Think both games against Troy. And that’s the recipe Florida Atlantic brings tonight as they take on UALR (12-9, 6-4) at 7 p.m. at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock.

UALR is expected to start a front line tonight that is 6-5, 6-10 and 6-10. And the Trojans will bring 6-8 and 6-10 off the bench. Florida Atlantic counters with 6-4, 6-6 and 6-6.

UALR Coach Steve Shields set to appear tonight on Arkansas Sports Nation

Be sure and check out UALR Coach Steve Shields when he appears at 10:30 tonight on Arkansas Sports Nation. You can find it on KARZ Channel 42.

Slowing FAU's Gantt easier said than done

As usual, there will be a lot of individual matchups on Thursday when UALR hosts Florida Atlantic at the Jack Stephens Center. But no matchup will be more prominent than UALR’s Leroy Isler vs. FAU’s Greg Gantt.

Isler has become UALR’s designated guard stopper this season. And he’ll face his biggest challenge to date on Thursday. Gantt comes in averaging a Sun Belt best 22.5 points per game and is on his way to the conference’s ‘most valuable player award.

Former UALR Trojan Eric Kibi off to good start in Germany.

Check out this story on former UALR Trojan Eric Kibi. He only played a year here before finishing with former UALR assistant Coach Joe Golding at Abiline Christian. But he was on UALR's NCAA Tournament team.

http://www.eurobasket.com/Germany/basketball.asp?NewsID=304768

Kibi told BTH: "Good luck with the rest of the season I am following the guys."

This year's Trojans could use a little bit of that rebounding.

Gillon returns to UALR practice

UALR freshman guard John Gillon returned to practice on Tuesday. Gillon hasn't played since injuring his knee Jan. 3 vs. Western Kentucky. He is UALR's second leading scorer.

UALR hosts Florida Atlantic on Thursday.

Up next: UALR (12-9, 6-4) vs. Florida Atlantic (10-10, 5-4)

WHEN 7 p.m. Thursday

WHERE Jack Stephens Center, Little Rock

TICKETS Available at the Stephens Center box office or by calling (501) 565-UALR. Prices: End zone ($7 adults/$5 children); Level 200 ($12); Level 100 ($18); Leather ($24); Club ($38).

ALL-TIME SERIES UALR leads 4-3

LAST MEETING UALR 40, FAU 38 last season

VEGAS SAYS TBA

RADIO KABZ-FM 103.7 in Little Rock

TV None

TWEETCAST www.burnthehorse.blogspot.com

AND ONES UALR beat Florida Atlantic 40-38 at the Jack Stephens Center last season. In that game, UALR shot 29.5 percent from the field, 7.1 percent from three-point range, got outrebounded by 5, had 4 assists and just 15 turnovers and went scoreless for 5:30 in the final 8 minutes of the game. And they won. D’Andre Williams hit a runner to give UALR the lead, but then the Trojans had to survive a pretty good look at a three-pointer that was missed by Greg Gantt. … FAU is 3-7 in true road games this season.

Learn more about FAU sharpshooter Greg Gantt

UALR takes on Florida Atlantic this week. No doubt a lot of defensive attention will be paid toward Florida Atlantic sharpshooter Greg Gantt.

Read more about Gantt by clicking here.

Gillon's status still unclear for this week's games

It remains unclear whether or not UALR freshman guard John Gillon will be cleared to play this week. Gillon is headed back to the doctor this afternoon to evaluate his condition. He could either be cleared to resume practice or could be told to wait another week.

Gillon is averaging 10.8 points per game this season, but has missed the past five games. He was injured in the first half of UALR's first meeting with Western Kentucky.

UALR plays twice this week, hosting Florida Atlantic on Thursday and traveling to North Texas on Saturday.

Similarities between this UALR team and the last one to sweep WKU

Zack Graber

There are similarities from the last time UALR swept Western Kentucky in the regular season and this year’s team.

The 2004-2005 UALR Trojans ended up finishing 18-10. But on the way, they lost by more than 30 points at Middle Tennessee, swept Western Kentucky in the regular season and lost only one game at home all season.

Steve Shields Show airs tonight

Don't forget the Steve Shields Show airs at 6:30 p.m. tonight on Channel 49 in Little Rock. They'll recap the games against Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky (hopefully it's heavy on the WKU game) and talk about this week's games with Florida Atlantic and North Texas.

Freshman Hagins taking advantage of point guard opportunity

How good has freshman Josh Hagins been for UALR?

Since re-earning the starting point guard position six games ago, Hagins has averaged 11.0 points, 5.5 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 2.5 steals with only 2.2 turnovers. That’s solid.

A look at where we stand for seeding in the Sun Belt Tournament

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A look at where we stand for Sun Belt Tournament seeded as of today.

UALR remains atop the  Sun Belt Conference's West Division this week and in the second seed overall behind Middle Tennessee. The East and West Division champions are seeded 1 and 2 at the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. The remaining teams are then seeded regardless of division.

Watch highlights from Saturday's UALR-WKU game

BTH Analysis: Neighbour, Hagins on court for all but two of UALR's points

UALR scored 59 points in Saturday’s victory over Western Kentucky. Will Neighbour and Josh Hagins were on the court for all but two of them.

UALR outscored Western Kentucky 57-50 with Neighbour on the court. And the Trojans outscored the Hilltoppers 57-51 with Hagins on the court. That makes Neighbour a +7 and Hagins a +6 for Saturday’s game, placing both in the top five.

BTH Morning After: UALR goes ugly, earns victory at WKU

Perhaps UALR found something on the short trip from Murfreesboro, Tenn., to Bowling Green, Ky., on Friday morning. What the Trojans appear to have found is how to win ugly on the road.

Frankly, it was a Steve Shields special.

Less than 48 hours after getting blown away at Middle Tennesee, UALR responded with a 59-54 victory over Western Kentucky before the largest crowd to visit E.A. Diddle Arena this season.

Who was the UALR player of the game on Saturday vs. WKU?

	Josh Hagins
	Kemy Osse
	Michael Javes
	Leroy Isler
pollcode.com free polls

UALR wins at Western Kentucky for first road victory of season

59    54

UALR’s young team grew up in a big way on Saturday. UALR rebounded from a 32-point loss less than 48 hours ago to pull a 59-54 upset over Western Kentucky at E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green.

UALR (12-9, 6-4 Sun Belt Conference) remains in first place in the West Division after their first road victory of the season.

“It’s a big one for our guys seeing the way we were on Thursday. We weren’t as tough with the basketball [on Thursday] and didn’t handle adversity in a good way,” UALR Coach Steve Shields said. “I thought we had a very energized, enthusiastic practice [on Friday].”

UALR beats WKU 59-54, wins for first time on road

More to come in a bit. Huge victory for UALR, winning 59-54 against Western Kentucky at E.A. Diddle Arena.

BTH Live Tweetcast: Game updates as UALR travels to WKU

UALR travels to Western Kentucky at 5 p.m. tonight. Watch on ESPN3 (Watch ESPN) or on ESPN Full Court (free preview on a satellite distributor no longer associated with the BTH household). We'll have live game updates, observations and more right here.

Mobile users. Follow along on Twitter at this link: CLICK HERE

BTH Gameday: Will UALR be able to overcome WKU kryptonite today?

Today’s UALR-Western Kentucky matchup has some interesting matchup possibilities. But the one that might be most interesting is what type of defense WKU chooses to go with.

Up next: UALR (11-9, 5-4) vs. Western Kentucky (11-8, 5-3)

WHEN 5 p.m. Saturday

WHERE E.A. Diddle Arena, Bowling Green, Ky.

ALL-TIME SERIES WKU leads 34-11

LAST MEETING UALR 75, WKU 67 (Jan. 3)

VEGAS SAYS TBA

RADIO KABZ-FM 103.7 in Little Rock

TV ESPN 3 (Watch ESPN), ESPN Full Court

TWEETCAST www.burnthehorse.blogspot.com

AND ONES Western Kentucky is still dealing with a bunch of injuries. Point guard Jamal Crook remains out. Shooting guard Kevin Kaspar didn’t play on Saturday vs. ULL due to an ankle injury but he is expected to play tonight. Eddie Alcantara has a pulled hamstring and didn’t dress out on Saturday. Caden Dickerson did dress out with his shoulder injury but he’s not expected to return until next week. … UALR also remains without guard John Gillon, who is expected to return next week. … UALR Coach Steve Shields is 1-2 vs. WKU Coach Ray Harper. … UALR’s last victory at Diddle Arena came on Feb. 17, 2005. A Darius Eason dunk sealed it late and set off a wild celebration on the red towel at center court.

BTH Morning After: Growing pains still evident for young UALR team

When UALR Coach Steve Shields made the commitment to focus more recruiting on high school players two years ago he knew there would be some growing pains.

There’s no doubt he could have had more immediate success by restocking the roster with junior college players. But the problem with those players is that once they begin to flourish, they graduate and you never really get the opportunity to use their full potential.

And this year those growing pains have been evident. Nine of the 11 players in the rotation are either sophomores or freshmen.  And UALR is 10-1 at home, 1-1 in neutral site games and 0-8 on the road.

UALR never gets going in blowout loss at Middle Tennessee

50      82

UALR couldn’t stop Middle Tennessee’s runs throughout the night as the Trojans predictably lost 82-50 to the Blue Raiders on Thursday at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro.

BTH Live Tweetcast: UALR vs. Middle Tennessee game updates starting at 7 p.m.

UALR travels to Middle Tennessee at 7 p.m. tonight. Watch on ESPN 3 (Watch ESPN) and get live game updates, observations and more right here:

Mobile users. Follow along on Twitter at this link: CLICK HERE

BTH Gameday: Middle Tennessee has experienced team, coach for UALR matchup

When UALR travels to Middle Tennessee at 7 p.m. tonight, it will match the Sun Belt Conference’s most inexperienced team against the conference’s most experience team. It will also match the two longest-tenured coaches in the league in UALR’s Steve Shields and Middle Tennessee’s Kermit Davis.

UALR (11-8, 5-3), the Sun Belt’s West Division leader, is a 15-point underdog tonight to Middle Tennessee (14-4, 6-1), the East Division leader.