LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS---What does San Diego State, Tulsa, and DePaul have in common? They were all defeated at home by "Little Rock's Team," the Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans (UALR). Yet, the resident of the Sun Belt doesn't just play well against the big name schools, but mid-majors as well, for they entered Sunday's contest with no blemishes and nine wins.

Make that no blemishes and ten wins.

While the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (NAU) were able to compete and lead for the first two minutes, the UALR Trojans took the lead at the 15:44 mark (on a Kemy Osse three pointer) and never relinquished it in a 84-57 blowout win.

Charging ahead thanks to an initial 20-6 run (25-12 UALR with 7:56 in 1st half), the Trojans were led by a very balanced scoring attack, in which five players added at least five points, in route to a 44-23 halftime advantage.

In the second half, more of what was seen in the first twenty minutes transpired as UALR utilized a 13-4 spurt to up their lead to a game-high 30 (57-27 UALR with 15:04 remaining). 

Although the Lumberjacks were able to cut out about one-third of their deficit (73-52 UALR), with only 5:07 left on the clock, the Trojans had the game in hand and were ready for their next challenger. 

Quietly Making a Name For Themselves

Entering the weekend with eight undefeated teams, the now 10-0 Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans was the team getting the least attention. In fact, they were the only team outside the power conferences to possess zero losses! But they haven't played any ranked opponents (and most likely won't). So what! The Trojans have played six true road games thus far. How many have the remaining unbeatens played? A combined total of six! And who cares if they have only two double-figures scorers (Marcus Johnson Jr. at 15.0 PPG and Josh Hagins with 12.2)! Against Northern Arizona, eight of their players chipped in at least 5 points (led by Johnson Jr. with 15). UALR will look to extend its win streak to a school record 11 Tuesday afternoon against Tubby Smith's Texas Tech Red Raiders. 

Not the Same Team

When glancing at the 2-8 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks schedule, one can immediately conclude that their record is not an appropriate indicator of how talented the team is since they have faced ranked opponents, such as Gonzaga and Arizona, in addition to very good mid-majors, like Boise State and Arkansas-Little Rock. However, if one takes a closer look at the teams faced, losses from Norfolk State, Hampton, and Cal State Bakersfield largely loom. The Lumberjacks were the runners-up to Evansville in the 2015 CollegeInsider.com Tournament. Granted, leading scorer from last year Quinton Upshur and double-digit scorer Aaseem Dixon graduated; but, Kris Yanku, Ako Kaluna, and Jaleni Neely remain in Flagstaff. So what's the problem? To be frank, they cannot consistently put "the biscuit in the basket." Focusing on the aforementioned three contests, NAU shot a combined 36.4% from the floor, including a very anemic 28.1% mark at Cal State Bakersfield. Furthermore, they are being outrebounded as Northern Arizona's opponents averaged 3.3 more boards. Throw in them turning over the ball 13.6 times per game for the season, 5th highest mark in the Big Sky, and the Lumberjacks have some major issues that must be addressed prior to their conference opener on New Year's Eve versus Montana.