Trojans Conclude Road Trip Against Illinois
Little Rock (3-3) wraps up its six-game road stretch on Monday at Illinois (4-1) at the State Farm Center, with the game starting at 8 p.m. Local coverage will be available on 106.7 Buz2 starting at 7:45 p.m. The game will also be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
The Trojans are coming off a 79-67 loss to Arkansas on Friday, marking their second defeat in three games. Little Rock struggled early, falling behind by 22 points in the first half, but mounted a comeback, cutting the deficit to seven midway through the second half. Despite their efforts, they were unable to close the gap.
Defensive Standouts
Mwani Wilkinson, a senior transfer from LSU, continues to lead the team in scoring and has also been strong defensively. He averages 2.5 steals per game, ranking 17th nationally, and leads the team with 1.5 blocks per game.
Upcoming Schedule
Maryland Eastern Shore will visit Little Rock on Wednesday. The team played Illinois on Saturday, losing 87-40, and will also face Arkansas on Monday. After Thanksgiving, all three teams—Illinois, Arkansas, and Little Rock—will have played each other in a span of just over a week.
Home Game Advantage
After six of their first eight November games were on the road, the Trojans will return home for six consecutive games at the Jack Stephens Center in December. This includes the first two Ohio Valley Conference games.
Series History with Illinois
Illinois leads the all-time series 3-0. The first meeting occurred in 1988, with Illinois winning 107-88. The most recent encounter took place in 2005, where Illinois won 75-49, the largest margin of victory in the series. On average, Illinois has scored 88.33 points in its home victories over Little Rock.
Illinois Team Overview
Illinois recently broke into the Top-25 rankings, but suffered a 100-87 loss to Alabama before bouncing back with a dominant 87-40 win over Maryland-Eastern Shore. Freshman Will Riley leads Illinois with 18 points per game and six rebounds. He had a standout performance in his debut, scoring 31 points. Sophomore Tomislav Ivisivic averages 15.4 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. Other key contributors include freshman Kasparas Jakucionis (11+ points, 6 rebounds), sophomore Kylan Boswell (9.8 points), and senior transfer Ben Humrichous (11.8 points).
