COACH: Steve Shields, eight years at UALR, first NCAA tournament.
HOW THEY GOT IN: Automatic bid (Sun Belt).
GO-TO GUYS: He's not flashy, he's not imposing - but Arkansas-Little Rock senior guard Solomon Bozeman is what makes this team run. Bozeman - a former South Florida transfer - averaged 16.5 points per game and won the Sun Belt's regular season Most Valuable Player award, as well as the SBC Tournaments' Most Outstanding Player honor. Bozeman's last-second 3-pointer propelled UALR to an upset win over North Texas in the Sun Belt final. Bozeman finished the season shooting 46 percent from the 3-point line, and 80 percent from the foul line. Outside of Bozeman, senior guard Alex Garcia-Mendoza averaged 8.6 points per game and started all 35 games for UALR. Senior guard Matt Mouzy is one of the Sun Belt's top 3-point threats, averaging 8 points per game, while connecting on 72 3-pointers on the season - good for a 39 percent success rate.
X FACTOR: The Trojans are playing their best basketball. Picked by virtually no one to win the league before the season, UALR was able to win four games in four days at the Sun Belt Conference tournament despite finishing with a sub-.500 record in league play. The tournament berth also remarks a major turnaround for UALR, as the Trojans won just eight games all of last year, completing a worst-to-first turnaround this year.
STRENGTHS: With Bozeman and Mouzy, the Trojans have two players that have virtually no conscious with the 3-point shot. Mouzy hit a nearly 30-foot bomb late in the Sun Belt final to get UALR back in the game late, before Bozeman calmly sank the game-winner in the waning seconds. UALR loves to slow games down, working the ball around for an open look - and coach Steve Shields preaches defense and rebounding more than just about anyone else in the Sun Belt Conference.
WEAKNESSES: UALR may very well be the least-athletic team in the entire tournament. Bozeman and Mouzy, along with Garcia-Mendoza, are the team's leading scorers -- but none of them have the ability to find their own shot. UALR is also lacking size at virtually every single position, meaning that the Trojans have to rely on tough half-court defense and overall block-out techniques to be successful.
