NCAA Profile: Arkansas Little Rock Trojans

Team: Arkansas Little Rock Trojans

Conference: Sun Belt Conference

Coach: Chris Beard

Record: 29-4 overall, 17-3 in conference

KenPom Rank: 47

Good wins: at San Diego State, at Tulsa.

Impact Players: Guards Josh Hagins and Marcus Johnson score just under 13 points a game apiece. The Trojans force turnovers and apply pressure with a small lineup of juniors and seniors, though they do have some height in forward Lis Shoshi from Kosovo, who can shoot from outside the arc as well.

How did they get in?: First year coach Chris Beard - who was an assistant under both Bobby and Pat Knight at Texas Tech - arrived from Division II Angelo State and took Little Rock from 13 to 29 wins in one season, improving the defense immensely with JUCO additions Shoshi and Johnson.

They won the Sun Belt Tournament, winning both games handily and earning a dangerous 12 seed.

How far can this team go in the NCAA Tournament?: Little Rock may have played in a fairly poor conference, but there were some good squads (Texas-Arlington, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe for example). And the wins over Tulsa and San Diego State stand out, as well as road throttlings of DePaul and Idaho.

I'd take a flier on this team as a Sweet Sixteen squad - they shoot very well from beyond the arc, defend, and perhaps they have inherited Bobby Knight's hatred of Purdue from his Indiana days.

Last time in the NCAA Tournament: 2011, where they lost in the first round under former coach Steve Shields.