CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina University men's basketball team will be back on their home court this week as the Chanticleers will host Little Rock, Thursday, Jan. 27, at 7 p.m. ET, and conference-leading Arkansas State, Saturday, Jan. 29, at 1 p.m. ET. Saturday's game will be the first game of a scheduled double-header with the women's team who will host Appalachian State following the men's game at 4 p.m. ET.
 
Before the men's game on Thursday night, the CCU baseball team will be available to meet the public and sign 2022 posters in the HTC Concourse beginning at 6 p.m. ET. During halftime of Saturday's men's game, the 2021 Tailgreeter Cure Bowl Champion football team will be recognized.
 
CCU enters the week coming off a road sweep over Georgia Southern and Georgia State, which pushed the chants record to 11-8 overall and 3-4 in conference action. Little Rock is 7-9 overall and 2-2 in league play, while the Red Wolves enter the weekend with a league-best 13-4 overall record and 4-1 in conference play.
 
ABOUT COASTAL
 
All of the Chanticleer's conference games have been close except for a 94-64 win over ULM. The other six SBC games have been decided by an average of 4.3 points. Two of those have been one-point defeats suffered by CCU, while another was an overtime loss. Last week, both road wins came by four points, with one of those coming in overtime.
 
Transfer Vince Cole has settled into his new surroundings and is the Chants' most consistent scorer heading into this week's action. He has hit in double-digits 10 consecutive games, and for 20 or more points in five of those contests. He is coming off a 23-point game in leading CCU to the overtime win at Georgia State last time out. He is averaging 19 points per game over that period and is shooting 47.8 percent from the field, 47.4 percent on his three-point attempts, and 80 percent at the free throw line.
 
Sophomore Essam Mostafa has had special defenses thrown his way every game this season, continually facing double and triple-teams once he gets the ball in the post. He has still managed nine double-doubles on the season and is one of the top scorers in the conference at 15.4 points per game, and in rebounding averaging 9.7 per outing.
 
After a couple of sub-par shooting performances, Rudi Williams has popped back into form over the past three games scoring, 19, 14, and 15 points. He also has 11 assists over those three games.
 
While his scoring has never been talked about, Ebrima Dibba continues to make his mark this season. He leads the Sun Belt and is 10th nationally with 112 assists, averaging over six per game. On top of his passing, he is averaging over seven points and four rebounds per game. He recently became only the seventh player in CCU men's basketball history to surpass 400 career assists.
 
 
 
ABOUT LITTLE ROCK
 
This is LR's final year in the Sun Belt, as the Trojans have accepted an invitation to join the Ohio Valley Conference beginning June 1, 2022. These two teams have met seven times since CCU joined the Sun Belt for the 2016-17 season with the Chants hold a 5-2 lead in the series. However, LR has won each of the past two meetings.
 
Little Rock is coming off a thrilling 98-96 triple-overtime win over UTA and brings a balanced scoring attack into Conway. The Trojans are averaging a conference-leading 76.8 points per game in conference play. Nikola Maric is the team's leading scorer at 15.6 points per game. Isaiah Palermo is averaging 12.7, followed by Marko Lukic at 11.4, and DeAntoni Gordon at 10.4 points per game.
 
ABOUT ARKANSAS STATE
 
The Red Wolves have hit gold this season on the hardcourt led by the returning Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the year and first-team All-Sun Belt performer Norchad Omier, who is also the reigning Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week, an honor he has already won four times this season. He is the lone player in the conference averaging a double-double, scoring 17.1 points per game and grabbing 11.3 rebounds per game. He is coming off an impressive week where he averaged 20.5 points and 14.5 rebounds per game.
 
Desi Sills averaged over 28 minutes and seven points per game playing for the nationally-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks last season. He brought his talents across the state and is now averaging 14.2 points per game for the Red Wolves this season.
 
Another returning All-Sun Belt performer, Marquis Eaton has returned to run the point for A-State and is averaging 12.9 points per game. He leads the team in three-point field goals made with 23 and in assists with 61, while also shooting 94.6 percent (53-of-56) from the free throw line.

COACHES vs CANCER - SUITS AND SNEAKERS
 
This week is the American Cancer Society's Coaches vs. Cancer - Suits and Sneakers Week. This is a nationwide event that unites coaches across the country to raise funds and awareness about the fight against cancer and promotes the American Cancer Society as a source of inspiration and hope for those facing cancer. Saturday's game against Arkansas State will be the game selected by the CCU coaching staff to promote this event.

Both games can be heard on WRNN 99.5 Hot Talk and watched live on ESPN+. Links for both along with live stats can be found at www.GoCCUSports.com.
 
For complete coverage of CCU men's basketball, follow the Chants on social media @CoastalMBB (Twitter), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @GoCCUSports (Instagram) or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at www.GoCCUSports.com.