The University of Arkansas at Little Rock women's basketball team enters today's 1 p.m. game against the University of Arkansas at Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock with a 2-7 record.
But Coach Mike Neighbors, whose Razorbacks (10-1) are ranked 21st in this week's Associated Press women's poll, called his team an underdog, considering UALR's postseason resume under Coach Joe Foley, who has led the Trojans to six NCAA Tournaments and five WNIT tournaments in his career.
"They always turn it around," Neighbors said. "I remember when they were 2-8 one year and beat Oklahoma. So we're not falling for the ol' banana in the tailpipe. We know how this story ends with them."
University of Arkansas Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek announced Aug. 30, 2018, that the UA had scheduled UALR and the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff in baseball. Scheduling those games broke from the university's longstanding policy of not playing state schools during the regular season.
A couple of days after Yurachek's announcement, Neighbors and Foley were golfing in Little Rock and discussed the Razorbacks and Trojans playing each other. Neighbors confirmed to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in May that Arkansas would play UALR during the 2019-20 season.
Today is the second women's basketball game played between the two programs. Arkansas beat UALR 74-54 on Dec. 9, 1977, in Little Rock in the teams' only previous meeting.
"It's a game that had to happen for our sport," Neighbors said.
Foley agreed with his counterpart.
"I think it's great for the state," Foley said. "There's a lot of interest created with it."
The Trojans already have faced a ranked team in Texas A&M, and they also played SEC school LSU. They'll travel to No. 15 Mississippi State on Dec. 29.
Playing a team like the Trojans will help the Razorbacks at tournament time, Neighbors said.
"It's a quality opponent before playing in the SEC," said Neighbors, whose team hosts Tennessee-Martin on Dec. 29 and opens SEC play Jan. 2 against Texas A&M at Walton Arena in Fayetteville.
Neighbors began hearing about Foley when Neighbors was a high school student.
When he was at Greenwood High School, Neighbors attended a boys basketball camp at Arkansas Tech University in 1984, where Foley was one of the coaches.
In the late 1990s as a high school coach at Bentonville, Neighbors brought his team to Arkansas Tech when Foley was the women's basketball coach at the school.
It was at those Golden Suns camps in Russellville where the two coaches hit it off and became friends.
"We go back to when I was coaching at Arkansas Tech and he was coaching in high school," Foley said. "I got to know him there. We've been associates for a long period of time."
For more than three decades, Foley has had Neighbors' respect.
"He's had very good teams," Neighbors said. "The terminology that he uses, that's how I try to coach defense.
"He's always had a good team plan. He's very animated about sharing the basketball. He's very intense with his words and teaching style."
UALR has three Arkansas natives on its roster -- senior guard Kyra Collier (North Little Rock), junior guard Tori Lasker (Mayflower) and redshirt sophomore forward Krystan Vornes (Osceola). Foley said for those three players, it's an important game because they're facing the Razorbacks.
"Everybody knows Arkansas," Foley said. "We know this is the best year they've had in years. It's a big challenge. But it's something our kids will look forward to."
Neighbors said he has received 25-30 ticket requests for the game against the Trojans. He expects a great atmosphere in Simmons Bank Arena, where the Razorbacks haven't played since the 2015 SEC Women's Tournament.
"It's going to be a tournament feel for us," Neighbors said.
Sports on 12/21/2019