Sunday, March 8th, 7:30 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Summit Arena (6,200) -- Hot Springs, Arkansas. Television: None. Home Record: Denver 12-3, UALR 11-4. Away Record: Denver 2-12, UALR 11-3. Neutral Record: Denver 1-0, UALR 0-0. Conference Record: Denver 9-9, UALR 15-3. Series Record: Arkansas-Little Rock leads, 9-6.

GAME NOTES: The seventh-seeded Denver Pioneers will attempt to upset the second-seeded Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans in the quarterfinal round of the 2009 Sun Belt Conference Tournament. Awaiting the winner of this clash is a semifinal meeting with either third-seeded Troy or sixth-seeded South Alabama. Denver has won five of its last six outings, including a 66-57 victory over 10th-seeded UL-Monroe in the first round of this event on Wednesday. The Pioneers have never won the Sun Belt Tournament title, and the same can be said of the Trojans. UALR earned a first-round bye in this event, thanks to a 15-3 record versus Sun Belt opponents during the regular season. The Trojans, who are 22-7 overall, have won their last three games and eight of the last nine heading into this quarterfinal tilt. UALR owns a 9-6 edge in the all-time series with Denver, which includes a 66-57 win in Little Rock on February 7th.

Nate Rohnert was tremendous for Denver in Wednesday's win over UL-Monroe, as he exploded for 28 points. Rob Lewis added 13 points, and Brian Stafford had 12 points. The Pioneers only turned the ball over nine times in that game and played tremendous defense, limiting UL-Monroe to 38 percent shooting from the floor. Rohnert is scoring 15.4 ppg for the Pioneers, and he is shooting 50.2 percent from the floor while pulling down 5.4 rpg and dishing out 4.6 apg. Lewis brings 12.4 ppg to the team, and Stafford is generating 11.8 ppg. The club is being outrebounded by 5.6 rpg, the most obvious area of weakness, but the fact that the Pioneers have hit a stellar 50.2 percent of their shots from the floor against conference opponents is truly impressive.

Steven Moore was scoring 13.6 ppg for UALR through 23 games before being suspended and then removed from the team. Give the squad credit for continuing its strong play despite that departure. The Trojans are limiting opponents to 64.0 ppg on 40.1 percent shooting from the floor, and there are three active double-digit scorers in the lineup to provide some offense. Shane Edwards is posting 11.7 ppg for UALR, and John Fowler checks in with 10.7 ppg. As for Matt Mouzy, he provides 10.2 ppg. While none of those players are even close to stars, the team plays solid ball at both ends of the floor and knows how to win close games.

Denver gets the nod here, as Rohnert will be the best player on the floor for either team.

Predicted Outcome

Denver 73, Arkansas-Little Rock 68