University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss Announces 2005-06 Men's Basketball Schedule
8/25/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Files associated with this release:
2005-06 Men's Basketball Schedule (PDF)
Southern Miss Announces 2005-06 Men's Basketball Schedule
HATTIESBURG, Miss. ? Southern Miss Head Men's Basketball Coach Larry Eustachy and Director of Athletics Richard Giannini today released the 2005-06 men's basketball schedule that will feature 15 home dates and one non-conference tournament.
Five postseason teams from a season ago and two Southeastern Conference foes also appear on the schedule. Among the NCAA participants that Southern Miss will face three of them -- UAB, UCF and UTEP -- all currently play in the new-look Conference USA. Two others, C-USA holdovers Houston and Memphis, competed in the 2005 National Invitational Tournament. Non-conference opponents Arkansas and Auburn, members of the SEC, also appear on the schedule. The contest with Auburn is the first in a two-year contract, with the Tigers visiting Hattiesburg and Reed Green Coliseum on Jan. 2, 2007.
"This season?s schedule will be a competitive one for our team," Eustachy said. "Much like last season, we have several newcomers who, along with our returning players, need to have a little bit of success. I believe that this schedule is right for where our program stands today. Our non-conference tournament in Alaska has a solid field of participating teams, and we're also excited about our home-and-home series with a quality opponent like Auburn, who will be coming to Hattiesburg next season.
"It will also be an interesting season with the changes in Conference USA," Eustachy added. "The addition of the new teams, along with the programs who remained in the league, should make for an exciting season. The key to our program's success in the future will be putting people in the stands. If we do that, we can build the type of home-court advantage that is crucial to having a successful Division I basketball program."
Exhibition action kicks off when the Golden Eagles host the University of Calgary on Sunday, Nov. 6, at Green Coliseum, followed by another contest on Monday, Nov. 14, against Loyola University of New Orleans.
Southern Miss opens the regular season on the road at the Top of the World Classic (Nov. 17-20) in Fairbanks, Alaska. The team meets Lamar in the opening-round of the tournament, with host Alaska-Fairbanks, Denver, Illinois-Chicago, Kennesaw State, Montana State and San Diego State all taking part in the event.
The Golden Eagles then return home for a single-game against Samford on Nov. 28, before departing for a three-game road swing that includes visits to Arkansas (Nov. 30), New Orleans (Dec. 3) and Sam Houston State (Dec. 7).
Following the road trip, the Golden Eagles begin a seven-game homestand that features South Alabama (Dec. 10), crosstown-foe William Carey (Dec. 17), Tennessee State (Dec. 19), Bradley (Dec. 21) before the Christmas break. West Florida then visits Hattiesburg on Dec. 27, while Spring Hill (Dec. 30) and McNeese State (Jan. 2) help bring in the new year. The non-conference slate ends with a Jan. 4 visit to Auburn.
The schedule also will feature 14 Conference USA games, where Southern Miss will face every team in the league at least once and then taking on three mirror opponents -- Memphis, Tulane and UAB -- twice. The league slate begins with Tulane at home (Jan. 11) and a pair of road games at Tulsa (Jan. 14) and Houston (Jan. 18). Other conference road games include UAB (Jan. 28), SMU (Feb. 4), Memphis (Feb. 14), Marshall (Feb. 25) and Tulane (March 1).
In addition to the league home-opener against Tulane, C-USA home games include Memphis (Jan. 21), Rice (Jan. 25), UCF (Feb. 8), UTEP (Feb. 11), UAB (Feb. 18) and the regular-season finale against East Carolina on March 4.
The conference tournament will again be played in Memphis, Tenn., this season. That event is slated for March 8-11.
The complete schedule follows:
Nov. - 6, University of Calgary (exhibition); 14, Loyola University (exhibition); 17-20, Top of the World Classic at Fairbanks, Alaska (host Alaska-Fairbanks, Denver, Illinois-Chicago, Kennesaw State, Lamar, Montana State and San Diego State); 28, Samford; 30, at Arkansas;
Dec. - 3 at New Orleans; 7, at Sam Houston State; 10, South Alabama; 17, William Carey; 19, Tennessee State; 21, Bradley; 27, West Florida; 30, Spring Hill;
Jan. - 2, McNeese State; 4, at Auburn; 11, Tulane; 14, at Tulsa; 18, at Houston; 21, Memphis; 25, Rice; 28, at UAB;
Feb. - 4, at SMU; 8, UCF; 11, UTEP; 14, at Memphis; 18, UAB; 25, at Marshall
March - 1, at Tulane; 4, East Carolina
