University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss Announces 2011-12 Men's Basketball Schedule
9/2/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Sept. 2, 2011
2011-12 Men's Basketball Schedule 
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Games against in-state foe Ole Miss, Arizona State and former Conference USA rival South Florida highlight Southern Miss' 2011-12 men's basketball schedule, head coach Larry Eustachy announced Friday.
The Golden Eagles will also play a possible 14 games against 10 teams that participated in postseason play last year and 15 home games over the course of the season.
The Golden Eagles play 15 non-conference games before the new year with seven coming at Reed Green Coliseum. They will also face eight opponents who had an RPI in the Top 100 in 2009-10.
Before the season starts, Southern Miss will host two exhibition games. The Golden Eagles will host Loyola (N.O.) on Oct. 27. The teams have met the last three years, with USM winning all three. Southern Miss will then host cross-town rival William Carey for the second year in a row on Nov. 8.
The Golden Eagles open the season at home for the first time since 2008 when they host Spring Hill on Nov. 12. It will be the eighth straight year that the teams have met, with USM winning the previous seven meetings by an average of 30.0 points.
Southern Miss will then go on the road for two weeks. The Golden Eagles open a five game road trip at Denver on Nov. 17. It will be just the third meeting between the two teams, and the first since 2005. USM will then face Colorado State on Nov. 19. Last year, the teams battled in the Championship Game of the inaugural Cancun Governor's Cup, with the Rams taking a 63-58 victory.
The Black and Gold will then make a long trek to Alaska for the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout on Nov. 23-26. The Golden Eagles will be making their first appearance in the prestigious tournament, and their second in Alaska. They opened the 2005 season at the BP Top of the World Classic. Southern Miss will open the Shootout against UC-Irvine on the 24th. The following day, the Golden Eagles will face either Central Michigan or New Mexico State. The final game of the tournament will come against either Alaska-Anchorage, Dartmouth, Ohio Valley Conference regular season champion Murray State or San Francisco.
The Eagles return to Reed Green Coliseum on Dec. 4, facing New Mexico State for possibly the second time in in a week.
Southern Miss then travels to Mobile to face South Alabama. The teams have met 27 of the last 29 years. The Golden Eagles have won the last two meetings, including last year's 93-58 victory. The 35-point margin was the largest margin of victory in the 36-game series.
The Black and Gold then hosts Louisiana Tech on Dec. 10. It will be the first meeting between the teams since the 2010 CollegeInsider.com Tournament. It will also be the 70th meeting between the two schools, the third most games against a Golden Eagle opponent.
Southern Miss will take a week off for exams before they welcome Ole Miss to Reed Green Coliseum for the first time since 1994 on Dec. 17. It will be just the eighth time in the 24-game series that the Rebels will visit Hattiesburg. Ole Miss has won the last two meetings by a combined seven points.
USM will then turn around and travel to Tempe, Ariz., to face Arizona State on Dec. 19. It is the second straight year that Southern Miss will travel to a Pac-12 opponent.
The Golden Eagles return home for a three-game homestand, beginning with former Conference USA foe South Florida on Dec. 22. Last year, the Golden Eagles opened the season with a thrilling 60-53 victory at USF. Southern Miss trailed 53-45 before closing the game on a 15-0 run over the final 3:52.
The Black and Gold hosts Belhaven on Dec. 27 in the team's first meeting since 2007. In three meetings, Southern Miss has outscored the Blazers by an average of 31.7 points.
Southern Miss closes its homestand on Dec. 29 against in-state foe Alcorn State. USM had its largest scoring output of the year last year, defeating the Braves, 100-71.
USM closes out its non-conference slate on New Year's Eve when it makes its first trip to Lake Charles, La., since 1991 to face Southland Conference regular season champion McNeese State.
The Golden Eagles open their conference slate on Jan. 4 at home against East Carolina. It is the fourth time in the last five years that they will open conference play at home.
The Golden Eagles will then go on the road for two games when they travel to Tulane on Jan. 7 before heading to Conference USA Champion Memphis on Jan. 11.
Southern Miss returns home for two games, first against regular season champion UAB on Jan. 14, followed by Marshall on Jan. 21. The Black and Gold go back on the road for two games, beginning with a game in Greenville against East Carolina on Jan. 25 before closing out January at UCF on the 28th.
USM opens February on the 1st with the second of two games with Memphis before traveling to Birmingham, Ala., to face UAB on Feb. 8th.
The Golden Eagles then come home for two games, beginning with UCF on Feb. 11, followed by Tulsa on the 15th.
Southern Miss will take to the road for two games when it travels to Houston on Feb. 18 before going to UTEP on the Feb. 22. The Golden Eagles return home for two games against Rice (Feb. 25) before hosting SMU on its annual Senior Day on Feb. 29.
The Black and Gold close the season on the road for the third time in the last four years when it travels to Marshall on March 3.
Southern Miss will take part in the Conference USA Tournament, March 7-10, at FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn.
Season ticket information will be announced at a later date.
