University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Men's Hoops Closes Season at Louisiana Tech
3/4/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Southern Miss ends its season this Thursday, March 5, when it travels to Ruston, La., to face Louisiana Tech. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT and will be nationally-televised by CBS Sports Network.
Southern Miss and Louisiana Tech will meet for the 76th time overall, the third most meetings in Southern Miss history. The Bulldogs have won the last two meetings. In Ruston, Louisiana Tech leads, 25-9, and have won the last 13. Southern Miss has not won in Ruston since Feb. 20, 1965.
The series is tied 1-1 in Conference USA play. However, Southern Miss leads 7-3 all-time in conference games, as the teams played from 1948-52 as members of the Gulf States Conference. Thursday's game marks the second of two meetings during the regular season. Louisiana Tech took an 83-70 victory over Southern Miss in Hattiesburg on January 3 in both team's Conference USA opener.
Five contests have been decided in overtime, with Southern Miss holding a 4-1 advantage. The last came in 1967. In fact, the Golden Eagles have only faced Memphis (7) more times in overtime. Head coach Doc Sadler is 1-2 against the Bulldogs. The series began during the 1932-33 campaign.
Southern Miss enters tonight's game with a 9-19 record, including 4-13 in Conference USA. The Black and Gold is looking for its third straight win after defeating UTEP, 63-60, last Saturday.
Guard Chip Armelin is fifth in Conference USA with 16.0 points. He is also second in the league in minutes played (35.1) and tied for fifth in three-pointers made (2.1), while grabbing 4.0 rebounds.
Forward Matt Bingaya is second on the team with 13.9 points and is pulling down a team-high 5.7 rebounds. He is also 10th in C-USA in with 1.3 steals per game. Forward Norville Carey is averaging 10.8 points and 5.6 rebounds. He is eighth in the league in field goal percentage, hitting 55.3% from the floor.
The Golden Eagles are scoring just 60.0 points a game but are allowing 68.1. Southern Miss is connecting on 42.9% from the floor and 33.0% from three while allowing 45.6% from the field and 36.4% from beyond the arc. The Black and Gold is also being outrebounded, 34.2-to-29.5.
Southern Miss head coach Doc Sadler is in his first season at the helm of the Southern Miss men's basketball program. He has compiled a 158-126 (.556) record in nine years as a head coach.
Louisiana Tech enters tonight's game with a 23-7 record. It currently sits atop the Conference USA standings with a 14-3 record. The Bulldogs have won two straight and six out of seven after defeating UTSA last Saturday, 76-66.
Guard Alex Hamilton leads the team and is sixth in Conference USA with 15.7 points per game. He is also second in the league in steals (1.9) while adding 3.4 rebounds per game. Guard Raheem Appleby is second on the team and eighth in the league with 15.4 points per game. He is also seventh in C-USA in three-pointers made per game (2.1) and ninth in steals per game (1.4).
Forward Erik McCree is averaging 11.8 points per game and is second on the team with 5.6 rebounds per game. Forward Michale Kyser is averaging 8.0 points per game and a team-high 6.5 rebounds per game. He leads the league and is seventh in the country (as of Mar. 2) in blocks per game (3.0). He is also fourth in the conference in field goal percentage (.579).
Guard Kenneth Smith leads the league and is fifth in the nation (as of Mar. 2) in assists per game (7.4). He is also third in the league in steals per game (1.7).
Louisiana Tech is averaging 73.2 points per game, which is second in Conference USA, while allowing just 64.6. The Bulldogs are connecting on 44.9% from the floor and 33.4% from three, while allowing just 41.6% from the field and 33.5% from beyond the arc.
Louisiana Tech leads the league in blocks per game, and is eighth in the country, averaging 8.0. It is also tops in the conference in steals per game (8.4) and second in assists per game (14.0). Louisiana Tech is also being outrebounded 37.9-to-33.5.
