University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Men's Basketball Hosts South Alabama in Wednesday Night Clash
11/29/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Southern Miss men's basketball team will have a big test inside Reed Green Coliseum on Wednesday night, hosting the 5-1 South Alabama Jaguars at 7 p.m.
The first 300 students inside will receive court-replica rally towels, and the athletics department is also hosting Eagle Club Appreciation Night, where members can purchase $5 bleacher or $10 chairback seats with their Eagle Club ID at either the Pat Ferlise Center or coliseum box office.
Fans can listen via the Southern Miss IMG Sports Network (104.5 in Hattiesburg), watching Southern Miss All Access online, or following Gametracker and @SouthernMissMBB on Twitter.
â€" Wednesday's game marks Southern Miss' sixth and final of November (including exhibitions). The Black and Gold will play inside Reed Green Coliseum just once in December (Tulane on the 10th) before hosting Louisiana Tech on New Year's Day for the C-USA opener.
â€" Southern Miss has won its last six games against the Jaguars, including a dramatic 57-54 win in Mobile on Dec. 14, 2015. That win came on the heels of the Golden Eagles' first of the year and saw the visitors overcome a nine-point second-half deficit. Kourtlin Jackson scored 25 points to lead everyone. Only once in that six-game span did the winning team reach the 70-point plateau.
â€" Raheem Watts had a breakout game for the Golden Eagles, making his final six shots (6-for-7 overall) and seven of his eight free-throws as Southern Miss took care of Alabama A&M, 63-55.
â€" That Monday night contest also saw the Golden Eagles shoot 18-for-21 from the free-throw line (85.7 percent), its best since Feb. 18 at UTEP. The squad also produced 18 assists, its most in a 40-minute game since that UTEP meeting.
â€" The last three games for Southern Miss have produced striking patterns. The team has decreased its shot attempt total each of the last three games (61-51-46) while also improving its field goal percentage in that same span (39-41-46 percent). The Golden Eagles have also gotten to the charity stripe more times each contest (15-16-21) and have committed fewer personal fouls (18-16-12).
â€" Southern Miss is the only C-USA school to have three members rank in the C-USA top-20 for rebounding (Eddie Davis III - 8.3, Tim Rowe - 7.8, Raheem Watts - 6.0). The Golden Eagles as a team are second in rebounding margin (plus-9.2).
â€" Davis III pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds against Union. The redshirt-sophomore has battled injuries the previous two years but has gotten back into a groove this season, starting the last three games. Outside of his limited minutes at LSU due to foul trouble, he has had his two best-career rebounding games in the early going (the Union game marked the most by a Golden Eagle since Michael O'Donnell at Memphis in last year's opener).
â€" Sophomore Tim Rowe has not started a game yet this year but has become one of the biggest Southern Miss threats in every facet. He leads the team in field goal percentage (59.3), blocks (5) and is second in free-throws (76.2 percent) with a team-best 21 tries.
â€" South Alabama has three players scoring in double-figures, headed by Ken Williams' 15.5 ppg. The Jaguars are allowing just 62 ppg and opened the season with a win over UNLV and fell 72-62 at Eastern Illinois its last outing.
