University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Thursday, January 31
Miami, Fla.
6 p.m. CT
Southern Miss
at
FIU
Men's Basketball Begins Sunshine State Swing at FIU
1/30/2019 1:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MIAMI, Fla. -- The Southern Miss men's basketball team has arrived in South Florida in preparation of a two-game Conference USA swing. First up is a Thursday night battle at FIU, with tip-off scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.
Video streaming is available on CUSA.tv, with John Cox also having the radio call on the Southern Miss IMG Sports Network (Rock 104.5 in Hattiesburg/Laurel) as well as the USM Gameday app.
– Southern Miss had a game for the record books Saturday versus Marshall. The 101-51 victory serves as both the largest margin of victory over a Division I team in program history, as well as the largest-ever between C-USA teams (excluding vacated wins). The Golden Eagles led 31-6 early, then 48-31 at the half. The Black and Gold began the second period on a 25-5 run to put it away for good, limiting Marshall to its fewest points since March 5, 2015.
– Leonard Harper-Baker was named the C-USA Player of the Week for his two double-doubles against WKU and Marshall, averaging 16.5 points and 14.5 rebounds. The latter is the best two-game total by a Golden Eagle since Charles Gaines in February 2004. Harper-Baker is third in C-USA play for rebounding (9.7 per game), and his seven field goals in each of the weekend's games were career-highs.
– Southern Miss has scored more points in the second half compared to the first in nine of its last 10 games (only exception: at Rice). The Golden Eagles' 37.1 percent deep shooting is both the best mark of the Doc Sadler era and second in C-USA.
– LaDavius Draine has continued to be arguably the best sixth-man in C-USA. Fourteen of the sophomore's 17 double-figure scoring games have come against C-USA foes. This year against league competition, he is leading in three-point shooting (56.0 percent), tied for second in overall makes (28) and No. 8 for field goal percentage (56.0).
– All five of the matchups between these teams in Doc Sadler's tenure have been decided by six points or less. Last year in Miami, the Panthers went 9-for-10 at the line over the final 1:39 to beat Southern Miss, 76-70. The Golden Eagles exacted revenge in the first round of the C-USA Tourney as Cortez Edwards poured in 29 points and Dominic Magee added 14 rebounds in a 69-68 win.
– Edwards, a native of Kissimmee, Fla., has enjoyed a fair amount of success against FIU the last three games. His combined numbers are 23-for-36 from the field (63.9 percent) and 14-for-15 (93.3 percent) from the foul line for 20.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.Â
– FIU plays a similar up-tempo offense to Marshall, and has only allowed double-digit three-pointers four times, going 2-2. The Panthers are 7-2 when hitting 10 or more themselves. Southern Miss is 6-0 when it hits 10 or more. This matchup also features the teams with the most (FIU, 25.0 per game) and fewest (Southern Miss, 12.3) free-throw attempts in C-USA play, with Southern Miss shooting one percent better.
– FIU in C-USA play boasts the league's No. 4 scoring offense (77.0 ppg) while ranking first for turnover ratio (+5.0) and blocks (4.9 per game) as well as second in steals (8.4). The Panthers also return Brian Beard, who in less than two years is already in FIU's top-five all-time for assists and steals. He is averaging 18.7 ppg this year and scored 30 on the Golden Eagles at the C-USA Tourney.
– Southern Miss is the only C-USA school to have not allowed 80 points in a game this season (The Panther offense has done it 12 times). It happened to the Golden Eagles eight times in each of the last two seasons, and this current 21-game streak is a single-season best since the 2011-12 squad did so in its final 24 games.
– Southern Miss is No. 1 nationally for assist-turnover ratio (1.77) and No. 4 for fewest turnovers (9.7 pg). In league play, the Golden Eagles have the best three-point percentage (40.9), assist average (16.4) and rank No. 2 for three-point defense (31.6).
– Griffin against C-USA opponents is first in assists (7.7), first in assist-turnover ratio (3.1) and third in steals (2.2), while Edwards ranks fifth in assists (4.3) and third in assist/turnover ratio (2.4). Griffin now ranks No. 9 all-time in school history with 348 assists (despite less than two years with the program), and his 7.1 dimes per game rank 7th nationally. The 15 he had versus Marshall is a program-record against a Division I opponent. Kevin Holland is also now No. 3 in C-USA play for three-pointers (51.6 percent). He shot 31.4 percent in non-conference.
Video streaming is available on CUSA.tv, with John Cox also having the radio call on the Southern Miss IMG Sports Network (Rock 104.5 in Hattiesburg/Laurel) as well as the USM Gameday app.
– Southern Miss had a game for the record books Saturday versus Marshall. The 101-51 victory serves as both the largest margin of victory over a Division I team in program history, as well as the largest-ever between C-USA teams (excluding vacated wins). The Golden Eagles led 31-6 early, then 48-31 at the half. The Black and Gold began the second period on a 25-5 run to put it away for good, limiting Marshall to its fewest points since March 5, 2015.
– Leonard Harper-Baker was named the C-USA Player of the Week for his two double-doubles against WKU and Marshall, averaging 16.5 points and 14.5 rebounds. The latter is the best two-game total by a Golden Eagle since Charles Gaines in February 2004. Harper-Baker is third in C-USA play for rebounding (9.7 per game), and his seven field goals in each of the weekend's games were career-highs.
– Southern Miss has scored more points in the second half compared to the first in nine of its last 10 games (only exception: at Rice). The Golden Eagles' 37.1 percent deep shooting is both the best mark of the Doc Sadler era and second in C-USA.
– LaDavius Draine has continued to be arguably the best sixth-man in C-USA. Fourteen of the sophomore's 17 double-figure scoring games have come against C-USA foes. This year against league competition, he is leading in three-point shooting (56.0 percent), tied for second in overall makes (28) and No. 8 for field goal percentage (56.0).
– All five of the matchups between these teams in Doc Sadler's tenure have been decided by six points or less. Last year in Miami, the Panthers went 9-for-10 at the line over the final 1:39 to beat Southern Miss, 76-70. The Golden Eagles exacted revenge in the first round of the C-USA Tourney as Cortez Edwards poured in 29 points and Dominic Magee added 14 rebounds in a 69-68 win.
– Edwards, a native of Kissimmee, Fla., has enjoyed a fair amount of success against FIU the last three games. His combined numbers are 23-for-36 from the field (63.9 percent) and 14-for-15 (93.3 percent) from the foul line for 20.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.Â
– FIU plays a similar up-tempo offense to Marshall, and has only allowed double-digit three-pointers four times, going 2-2. The Panthers are 7-2 when hitting 10 or more themselves. Southern Miss is 6-0 when it hits 10 or more. This matchup also features the teams with the most (FIU, 25.0 per game) and fewest (Southern Miss, 12.3) free-throw attempts in C-USA play, with Southern Miss shooting one percent better.
– FIU in C-USA play boasts the league's No. 4 scoring offense (77.0 ppg) while ranking first for turnover ratio (+5.0) and blocks (4.9 per game) as well as second in steals (8.4). The Panthers also return Brian Beard, who in less than two years is already in FIU's top-five all-time for assists and steals. He is averaging 18.7 ppg this year and scored 30 on the Golden Eagles at the C-USA Tourney.
– Southern Miss is the only C-USA school to have not allowed 80 points in a game this season (The Panther offense has done it 12 times). It happened to the Golden Eagles eight times in each of the last two seasons, and this current 21-game streak is a single-season best since the 2011-12 squad did so in its final 24 games.
– Southern Miss is No. 1 nationally for assist-turnover ratio (1.77) and No. 4 for fewest turnovers (9.7 pg). In league play, the Golden Eagles have the best three-point percentage (40.9), assist average (16.4) and rank No. 2 for three-point defense (31.6).
– Griffin against C-USA opponents is first in assists (7.7), first in assist-turnover ratio (3.1) and third in steals (2.2), while Edwards ranks fifth in assists (4.3) and third in assist/turnover ratio (2.4). Griffin now ranks No. 9 all-time in school history with 348 assists (despite less than two years with the program), and his 7.1 dimes per game rank 7th nationally. The 15 he had versus Marshall is a program-record against a Division I opponent. Kevin Holland is also now No. 3 in C-USA play for three-pointers (51.6 percent). He shot 31.4 percent in non-conference.
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