Southern Miss Set for Thursday Road Game at North Florida

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Southern Miss men's basketball team has hit the road in preparation of its Thursday night contest at North Florida. Tip-off from Jacksonville is set for 6 p.m. CT.

Fans can stream the game on ESPN+ as well as catching John Cox's radio call on the Southern Miss Learfield IMG Network (Rock 104.5 in Hattiesburg/Laurel) and the Gameday app.

Game Notes

– The Golden Eagles dropped a heartbreaker at South Alabama, the preseason Sun Belt favorite, 75-69 on Saturday. Boban Jacdonmi came within one rebound of his second-straight double-double to begin the season (18 points, nine rebounds), and Leonard Harper-Baker earned the fifth of his career (12 points, 14 boards). Freshman Artur Konontsuk also became the first Golden Eagle freshman with back-to-back double-figure scoring games since Eddie Davis III in Fall 2015. The Jaguars were 22-for-24 at the foul line, besting Southern Miss' 7-for-10.

– Six of the seven players to score for the Ospreys in last year's battle return. The Ospreys were limited to just 6-of-33 shooting from beyond the arc, but a 44-23 lead was too much for the Black and Gold to overcome in a 64-48 decision at Cancun's Hard Rock Hotel.

– Last year, Southern Miss (CBI) made its first postseason appearance since 2012 and seventh since 2001. The Golden Eagles, still under NCAA sanctions from the vacated 2012-14 seasons, have won 36 games the last two years, each time making the Conference USA semifinals and defeating the defending champ in the process. The Golden Eagles will formally get over its probation on Feb. 1, 2020. Over the past five years, Southern Miss joined only Florida A&M and Saint Louis as teams to perfectly improve its league win total each season (3-5-6-7-11).

– Southern Miss enters the season with 11 newcomers, tying for fifth in the country. The Golden Eagles lost a transformative senior class that featured Cortez Edwards (all-time steals leader; fourth member of 1,000-point, 500-rebound and 200-assist club), Tyree Griffin (434 assists in two years, No. 3 in school history) and Kevin Holland (No. 5 in games started, No. 7 in three-point makes).

– LaDavius Draine was Southern Miss' first Sixth-Player of the Year since Neil Watson in 2011-12, and his 78 triples were No. 6 in single-season school history. He was 8-for-14 in the C-USA Tourney, including 6-for-8 (career-high 33 minutes) against Marshall His 48.6 percent clip in C-USA play trailed only teammate Kevin Holland. He has 35 more three-pointers than any other sophomore at USM, and his 46.4 percentage bested Casey Fisher (46.3 in 1987-88) for the best single-season deep clip at the school.

– Jacdonmi has continued to transform his career. He has 47 points and 19 rebounds over two games after having 30 points and 38 boards last year (23 appearances, 4 starts). The Golden Eagles have utilized the same starting lineup both games so far, with Jacdonmi, Konontsuk and Gabe Watson all making their first starts. Harper-Baker has been the most experienced, with 29 last season, en route to averaging 9.6 points and a team-high 8.0 rebounds per game.

– North Florida is coming off an 80-77 home win over Georgia Southern on Monday, powered by 20-plus point efforts from JT Escobar (7-for-8 on 3FG) and Garrett Sams. Carter Hendricksen posted his first double-double with 12 points and 17 boards. It was enough for the Ospreys to overcome 24 turnovers. The squad also defeated Florida National 89-81 and fell to preseason SEC runner-up Florida, 74-59.

– UNF is Southern Miss' first home-and-home non-conference opponent since sweeping UL Lafayette in the 2009-10 season. The Golden Eagles and Ospreys have faced each other twice before, both in tournaments. UNF won both, the first a 53-46 margin in the South Mississippi Christmas Classic (Gulfport) in December 2009, then 64-48 last November in Cancun.

– Southern Miss has won its last three games in Florida, defeating FAU (twice) and FIU since the 2017-18 season. Its last three non-conference games in the Sunshine State were defeats to Florida State in 2016 and 2017 after winning at USF to begin the 2010-11 campaign.

Southern Miss Set for Thursday Road Game at North Florida

Next Event

Players Mentioned

LaDavius Draine

Cortez Edwards

Tyree Griffin

Leonard Harper-Baker

Kevin Holland

Boban Jacdonmi

Artur Konontsuk

Gabe Watson