Monday, December 30
Reed Green Coliseum
7 p.m. CT
Southern Miss
vs
Louisiana Tech
Golden Eagles Host Louisiana Tech on Monday Night to Open C-USA Play
12/29/2019 11:14:00 AM | Men's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Thirteen games later, the moment of truth has arrived for the Southern Miss men's basketball team. Clean slates await for the Golden Eagles and visiting Louisiana Tech Bulldogs when each team opens C-USA play on Monday night (7 p.m. CT) inside Reed Green Coliseum.
Live streaming will be available with Lee Roberts and Larry Boyd on ESPN Plus. John Cox will have the call on the Southern Miss Learfield IMG Sports Network (Rock 104.5 in Hattiesburg/Laurel) as well as the Gameday app.
Game Notes
– Southern Miss enters C-USA play on the heels of a 96-77 win over Tougaloo on Dec. 21. The Golden Eagles went on a 28-9 run after trailing 18-17 to separate themselves. LaDavius Draine went 7-for-10 from long-range for a career-high 28 points, catapulting himself from No. 9 to No. 5 in school history with 140 career treys. Gabe Watson and Tyler Stevenson each scored 19 points, while Watson added a career-high eight assists. Jay Malone also had a career-high 12 points with seven dimes.
– The Golden Eagles are seeking their first league-opening win since 2011 (each of the next two years' victories were vacated). Southern Miss is 13-5 in C-USA home games the last two years. LA Tech was 1-8 on the road in league play last year but was hit with several significant injuries. This year's team broke Mississippi State's 26-game non-conference home win streak on Dec. 5.
– Leonard Harper-Baker is No. 14 nationally with 30 steals, also making him one of five forwards in the top-50 for that category. He was the team leader in rebounds last year with 8.0 per game and has produced five games with double-figure boards this season (14 for his career).
– Southern Miss is shooting 48.6 percent at home, and Stevenson has been the top performer in those six games. He leads the team in shooting (64.2 percent), free-throw makes and attempts (18-for-25, 72 percent) while having just three turnovers in 152 minutes. He has six starts out of 13 games, and when he gets the nod, he is shooting 62.3 percent (versus 47.6) with 14.0 ppg (compared to 9.9). At the line, he is at 72 percent versus 56.3 when coming off the bench.
– Malone produced seven-plus assists and no turnovers for the second time this season in the SIU win. Golden Eagle greats Tyree Griffin and Cortez Edwards accomplished such a feat once apiece last season. Watson has benefited the most from the move. Since going into a more-shooting guard role for the William Carey game, the sophomore has shot 49.1 percent (up from 31.8) for 15.0 ppg (previously 8.8).
– Last year's meeting saw Southern Miss prevail 73-71 in overtime amidst the loudest crowd of the season, as well as Saints star running back Alvin Kamara sitting courtside. LA Tech rallied from four points down with 34 seconds left to force the extra period, and in overtime, Draine knocked down a triple and two free-throws over the final 32 seconds to seal it.
– Southern Miss' non-conference opponent average was No. 24 in the nation, according to the NET (formerly RPI). It includes road games at defending national runner-up Texas Tech, South Alabama (preseason Sun Belt favorite) as well as two versus North Florida, picked to finish third in the A-Sun. Gonzaga and Seton Hall are also expected to make deep runs in the NCAA Tournament, and Tulane and Iowa State have earned top-25 votes this year.
– Opponents are averaging 8.9 more free-throw attempts per game. Southern Miss has four games of 20-plus tries this year, with the 35 against Tougaloo serving as its first of 30-plus since the 2018-19 opener. By comparison, Jay Ladner's 2018-19 Southeastern Louisiana squad averaged 19.4 foul shots per contest, and that will continue to be an emphasis on his young Southern Miss squad (which is averaging 11.4).
– Jay Ladner has coached against Louisiana Tech once before at Southeastern Louisiana, falling 88-59 in Ruston on Dec. 3, 2016. The Bulldogs have won eight of the 10 meetings since the 2014-15 season, with Southern Miss winning each of the last two Hattiesburg contests. LA Tech, per usual, brings in a stout defense. Opponents are shooting just 37.8 percent on the year (No. 19 nationally), while the Bulldogs are No. 23 in turnover margin at 4.6. Both marks lead C-USA.
Live streaming will be available with Lee Roberts and Larry Boyd on ESPN Plus. John Cox will have the call on the Southern Miss Learfield IMG Sports Network (Rock 104.5 in Hattiesburg/Laurel) as well as the Gameday app.
Game Notes
– Southern Miss enters C-USA play on the heels of a 96-77 win over Tougaloo on Dec. 21. The Golden Eagles went on a 28-9 run after trailing 18-17 to separate themselves. LaDavius Draine went 7-for-10 from long-range for a career-high 28 points, catapulting himself from No. 9 to No. 5 in school history with 140 career treys. Gabe Watson and Tyler Stevenson each scored 19 points, while Watson added a career-high eight assists. Jay Malone also had a career-high 12 points with seven dimes.
– The Golden Eagles are seeking their first league-opening win since 2011 (each of the next two years' victories were vacated). Southern Miss is 13-5 in C-USA home games the last two years. LA Tech was 1-8 on the road in league play last year but was hit with several significant injuries. This year's team broke Mississippi State's 26-game non-conference home win streak on Dec. 5.
– Leonard Harper-Baker is No. 14 nationally with 30 steals, also making him one of five forwards in the top-50 for that category. He was the team leader in rebounds last year with 8.0 per game and has produced five games with double-figure boards this season (14 for his career).
– Southern Miss is shooting 48.6 percent at home, and Stevenson has been the top performer in those six games. He leads the team in shooting (64.2 percent), free-throw makes and attempts (18-for-25, 72 percent) while having just three turnovers in 152 minutes. He has six starts out of 13 games, and when he gets the nod, he is shooting 62.3 percent (versus 47.6) with 14.0 ppg (compared to 9.9). At the line, he is at 72 percent versus 56.3 when coming off the bench.
– Malone produced seven-plus assists and no turnovers for the second time this season in the SIU win. Golden Eagle greats Tyree Griffin and Cortez Edwards accomplished such a feat once apiece last season. Watson has benefited the most from the move. Since going into a more-shooting guard role for the William Carey game, the sophomore has shot 49.1 percent (up from 31.8) for 15.0 ppg (previously 8.8).
– Last year's meeting saw Southern Miss prevail 73-71 in overtime amidst the loudest crowd of the season, as well as Saints star running back Alvin Kamara sitting courtside. LA Tech rallied from four points down with 34 seconds left to force the extra period, and in overtime, Draine knocked down a triple and two free-throws over the final 32 seconds to seal it.
– Southern Miss' non-conference opponent average was No. 24 in the nation, according to the NET (formerly RPI). It includes road games at defending national runner-up Texas Tech, South Alabama (preseason Sun Belt favorite) as well as two versus North Florida, picked to finish third in the A-Sun. Gonzaga and Seton Hall are also expected to make deep runs in the NCAA Tournament, and Tulane and Iowa State have earned top-25 votes this year.
– Opponents are averaging 8.9 more free-throw attempts per game. Southern Miss has four games of 20-plus tries this year, with the 35 against Tougaloo serving as its first of 30-plus since the 2018-19 opener. By comparison, Jay Ladner's 2018-19 Southeastern Louisiana squad averaged 19.4 foul shots per contest, and that will continue to be an emphasis on his young Southern Miss squad (which is averaging 11.4).
– Jay Ladner has coached against Louisiana Tech once before at Southeastern Louisiana, falling 88-59 in Ruston on Dec. 3, 2016. The Bulldogs have won eight of the 10 meetings since the 2014-15 season, with Southern Miss winning each of the last two Hattiesburg contests. LA Tech, per usual, brings in a stout defense. Opponents are shooting just 37.8 percent on the year (No. 19 nationally), while the Bulldogs are No. 23 in turnover margin at 4.6. Both marks lead C-USA.
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