University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Thursday, February 14
Reed Green Coliseum
7 p.m. CT
Southern Miss
vs
UTSA
Southern Miss Hosts Second-Place UTSA on Thursday Night
2/13/2019 3:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Men's Basketball Hosts Second-Place UTSA on Thursday Night
HATTIESBURG, Miss. --Â The stakes continue to get higher for the Southern Miss men's basketball team (15-9, 7-5 C-USA), and for all the right reasons. The Golden Eagles, winners of four-straight and seven out of the last nine, welcome the second-place UTSA Roadrunners (15-10, 9-3 C-USA)Â on Thursday night at 7 p.m. CT.
ESPN Plus will carry the game, with Lee Roberts and Larry Boyd on the call. John Cox, the Voice of the Golden Eagles, will broadcast from IMG Learfield College (Rock 104.5 in Hattiesburg/Laurel) and the USM Gameday app.
– Southern Miss, which has already matched its C-USA win total from last year, is coming off a 73-71 overtime win over LA Tech. Since an 0-3 start through Jan. 5, the Golden Eagles (7-2) trail only league-leader ODU (8-2) in the standings. The squad sits in sole possession for fifth in the final weekend before bonus play begins, hoping to secure a spot in the top pod.
– The home team has won all nine meetings in the head-to-head series. On Jan. 6, 2018 in Hattiesburg, Kevin Holland went 7-for-7 from beyond the arc (8-for-8 overall) to lead his team to a 93-83 win. Only Marcus Crowell (1990) has been perfect from the field on at least eight FG tries, and only Neil Watson (2013) has also gone 7-for-7 or better in a game. With LaDavius Draine's buzzer-beating three-pointer against LA Tech, Southern Miss has now led at the half in 22 of 24 home games since the start of 2017-18.
– UTSA exacted revenge on Feb. 22 in its house, leading 28-6 to start as the Golden Eagles missed 13 of their first 14 shots. Southern Miss got within 37-28 at the half, then 45-43 at 10:46, but couldn't close it out. In the two games for the season, Southern Miss did manage 57 free-throw attempts (shooting 75.4 percent) while allowing 71 three-point tries (31 percent).
– The Roadrunners rank first in C-USA play for scoring (85.3 ppg), scoring margin (+9.8), three-point defense (28.9), while second in field goal percentage (45.9), three-point shooting (39.5 percent), assists (15.5) and assist/turnover ratio (10.6). Jhivvan Jackson (46 points) and Keaton Wallace (45) at WKU and Marshall, respectivley, entered the top-four in C-USA's history for single-game scoring.
– Southern Miss has out-rebounded its opponent in each of the last four games. Only once before in the Doc Sadler era has the team done so three consecutive contests. The inside presence is led by Leonard Harper-Baker, the C-USA Player of the Week on Jan. 28, went 10-for-11 from the field at FIU (fourth-best shooting game in program history). Over the last eight games, he is averaging 13.4 ppg and 10.4 rpg with 11 blocks while shooting 67.2 percent from the field and 74.2 from the foul line. His 9.1 rebounds per game and 59.1 percent shooting in league play ranks third and fifth, respectively.
– Draine scored a career-high 22 points against LA Tech, going 6-for-9 from the field (4-for-6 from deep) and 6-for-6 at the foul line. He is 13-for-22 from long range the last four home games (59 percent), and 15 of his 18 career double-figure scoring games have been against C-USA foes. Cortez Edwards also had 21 points and a career-high 13 rebounds (second double-double of season, 13th of his career) to give Southern Miss back-to-back games of two, 20-point scorers.
– Southern Miss is the only C-USA school to have not allowed 80 points in a game this season. It happened to the Golden Eagles eight times in each of the last two seasons, and this current 24-game streak is a single-season best since the 2011-12 squad did so in its final 24. UTSA has scored 80 points 10 times this year, including 97.5 ppg over the last four. UTSA head coach Steve Henson inherited a 5-27 team and has since gone 14-19, 20-15. He played seven years in the NBA and was 2-2 against Golden Eagle assistant coach Clarence Weatherspoon.
– Southern Miss ranks No. 3 nationally for assist-turnover ratio (1.68) and No. 9 for fewest turnovers (10.2 pg). In league play, the Golden Eagles rank first in field goal percentage (47.6), three-point shooting (40.1) and assists (16.4) while holding third in FG defense (40.9) and steals (6.9).
– Griffin against C-USA opponents is first in assists (7.1), third in assist-turnover ratio (2.7) and seventh in steals (1.8), while Edwards ranks sixth in assists (4.5) and fourth for both assist/turnover ratio (2.7) and third in steals (2.0). Griffin now ranks No. 9 all-time in school history with 364 assists (despite less than two years with the program), and his 6.9 dimes per game are No. 8 nationally. Holland, who has started 100 games in his career (all consecutive) is also now No. 1 in C-USA play for three-point shooting (50 percent) alongside Draine. He was at 31.4 percent in non-conference. Holland's 126 career three-pointers is No. 8 in program history.
HATTIESBURG, Miss. --Â The stakes continue to get higher for the Southern Miss men's basketball team (15-9, 7-5 C-USA), and for all the right reasons. The Golden Eagles, winners of four-straight and seven out of the last nine, welcome the second-place UTSA Roadrunners (15-10, 9-3 C-USA)Â on Thursday night at 7 p.m. CT.
ESPN Plus will carry the game, with Lee Roberts and Larry Boyd on the call. John Cox, the Voice of the Golden Eagles, will broadcast from IMG Learfield College (Rock 104.5 in Hattiesburg/Laurel) and the USM Gameday app.
– Southern Miss, which has already matched its C-USA win total from last year, is coming off a 73-71 overtime win over LA Tech. Since an 0-3 start through Jan. 5, the Golden Eagles (7-2) trail only league-leader ODU (8-2) in the standings. The squad sits in sole possession for fifth in the final weekend before bonus play begins, hoping to secure a spot in the top pod.
– The home team has won all nine meetings in the head-to-head series. On Jan. 6, 2018 in Hattiesburg, Kevin Holland went 7-for-7 from beyond the arc (8-for-8 overall) to lead his team to a 93-83 win. Only Marcus Crowell (1990) has been perfect from the field on at least eight FG tries, and only Neil Watson (2013) has also gone 7-for-7 or better in a game. With LaDavius Draine's buzzer-beating three-pointer against LA Tech, Southern Miss has now led at the half in 22 of 24 home games since the start of 2017-18.
– UTSA exacted revenge on Feb. 22 in its house, leading 28-6 to start as the Golden Eagles missed 13 of their first 14 shots. Southern Miss got within 37-28 at the half, then 45-43 at 10:46, but couldn't close it out. In the two games for the season, Southern Miss did manage 57 free-throw attempts (shooting 75.4 percent) while allowing 71 three-point tries (31 percent).
– The Roadrunners rank first in C-USA play for scoring (85.3 ppg), scoring margin (+9.8), three-point defense (28.9), while second in field goal percentage (45.9), three-point shooting (39.5 percent), assists (15.5) and assist/turnover ratio (10.6). Jhivvan Jackson (46 points) and Keaton Wallace (45) at WKU and Marshall, respectivley, entered the top-four in C-USA's history for single-game scoring.
– Southern Miss has out-rebounded its opponent in each of the last four games. Only once before in the Doc Sadler era has the team done so three consecutive contests. The inside presence is led by Leonard Harper-Baker, the C-USA Player of the Week on Jan. 28, went 10-for-11 from the field at FIU (fourth-best shooting game in program history). Over the last eight games, he is averaging 13.4 ppg and 10.4 rpg with 11 blocks while shooting 67.2 percent from the field and 74.2 from the foul line. His 9.1 rebounds per game and 59.1 percent shooting in league play ranks third and fifth, respectively.
– Draine scored a career-high 22 points against LA Tech, going 6-for-9 from the field (4-for-6 from deep) and 6-for-6 at the foul line. He is 13-for-22 from long range the last four home games (59 percent), and 15 of his 18 career double-figure scoring games have been against C-USA foes. Cortez Edwards also had 21 points and a career-high 13 rebounds (second double-double of season, 13th of his career) to give Southern Miss back-to-back games of two, 20-point scorers.
– Southern Miss is the only C-USA school to have not allowed 80 points in a game this season. It happened to the Golden Eagles eight times in each of the last two seasons, and this current 24-game streak is a single-season best since the 2011-12 squad did so in its final 24. UTSA has scored 80 points 10 times this year, including 97.5 ppg over the last four. UTSA head coach Steve Henson inherited a 5-27 team and has since gone 14-19, 20-15. He played seven years in the NBA and was 2-2 against Golden Eagle assistant coach Clarence Weatherspoon.
– Southern Miss ranks No. 3 nationally for assist-turnover ratio (1.68) and No. 9 for fewest turnovers (10.2 pg). In league play, the Golden Eagles rank first in field goal percentage (47.6), three-point shooting (40.1) and assists (16.4) while holding third in FG defense (40.9) and steals (6.9).
– Griffin against C-USA opponents is first in assists (7.1), third in assist-turnover ratio (2.7) and seventh in steals (1.8), while Edwards ranks sixth in assists (4.5) and fourth for both assist/turnover ratio (2.7) and third in steals (2.0). Griffin now ranks No. 9 all-time in school history with 364 assists (despite less than two years with the program), and his 6.9 dimes per game are No. 8 nationally. Holland, who has started 100 games in his career (all consecutive) is also now No. 1 in C-USA play for three-point shooting (50 percent) alongside Draine. He was at 31.4 percent in non-conference. Holland's 126 career three-pointers is No. 8 in program history.
Players Mentioned
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