University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Men's Basketball Hosts UAB Saturday in Pivotal C-USA Clash
2/22/2019 2:04:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Two of Conference USA's top men's basketball teams are meeting in Reed Green Coliseum on Saturday at 2 p.m. CT. Southern Miss currently holds the No. 3 spot in the league, with UAB fifth, and plenty at stake regarding eventual C-USA Tournament seeding.
The game is part of the Gold Rush doubleheader with the women's basketball team, which hosts Louisiana Tech 35 minutes after conclusion of the men's game. The first 500 fans in attendance will receive "Gold Rush in the Greenhouse" shirts.
Fans unable to make it to Reed Green Coliseum can tune in via Stadium on Facebook/LiveCUSA with Noah Coslov, Tim Scarborough and Olivia Dekker. The radio feed can also be found on the Southern Miss Learfield IMG College network (Rock 104.5 in Hattiesburg/Laurel) and USM Gameday app with John Cox on the call.
– Southern Miss earned a vote in this week's USA Today/Coaches Poll. It earned the same distinction four consecutive years from 2011-14 (last two of those years being vacated), as well as in the 2000-01 season. The Golden Eagles, which entered the season as one of 13 Division I teams to perfectly improve its league win total over a four-year span, has continued it once again this year with nine victories.
– Things could not have gotten much better for Southern Miss on Saturday, as it led UTEP 54-12 at the half. LaDavius Draine went 7-for-9 from beyond the arc (tied for sixth in school history for makes) and a career-high 24 points. Both he and Leonard Harper-Baker had more field goals than the Miners in the first haf. Southern Miss has twice led a conference opponent by 50 this season, the first team to do so nationally since national runner-up Gonzaga on Feb. 23, 2017.
– Southern Miss' 73-68 win over the Blazers on Jan. 12 featured 28 lead changes and 14 ties. Harper-Baker recorded his first of four double-doubles with 17 points and 10 rebounds, including 8-for-12 on free-throws (he was 4-for-21 the previous eight games). Draine also scored a team-high 19 on five triples, and Cortez Edwards recorded 18 points and six rebounds. Draine is 14-for-20 from the field and 8-for-14 on deep balls in two career games against UAB (19.0 ppg).
– Edwards needs 10 rebounds to become the only player in school history to rank in the top-20 for scoring, top-15 for boards and top-10 in assists. He scored 20-plus points in three consecutive games from Feb. 2-14, the second time he's accomplished the feat (also did it four-straight times from March 3-9, 2018). He and Tyree Griffin make Southern Miss one of 11 schools to have two players in the top-100 for steals per game.
– Southern Miss had out-rebounded its opponent in each of the last five games before UTEP gained the upper hand on Saturday. Only once before in the Doc Sadler era has the team done so three consecutive contests. The inside presence is led by Harper-Baker, who had his fourth double-double in Thursday's win (14 points, 12 rebounds), as his family had their first opportunity to watch him play in person this year. Over the last five home games, he is averaging 14.4 points, 12 rebounds and a 61.9 field goal percentage. In C-USA action, he is third in rebounds (9.3 pg) and fourth in shooting (61.1 percent). As of now, his 8.3 rpg is the highest-season average since Gary Flowers in 2009-10.
– The Golden Eagles' league record was 3-5 on Jan. 24 (after an 0-3 start), and the six-game win streak (longest since 2011-12) has brought about many statistical trends. The team from the first eight games to the last six has increased its scoring average from 64.9 to 82.3 ppg, free-throw mark from 62.9 to 71.8 percent, field goal defense from 43.0 to 36.3 percent and rebounding margin from minus-5.4 to plus-4.1.
– The Golden Eagles are 8-0 when making 73.9 percent or more of their free-throws (five of those in C-USA play). The squad is also 15-2 when scoring 70-plus points and 4-1 when taking 15 or fewer three-pointers. It has also led at the half in 24 of 26 home games the last two years.
– 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 26-game streak is a single-season best since Jan. 5 - Dec. 1, 2010. The Black and Gold ranks No. 3 nationally for assist-turnover ratio (1.69) and No. 11 for fewest turnovers (10.2 pg). In league play, the Golden Eagles rank first in field goal percentage (47.8), three-point shooting (41.0) and assists (16.6) while holding third in FG defense (40.0) and steals (7.3).
– Griffin against C-USA opponents is first in assists (7.0), third in assist-turnover ratio (2.6) and fifth in steals (1.9), while Edwards ranks seventh in assists (4.5) and second for both assist/turnover ratio (3.0) and third in steals (2.1). Griffin now ranks No. 9 all-time in school history with 364 assists (despite less than two years with the program), and his 6.8 dimes per game are No. 7 nationally. Holland, who has started 102 games in his career (all consecutive) is also now No. 1 in C-USA play for three-point shooting (53.5 percent) and ahead of Draine, second at 52.6. Holland was at 31.4 percent in non-conference, and his 126 career three-pointers is No. 8 in program history.