University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss
Louisiana Tech
Men's Basketball Hosts LA Tech on Saturday
2/8/2019 5:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Southern Miss men's basketball team, winners of three in a row, are returning home Saturday to host rival Louisiana Tech at 4 p.m. CT.
The game will air on ESPN Plus, with Lee Roberts and Larry Boyd calling the game. John Cox, the Voice of the Golden Eagles, has the action on the Southern Miss Sports Network from Learfield IMG College (Rock 104.5 in Hattiesburg/Laurel) and the USM Gameday app. Promotions for the game include free pizza for students while supplies last.
– Saturday's win at FAU marked several moments of significance. Not only were there clutch shots (Kevin Holland's go-ahead three-pointer with 2:22, Cortez Edwards' steal and fastbreak layup at 47 seconds and Leonard Harper-Baker's two free-throws with nine ticks left), but it also gave the team a league-best sixth road win after having just five the previous four years combined. It also marked the first time of the Doc Sadler era that the Golden Eagles won three-straight league games.
– Southern Miss is 110-for-181 from the field the last three games (60.8 percent), the only Division I team to shoot above 60 for three consecutive games. It's the best three-game run nationally since Michigan State from Dec. 29, 2017 to Jan. 4, 2018.
– 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 six games, he is averaging 13.7 points (shooting 72.3 percent from the field, 76.5 percent at the foul line), with 10.7 rebounds and nine total blocks. His 9.1 rebounds per game and 59.8 percent shooting in league play ranks third and fourth, respectively.
– Out of the team's five Division I home games this year, Harper-Baker is also leading the way with 15.4 points and 11.0 boards. LaDavius Draine (14.0), Edwards (13.4) and Tyree Griffin (12.2) follow in the scoring column. Southern Miss is also outshooting its opponents 49.5 to 40.1 percent and forcing an average of four more turnovers per game. Griffin on Saturday reached 1,000 points for his career. He has averaged 14.1 points and 6.3 assists per game since transferring to Southern Miss from Oklahoma State.
– Southern Miss has outscored its last three opponents 142-46 in the paint while allowing 106 three-point attempts, heeding to Sadler's mentality of keeping the ball out of the post. The Golden Eagles' 39.9 shooting from beyond the arc in league play ranks atop the leaderboard, and it's come on just 19.8 attempts per game (league-low).
– Edwards has more than returned to form during this current three-game win streak after going 11-for-35 from the field the previous three contests. In the wins over Marshall, FIU and FAU, the senior went 24-for-35 from the field, including 10-for-13 against the Owls for 22 points. He became one of 30 players in Division I to have 10 or more field goals in three different road games (also at Troy, North Texas).
– LA Tech has more than had Southern Miss' number the last five years, winning eight of nine matchups since the start of the 2014-15 season. Southern Miss found revenge on March 3, 2018, leading 40-17 at the half to later hold on for a 72-64 win that ended the regular season. The Golden Eagles then went on to win their first two games of the C-USA Tourney. The Bulldogs are 5-0 in C-USA play at home and seeking their first road win. They did, however, pick up three quality road wins in non-league play at Wichita State, SFA and UL Lafayette.
– 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 23-game streak is a single-season best since the 2011-12 squad did so in its final 24 games. LA Tech is no slouch on defense, either. The Bulldogs, in C-USA play, rank first in scoring defense (63.5 ppg), second in defensive three-pointers (32.2 percent) and fourth in defensive FG% (40.9).
– Southern Miss ranks No. 3 nationally for assist-turnover ratio (1.74) and No. 7 for fewest turnovers (9.9 pg). In league play, the Golden Eagles have the best field goal percentage (47.7) and most assists (16.7) while ranking third in steals (7.0) and fourth for three-point defense (33.1).
– Griffin against C-USA opponents is first in assists (7.2), second in assist-turnover ratio (2.9) and fifth in steals (1.9), while Edwards ranks sixth in assists (4.5) and third for both assist/turnover ratio (2.9) and steals (2.2). Griffin now ranks No. 9 all-time in school history with 358 assists (despite less than two years with the program), and his 7.1 dimes per game rank 7th nationally. Holland, who has started 99 games in his career (all consecutive) is also now No. 1 in C-USA play for three-point shooting (48.7 percent). He was at 31.4 percent in non-conference.
