University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss
Old Dominion
Southern Miss Continues Road Swing Wednesday at ODU
3/5/2019 2:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NORFOLK, Va. -- Southern Miss' pursuit of a potential bye in next week's Conference USA Tournament continues Wednesday with a 6 p.m. CT battle at Old Dominion.
The team headed east from Bowling Green, Ky. on Monday after a two-night stay. The game will be broadcasted with CBS Sports Network on Facebook (LiveCUSA), with Jason Horowitz, Tim Doyle and Melanie Collins on the call. Fans can also catch radio feed of the game from John Cox on the Learfield IMG College Network (Rock 104.5 in Hattiesburg/Laurel) and USM Gameday app.
The Golden Eagles' final home game, and Senior Day, is set for 2 p.m. CT Saturday against UTSA.
– Southern Miss is back in Norfolk for the second time this season and looking to defeat a C-USA regular-season champion for the second-straight year (Middle Tennessee in 2018 Quarterfinals). 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 (page 4).
– The Black and Gold dropped a 76-71 decision at WKU on Sunday, leading at the half for the eighth-straight game. Southern Miss just could not get the breaks down the stretch in Bowling Green, but Tyree Griffin's nine assists were the most by a visitor there all year. Dominic Magee, who could be a vital part of the team's attack in the stretch run, had 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds off the bench. It was his first double-figure scoring game since Dec. 15 at Wichita State.
– The previous meeting between the schools went ODU's way, 76-62. The Monarchs pulled down 23 offensive rebounds to keep Southern Miss at bay, which after trailing 7-0 took a 22-15 lead in the first half. Leonard Harper-Baker pulled down 14 rebounds (beginning a three-game stretch of 43), but the Monarchs made 10 three-pointers on 26 attempts, helped by veteran stalwarts BJ Stith and Ahmad Caver.
– Southern Miss is 17-5 when scoring 62-plus points and 7-0 when making 10 or more three-pointers. The Golden Eagles are also shooting 74.1 percent on free-throws since the Jan. 31 win over FIU after going 62 percent heading in. Harper-Baker was at 41.9 percent heading into the Jan. 28 win over UAB, where he had career-highs of eight makes on 12 attempts, and he's been at 71.4 percent since. He also ranks second in C-USA play for FG percentage (60.8) and third for rebounds (8.7 per game).
– Cortez Edwards (three steals from tying school record) is 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 Griffin are the only teammates in the top-14 for assist/TO ratio in C-USA play.
– Southern Miss' six true road wins are tied for second in C-USA. The squad had just five the previous four years. ODU ranks eighth in FG defense (38.7 percent), but the Golden Eagles shot a solid 45 percent the previous meeting. Southern Miss would be in great position if it could break 70 points. ODU is 3-4 when allowing 70 or more, while Southern Miss is 15-4 when doing so. The Golden Eagles have also registered 10-plus steals 10 different times, including at ODU.
– The team's six-game win streak from Jan. 26 to Feb. 16 was its best of the Doc Sadler era. It also led by 50 against Marshall and UTEP, the first Division I team to do so in a conference game since national runner-up Gonzaga in Feb. 2017. The team out-shot its opponents 54.7 - 36.5 percent (including 43.0 to 31.0 from deep). The Feb. 9 overtime win over LA Tech featured the second-largest crowd of the Sadler era, including star Saints running back Alvin Kamara sitting courtside.
– 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 28-game streak is a single-season best since Dec. 28, 2006 - Jan. 16, 2008. The Black and Gold ranks No. 4 nationally for assist-turnover ratio (1.66) and No. 14 for fewest turnovers (10.3 pg). In league play, the Golden Eagles rank first in field goal percentage (48.1), three-point shooting (41.2) and assists (16.7) while holding fifth in FG defense (41.5) and third steals (7.5).
– Griffin (15 consecutive made FTs) against C-USA opponents is first in assists (7.2), second in assist-turnover ratio (2.7) and third in steals (2.1), while Edwards ranks eighth in assists (4.3) and third for assist/turnover ratio (2.6) and fourth in steals (2.0). Griffin now ranks No. 5 all-time in school history with 396 assists (despite only two years with the program), and his 6.9 dimes per game are No. 8 nationally. Kevin Holland, who has started 104 games in his career (all consecutive) is also now No. 1 in C-USA play for three-point shooting (54.3 percent) and ahead of LaDavius Draine, second at 48.9. Holland (31.4 percent in non-conference), and his 128 career three-pointers is No. 8 in program history.
