University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Thursday, January 23
Birmingham, AL
7 p.m. CT
Southern Miss
at
UAB
Southern Miss Hits Road for Thursday Contest at UAB
1/22/2020 10:10:00 AM | Men's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Fresh off its first C-USA win of the year, the Southern Miss men's basketball team is set for a quick bus trip to UAB, where it will battle the Blazers at 7 p.m. CT on Thursday.
Fans can tune in to ESPN+ with Blake Gardner and Lynden Blake on the call. John Cox, the Voice of the Golden Eagles, will carry the game on the Southern Miss Learfield IMG Sports Network (Rock 104.5 in Hattiesburg/Laurel), as well as the Gameday app.
Game Notes
– It was an interesting Saturday in the Coliseum as the Golden Eagles routed Rice, 81-68. Head coach Jay Ladner was out with the flu, so Kyle Roane stepped in and guided the team. Jay Malone, who had scored in double-figures just once all year, went for a career-high 27 on 6-of-10 shooting from deep (only had eight makes going in). Tyler Stevenson was also lethal with 24 points, including a couple of dunks late to add to the fire. His 8.5 rebounds per game in league play rank third.
– Six Golden Eagles have now scored 20-plus points in a game this season (10 times overall), which ranks second nationally (Central Arkansas has seven). Only two of those players are seniors. Last year's veteran team had 16 such-games by four players. The 47 second-half points and 80 overall were both the most against a Division I team this season.
– Southern Miss produced 24 assists (on 29 baskets), the most by a C-USA team against a league opponent this year, to a season-low nine turnovers. It was the team's greatest difference in the two categories since going 30-9 in the 101-51 win over Marshall last year. All of the Golden Eagles' victories have come when tying or winning the turnover battle.
– Southern Miss went 9-for-22 (41 percent) from deep against Rice, which was allowing just 29.6 percent in its early C-USA action. The Golden Eagles had just 12 triples since the start of league play. For the year, UAB has attempted a league-low 16.3 treys per game, while Southern Miss allows a league-high 25.7 per contest.
– Southern Miss, in league play, is third in C-USA with an 81.5 free-throw percentage (61-for-75). It was at 68.6 percent in non-conference action. Several notable improvements have been made with three of the six returners. Gabe Watson is up 10.8 percent, Stevenson 22.4 and Jacdonmi 44.1 (was 4-for-12, now 24-for-31).
– Watson, who joined Artur Konontsuk as game-time decisions on Saturday due to the flu, has been the team's top performer in road/neutral games. His 59 field goals are 22 more than the next-closest player, and his 14.8 ppg lead the way.
– LaDavius Draine recently surpassed Jimmie Floyd (1994-98) for sole possession of No. 4 in school history for career-three-point makes with 147. He has made a career-high seven twice, first against UTEP last season and also against Tougaloo on Dec. 21. Next up is Neil Watson at 164 from 2011-14. Three-point attempts account for 59.1 percent of his overall tries, compared to 62.5 last year. He already has more assists (31) than the last two years combined (26).
– UAB has had Southern Miss' number in recent years, winning nine of the last 10 meetings. Southern Miss has dropped four-straight in Birmingham. Of the 10 starters in the last meeting, only one player on each team remains (Leonard Harper-Baker and Makhtar Gueye). That contest, which was the Golden Eagles' second overtime in four games, saw Lewis Sullivan sink a three in the final six seconds to force the extra session.
– Harper-Baker was exceptional when Southern Miss won 73-68 on Jan. 12, 2019. There were an unbelievable 28 lead changes and 14 ties, and his 17 points and 10 rebounds marked his first double-double. Harper-Baker went 1-for-2 at the foul line before getting a three-point play (all in the final 36 seconds) to ice the game. He was 18-for-43 (41.9 percent) at the stripe until he went 8-for-12 that day (both career-highs). Since that game, he has shot 70.8 percent.
– This game features the two lowest-scoring teams in the league (Southern Miss at 61.0 ppg, UAB 60.8 in C-USA play). The Blazers are 8-2 at home, falling to Utah Valley on Nov. 15 and No. 15  Memphis on Dec. 7. The Golden Eagles' best offensive road game was also its last in an 80-70 defeat at UTSA, shooting 47.2 percent. It was the second-highest FG%, behind 47.3 at Texas Tech.
Fans can tune in to ESPN+ with Blake Gardner and Lynden Blake on the call. John Cox, the Voice of the Golden Eagles, will carry the game on the Southern Miss Learfield IMG Sports Network (Rock 104.5 in Hattiesburg/Laurel), as well as the Gameday app.
Game Notes
– It was an interesting Saturday in the Coliseum as the Golden Eagles routed Rice, 81-68. Head coach Jay Ladner was out with the flu, so Kyle Roane stepped in and guided the team. Jay Malone, who had scored in double-figures just once all year, went for a career-high 27 on 6-of-10 shooting from deep (only had eight makes going in). Tyler Stevenson was also lethal with 24 points, including a couple of dunks late to add to the fire. His 8.5 rebounds per game in league play rank third.
– Six Golden Eagles have now scored 20-plus points in a game this season (10 times overall), which ranks second nationally (Central Arkansas has seven). Only two of those players are seniors. Last year's veteran team had 16 such-games by four players. The 47 second-half points and 80 overall were both the most against a Division I team this season.
– Southern Miss produced 24 assists (on 29 baskets), the most by a C-USA team against a league opponent this year, to a season-low nine turnovers. It was the team's greatest difference in the two categories since going 30-9 in the 101-51 win over Marshall last year. All of the Golden Eagles' victories have come when tying or winning the turnover battle.
– Southern Miss went 9-for-22 (41 percent) from deep against Rice, which was allowing just 29.6 percent in its early C-USA action. The Golden Eagles had just 12 triples since the start of league play. For the year, UAB has attempted a league-low 16.3 treys per game, while Southern Miss allows a league-high 25.7 per contest.
– Southern Miss, in league play, is third in C-USA with an 81.5 free-throw percentage (61-for-75). It was at 68.6 percent in non-conference action. Several notable improvements have been made with three of the six returners. Gabe Watson is up 10.8 percent, Stevenson 22.4 and Jacdonmi 44.1 (was 4-for-12, now 24-for-31).
– Watson, who joined Artur Konontsuk as game-time decisions on Saturday due to the flu, has been the team's top performer in road/neutral games. His 59 field goals are 22 more than the next-closest player, and his 14.8 ppg lead the way.
– LaDavius Draine recently surpassed Jimmie Floyd (1994-98) for sole possession of No. 4 in school history for career-three-point makes with 147. He has made a career-high seven twice, first against UTEP last season and also against Tougaloo on Dec. 21. Next up is Neil Watson at 164 from 2011-14. Three-point attempts account for 59.1 percent of his overall tries, compared to 62.5 last year. He already has more assists (31) than the last two years combined (26).
– UAB has had Southern Miss' number in recent years, winning nine of the last 10 meetings. Southern Miss has dropped four-straight in Birmingham. Of the 10 starters in the last meeting, only one player on each team remains (Leonard Harper-Baker and Makhtar Gueye). That contest, which was the Golden Eagles' second overtime in four games, saw Lewis Sullivan sink a three in the final six seconds to force the extra session.
– Harper-Baker was exceptional when Southern Miss won 73-68 on Jan. 12, 2019. There were an unbelievable 28 lead changes and 14 ties, and his 17 points and 10 rebounds marked his first double-double. Harper-Baker went 1-for-2 at the foul line before getting a three-point play (all in the final 36 seconds) to ice the game. He was 18-for-43 (41.9 percent) at the stripe until he went 8-for-12 that day (both career-highs). Since that game, he has shot 70.8 percent.
– This game features the two lowest-scoring teams in the league (Southern Miss at 61.0 ppg, UAB 60.8 in C-USA play). The Blazers are 8-2 at home, falling to Utah Valley on Nov. 15 and No. 15  Memphis on Dec. 7. The Golden Eagles' best offensive road game was also its last in an 80-70 defeat at UTSA, shooting 47.2 percent. It was the second-highest FG%, behind 47.3 at Texas Tech.
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