Saturday, January 4
Ruston, LA
4 p.m. CT
Southern Miss
at
Louisiana Tech
Photo by: Tim Aylen
Southern Miss Faces First C-USA Road Test Saturday at LA Tech
1/3/2020 11:49:00 AM | Men's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Golden Eagle men's basketball team will begin its 2020 calendar year Saturday at Louisiana Tech. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. CT on ESPN Plus.
Doug Anderson and LaDarrin McLane will have the streaming call, while Mike Coulter will carry the game on the Southern Miss Learfield IMG Sports Network (Rock 104.5 in Hattiesburg/Laurel), as well as on the Gameday app.
Saturday's game also marks the first time since Feb. 23-27, 1984 that Southern Miss faced the same team in consecutive games. The Golden Eagles defeated South Carolina at home before falling on the road in what was current head coach Jay Ladner's senior year at Hattiesburg's Oak Grove High School.Â
Game Notes
– Southern Miss ran into a buzzsaw with the Bulldogs on Monday night as the visitors went on a 13-0 run over the first four minutes of the second half to pull away. It was an 11-10 game with 7:10 left in the first half that turned into a 31-24 halftime lead for LA Tech. The Golden Eagles were limited to 34.5 percent field-goal shooting, its lowest in a home game this year.
– The silver lining of Monday's game was the return of Boban Jacdonmi and Artur Konontsuk, who were injured on Nov. 29 and Dec. 14, respectively. Jacdonmi had made marked improvements from his junior season, scoring in double-figures each of the first five games after averaging 1.3 points the previous year. The Golden Eagles will continue to work him in. Konontsuk started the first nine games and even had a career-high 19 against now-No. 1 Gonzaga. The Golden Eagles had not seen a freshman start three or more consecutive games since Tim Rowe in the 2015-16 season.
– Despite the Golden Eagles coming up short on Monday, it bears noting that last year's team started 0-3 before ultimately finishing tied for second in C-USA. They were the third team since 2010 to earn a bye in the tournament despite having such a start. LA Tech has won the last 17 meetings in Ruston, dating back to Jan. 13, 1966.
– Leonard Harper-Baker is No. 32 nationally with 30 steals, also making him one of four forwards in the top-50 for that category. He was the team leader in rebounds last year with 8.0 per game and has produced five games with double-figure boards this season (14 for his career). LaDavius Draine also rose to No. 5 in school history for career-three-point makes with 140 after tying a career-high seven against Tougaloo. He needs three to tie Jimmie Floyd (1994-98) for No. 4 all-time.
– Out of Southern Miss' seven road/neutral games, Gabe Watson leads the way with 13.6 ppg in 33.1 mpg. The Golden Eagles are still shooting a respectable 43.0 percent, while opponents are at 47.0. Last year's squad was a combined 9-10 away from Hattiesburg.Â
– Jay Malone produced seven-plus assists and no turnovers for the second time this season in the SIU win. Golden Eagle greats Tyree Griffin and Cortez Edwards accomplished such a feat once apiece last season. Watson has benefited the most from the move. Since going into a more-shooting guard role for the William Carey game, the sophomore has shot 47.2 percent (up from 31.8) for 14.3 ppg (previously 8.8).
– Southern Miss' non-conference opponent average was No. 24 in the nation, according to the NET (formerly RPI). It includes road games at defending national runner-up Texas Tech, South Alabama (preseason Sun Belt favorite) as well as two versus North Florida, picked to finish third in the A-Sun. Gonzaga and Seton Hall are also expected to make deep runs in the NCAA Tournament, and Tulane and Iowa State have earned top-25 votes this year.
– Opponents are averaging 7.8 more free-throw attempts per game. Southern Miss has four games of 20-plus tries this year, with the 35 against Tougaloo serving as its first of 30-plus since the 2018-19 opener. By comparison, Jay Ladner's 2018-19 Southeastern Louisiana squad averaged 19.4 foul shots per contest, and that will continue to be an emphasis on his young Southern Miss squad (which is averaging 11.4).
– Jay Ladner coached against Louisiana Tech once before at Southeastern Louisiana, falling 88-59 in Ruston on Dec. 3, 2016. The Bulldogs have won eight of the 10 meetings since the 2014-15 season, with Southern Miss winning each of the last two Hattiesburg contests. LA Tech, per usual, brings in a stout defense. Opponents are shooting just 37.8 percent on the year (No. 19 nationally), while the Bulldogs are No. 23 in turnover margin at 4.6. Both marks lead C-USA.
Doug Anderson and LaDarrin McLane will have the streaming call, while Mike Coulter will carry the game on the Southern Miss Learfield IMG Sports Network (Rock 104.5 in Hattiesburg/Laurel), as well as on the Gameday app.
Saturday's game also marks the first time since Feb. 23-27, 1984 that Southern Miss faced the same team in consecutive games. The Golden Eagles defeated South Carolina at home before falling on the road in what was current head coach Jay Ladner's senior year at Hattiesburg's Oak Grove High School.Â
Game Notes
– Southern Miss ran into a buzzsaw with the Bulldogs on Monday night as the visitors went on a 13-0 run over the first four minutes of the second half to pull away. It was an 11-10 game with 7:10 left in the first half that turned into a 31-24 halftime lead for LA Tech. The Golden Eagles were limited to 34.5 percent field-goal shooting, its lowest in a home game this year.
– The silver lining of Monday's game was the return of Boban Jacdonmi and Artur Konontsuk, who were injured on Nov. 29 and Dec. 14, respectively. Jacdonmi had made marked improvements from his junior season, scoring in double-figures each of the first five games after averaging 1.3 points the previous year. The Golden Eagles will continue to work him in. Konontsuk started the first nine games and even had a career-high 19 against now-No. 1 Gonzaga. The Golden Eagles had not seen a freshman start three or more consecutive games since Tim Rowe in the 2015-16 season.
– Despite the Golden Eagles coming up short on Monday, it bears noting that last year's team started 0-3 before ultimately finishing tied for second in C-USA. They were the third team since 2010 to earn a bye in the tournament despite having such a start. LA Tech has won the last 17 meetings in Ruston, dating back to Jan. 13, 1966.
– Leonard Harper-Baker is No. 32 nationally with 30 steals, also making him one of four forwards in the top-50 for that category. He was the team leader in rebounds last year with 8.0 per game and has produced five games with double-figure boards this season (14 for his career). LaDavius Draine also rose to No. 5 in school history for career-three-point makes with 140 after tying a career-high seven against Tougaloo. He needs three to tie Jimmie Floyd (1994-98) for No. 4 all-time.
– Out of Southern Miss' seven road/neutral games, Gabe Watson leads the way with 13.6 ppg in 33.1 mpg. The Golden Eagles are still shooting a respectable 43.0 percent, while opponents are at 47.0. Last year's squad was a combined 9-10 away from Hattiesburg.Â
– Jay Malone produced seven-plus assists and no turnovers for the second time this season in the SIU win. Golden Eagle greats Tyree Griffin and Cortez Edwards accomplished such a feat once apiece last season. Watson has benefited the most from the move. Since going into a more-shooting guard role for the William Carey game, the sophomore has shot 47.2 percent (up from 31.8) for 14.3 ppg (previously 8.8).
– Southern Miss' non-conference opponent average was No. 24 in the nation, according to the NET (formerly RPI). It includes road games at defending national runner-up Texas Tech, South Alabama (preseason Sun Belt favorite) as well as two versus North Florida, picked to finish third in the A-Sun. Gonzaga and Seton Hall are also expected to make deep runs in the NCAA Tournament, and Tulane and Iowa State have earned top-25 votes this year.
– Opponents are averaging 7.8 more free-throw attempts per game. Southern Miss has four games of 20-plus tries this year, with the 35 against Tougaloo serving as its first of 30-plus since the 2018-19 opener. By comparison, Jay Ladner's 2018-19 Southeastern Louisiana squad averaged 19.4 foul shots per contest, and that will continue to be an emphasis on his young Southern Miss squad (which is averaging 11.4).
– Jay Ladner coached against Louisiana Tech once before at Southeastern Louisiana, falling 88-59 in Ruston on Dec. 3, 2016. The Bulldogs have won eight of the 10 meetings since the 2014-15 season, with Southern Miss winning each of the last two Hattiesburg contests. LA Tech, per usual, brings in a stout defense. Opponents are shooting just 37.8 percent on the year (No. 19 nationally), while the Bulldogs are No. 23 in turnover margin at 4.6. Both marks lead C-USA.
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