University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Saturday, March 7
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
5 p.m. CT
Southern Miss
at
Middle Tennessee
Southern Miss Heads to Middle Tennessee for Season Finale
3/6/2020 9:22:00 AM | Men's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Southern Miss men's basketball team has left the Pine Belt for its final game of the season, battling Middle Tennessee on Saturday at 5 p.m.
Fans can follow the game on ESPN3 with Jeff Hem and Duane Hickey on the call. John Cox will also carry the game on the Southern Miss Learfield IMG Sports Network (Rock 104.5 in Hattiesburg/Laurel) and Gameday app.
Game Notes
– Wednesday's 72-57 defeat to Rice unfortunately took the Golden Eagles out of contention for the C-USA Championships. The Golden Eagles trailed 32-22 at the half, and after a 17-3 run gave them a 43-40 lead with 13 minutes left, the Owls responded with an 11-2 burst to take the lead for good.
– LaDavius Draine produced his third-career double-double with 22 points and a career-high 14 rebounds (other two feats came against WKU and FAU this season). He attempted 15 three-pointers, the most by a Golden Eagle since Neil Reed in February 1999. Leonard Harper-Baker's 11 boards marked his third-straight time in double-figures for that category, something he also did last week with 43 against Old Dominion, WKU and Marshall in consecutive fashion.
– The Golden Eagles have boasted a plus-42 rebounding margin over the past six games, their longest streak of the season when finishing even or positive. Harper-Baker is the team's leading rebounder (8.0 pg) for the second-straight year, and has had double-digits 10 times this year (including 11, 10 and 13 against Rice, UTEP and Middle Tennessee in bonus play). Southern Miss will also need to start faster on offense after having 25 points in each of the previous two first halves against Middle Tennessee. Its most-such points against a Division I team was 41 at WKU, and Southern Miss is 6-2 when leading at the break.
– Draine has 177 three-pointers in his career, which ranks third in school history. His 15 deep tries on Wednesday were the most by a Golden Eagle since Neil Reed in 1999. Next on the records list is Casey Fisher (1984-88) with 194. His 914 career points (10.0 ppg average) are the most by any active Golden Eagle. His 23-made free-throw streak to begin C-USA play ranks as the fifth-longest in program history. His 59 assists and 29 steals are more than his previous two-years combined (26 and 20, respectively).
– Tyler Stevenson, a walk-on last year, ranks fifth and eighth in C-USA play for rebounding (7.8 rpg) and field-goal percentage (57.0), respectively. This season against Middle Tennessee, he is the Golden Eagles' leading shooter (64.7 percent) and the only one in double-figure scoring (16.5 ppg). He has increased his scoring by 9.6 ppg since his freshman year, ranking fourth among sophomores nationally, and is No. 36 in the country for overall shooting (55.9 percent).
– Despite Middle Tennessee taking each of the first two head-to-heads this year, Southern Miss has had its two best defensive showings against the Blue Raiders (35.1 and 36.9 field-goal percentages on Jan. 25 and Feb. 22, respectively). On the flip side, it has been Middle Tennessee's zone defense that has gotten the better of the Golden Eagles each time. This marks the seventh meeting between the two schools the last three years (the third meeting in 2017-18 was when Southern Miss knocked off the top seed in the C-USA Quarterfinals).
– Southern Miss has been on a seven-man rotation since Jan. 23, and in those 11 games, five players are averaging 32.5 minutes or more per game. Gabe Watson leads the way with 39.5 mpg and currently paces C-USA in league play with 37.6. Draine has been the team's top scorer in that span, producing 17.3 ppg after having 10.3 the first 19 contests. Since the team's changed dynamic, Konontsuk has been the x-factor. His last four double-digit scoring games have also been the team's last four wins. Boban Jacdonmi, the team's biggest bench threat, posted a double-double in this year's Murfreesboro meeting with 16 points and a career-high 12 rebounds (in only 21 minutes), his second of the season and his career.
– Southern Miss, in league play, is fifth with a 76.3 free-throw percentage (187-for-245) after being at the top for much of the slate. It was at 68.6 percent in non-conference action. The 73.1-percent clip trails only the 2011-12 NCAA tourney squad for the best in program history. The Golden Eagles are 5-4 when getting more attempts at the line than their foe.
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Fans can follow the game on ESPN3 with Jeff Hem and Duane Hickey on the call. John Cox will also carry the game on the Southern Miss Learfield IMG Sports Network (Rock 104.5 in Hattiesburg/Laurel) and Gameday app.
Game Notes
– Wednesday's 72-57 defeat to Rice unfortunately took the Golden Eagles out of contention for the C-USA Championships. The Golden Eagles trailed 32-22 at the half, and after a 17-3 run gave them a 43-40 lead with 13 minutes left, the Owls responded with an 11-2 burst to take the lead for good.
– LaDavius Draine produced his third-career double-double with 22 points and a career-high 14 rebounds (other two feats came against WKU and FAU this season). He attempted 15 three-pointers, the most by a Golden Eagle since Neil Reed in February 1999. Leonard Harper-Baker's 11 boards marked his third-straight time in double-figures for that category, something he also did last week with 43 against Old Dominion, WKU and Marshall in consecutive fashion.
– The Golden Eagles have boasted a plus-42 rebounding margin over the past six games, their longest streak of the season when finishing even or positive. Harper-Baker is the team's leading rebounder (8.0 pg) for the second-straight year, and has had double-digits 10 times this year (including 11, 10 and 13 against Rice, UTEP and Middle Tennessee in bonus play). Southern Miss will also need to start faster on offense after having 25 points in each of the previous two first halves against Middle Tennessee. Its most-such points against a Division I team was 41 at WKU, and Southern Miss is 6-2 when leading at the break.
– Draine has 177 three-pointers in his career, which ranks third in school history. His 15 deep tries on Wednesday were the most by a Golden Eagle since Neil Reed in 1999. Next on the records list is Casey Fisher (1984-88) with 194. His 914 career points (10.0 ppg average) are the most by any active Golden Eagle. His 23-made free-throw streak to begin C-USA play ranks as the fifth-longest in program history. His 59 assists and 29 steals are more than his previous two-years combined (26 and 20, respectively).
– Tyler Stevenson, a walk-on last year, ranks fifth and eighth in C-USA play for rebounding (7.8 rpg) and field-goal percentage (57.0), respectively. This season against Middle Tennessee, he is the Golden Eagles' leading shooter (64.7 percent) and the only one in double-figure scoring (16.5 ppg). He has increased his scoring by 9.6 ppg since his freshman year, ranking fourth among sophomores nationally, and is No. 36 in the country for overall shooting (55.9 percent).
– Despite Middle Tennessee taking each of the first two head-to-heads this year, Southern Miss has had its two best defensive showings against the Blue Raiders (35.1 and 36.9 field-goal percentages on Jan. 25 and Feb. 22, respectively). On the flip side, it has been Middle Tennessee's zone defense that has gotten the better of the Golden Eagles each time. This marks the seventh meeting between the two schools the last three years (the third meeting in 2017-18 was when Southern Miss knocked off the top seed in the C-USA Quarterfinals).
– Southern Miss has been on a seven-man rotation since Jan. 23, and in those 11 games, five players are averaging 32.5 minutes or more per game. Gabe Watson leads the way with 39.5 mpg and currently paces C-USA in league play with 37.6. Draine has been the team's top scorer in that span, producing 17.3 ppg after having 10.3 the first 19 contests. Since the team's changed dynamic, Konontsuk has been the x-factor. His last four double-digit scoring games have also been the team's last four wins. Boban Jacdonmi, the team's biggest bench threat, posted a double-double in this year's Murfreesboro meeting with 16 points and a career-high 12 rebounds (in only 21 minutes), his second of the season and his career.
– Southern Miss, in league play, is fifth with a 76.3 free-throw percentage (187-for-245) after being at the top for much of the slate. It was at 68.6 percent in non-conference action. The 73.1-percent clip trails only the 2011-12 NCAA tourney squad for the best in program history. The Golden Eagles are 5-4 when getting more attempts at the line than their foe.
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Players Mentioned
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