Men's Basketball Preps for Tuesday's C-USA Opening Round Versus Rice

Tuesday, March 9

Frisco, TX

7 p.m.

Southern Miss

Rice

Men's Basketball Preps for Tuesday's C-USA Opening Round Versus Rice

3/8/2021 3:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes Ticket Policy Bracket

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Southern Miss men's basketball team is ready to take off for the 2021 Conference USA Basketball Championships, presented by Baylor Scott & White Medical Center, with its first-round matchup coming Tuesday at 7 p.m. CT against Rice. The tournament will be held at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.

TV: ESPN Plus (Ron Thulin, Fred Williams)
Radio: Southern Miss Learfield IMG Sports Network (Rock 104.5 in Hattiesburg/Laurel) and Gameday app with John Cox
Tickets: None for general public purchase; more information here

The Rundown
Southern Miss is set for its first C-USA Tournament bid of the Jay Ladner era. The Golden Eagles' last two trips have been quite memorable ones, however. The 2019 club rallied from an 0-3 start to earn a bye (only the third team of the previous 10 years to do so), defeating Marshall in a quarterfinal slugfest before being edged by WKU. The previous year, Southern Miss defeated FIU 69-68, then No. 1 Middle Tennessee 71-68 in overtime before eventual NCAA Round-of-32 participant Marshall took the semis.

Peaking at the Right Time
Tae Hardy has reached new heights in his last three games. He had 20 points (career-high 19 in the second half alone) to rally Southern Miss to an 85-72 win at FIU. Eight days later, he had 23 in the second half as part of a 32-point effort in the home finale against FAU. It was the most by a Golden Eagle since Kourtlin Jackson's 40 at Marshall in the 2015-16 finale, as well as the highest at home since Charles Gaines on Dec. 17, 2003 against Georgia Southern.

No. 2 on the Prowl
Justin Johnson, one of the team's more-heralded signees, has played his best over the recent stretch. Over his last five games, he is averaging 9.8 ppg on 29-for-52 shooting (55.8 percent) and 25.5 mpg. Johnson was averaging 3.0 points over 13.3 minutes per game previously. Southern Miss is tied with FIU with a league-high 11 different active players to start this season.

The Man in the Middle
Tyler Stevenson led the way with 26 points and nine boards at FIU. His 29-point, 10-rebound in the second Rice game ranks as the second-highest scoring double-double in C-USA play, as well as Southern Miss' highest-scoring one since Gary Flowers on Feb. 19, 2011 against ECU. It's the highest-scoring, two-road/neutral-game stretch by a Golden Eagle since Kourtlin Jackson had 55 at WKU and Marshall (March 3-5, 2016). In league play, Stevenson joins only Charles Bassey to rank in the top-seven for scoring (seventh, 15.9), rebounding (fourth, 7.1) and shooting (third, 51.0 FG%).

The Matchup
Rice's torrid three-point shooting was the difference in this year's prior matchups. The Owls had 18 more makes out of the combined 34 points' difference, but also shot 42.2 percent compared to the Golden Eagles' 25.7 from deep and a 42.5-31.5 rebounding margin. As for league play, Rice is second behind only national-leader FIU with 28.1 three-point attempts per game, while Southern Miss has the fewest (14.8).

Rookie Madness
Jaron Pierre Jr. was named to the C-USA All-Freshman Team, the first Golden Eagle to do so since D.J. Newbill in 2010-11. The three-time Freshman of the Week selection has eight double-figure scoring games, including 24 against Middle Tennessee and 25 versus South Alabama (first-career start).

Post Power
DeAndre Pinckney has risen to the occasion the last four games, shooting a team-high 65.4 percent with 10.5 ppg over 22 minutes per contest. Seven of his eight double-figure scoring games have come in C-USA play. He missed four of the team's seven non-conference games due to a concussion. Tyler Morman is another post player with an expanded role. He is averaging 17.0 mpg the last four outings (including his only start against UNT), after appearing in only six C-USA games for 5.2 mpg.

First Start and Three-Pointer
Clay Weatherspoon earned his first-career start on Senior Day and also notched his first three-pointer. Southern Miss trailed just 17-16 before FAU put together a run, which could play into starting strategy in Frisco based on the team's prior battles with early deficits to overcome.

Draine Looking to Extend His Standout Career
LaDavius Draine is the team's other senior. He broke the school's single-season three-point record as a sophomore (46.4 percent) while being named C-USA's Sixth Man of the Year. Draine also ranks second in career treys (221) and No. 31 in scoring (1,131 points). He is also the only one on the team to have appeared in a C-USA Tourney game, averaging 8.0 ppg and 18.7 mpg. He was 6-for-8 from deep against Marshall in the 2019 Quarterfinals.