Men's Basketball and Mississippi State to Meet in Charity Game Sunday

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Southern Miss and Mississippi State are set to meet on the hardwood Sunday afternoon in a men's basketball charity game to benefit tornado victims in the Mississippi Delta. Tip-off at Reed Green Coliseum is scheduled for 2 p.m.

Exhibition Game: Southern Miss (0-0, 0-0 SBC) vs. Mississippi State (0-0, 0-0 SEC)
Sunday, October 28 - 2 p.m.
TV: None - Radio: Southern Miss Radio Network
Reed Green Coliseum (8,095) - Hattiesburg, Miss.

Fans not attending the game can make an online donation HERE. All ticket proceeds will be donated to CitiIMPACT.

Sunday's game will not be streamed. Fans can listen on the Southern Miss Radio Network, Southern Miss Game Day App, or their local Southern Miss Network affiliate to hear John Cox on the call.

Southern Miss is coming off a Sun Belt Regular Season Championship after going 25-8 in Jay Ladner's fourth season at the helm of the program. The Golden Eagles appeared in the National Invitational Tournament for the 12^th time and won a conference championship outright for the third time in program history. The Golden Eagles return Austin Crowley, the Preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year, who averaged 16.0 points per game during his junior campaign. Crowley is part of a returning core that features nine players, including 6-foot-4 guard Cobie Montgomery who had to redshirt last season. Southern Miss welcomes seven newcomers to Hattiesburg after seven players departed the program due to graduation (five) or transfer (2) opportunities.

KEY STORYLINES
- Southern Miss finished with 25 wins for the fourth time in program history during the 2022-23 season
- Crowley's breakout campaign last season included Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year, First Team All-Sun Belt, First Team All-NABC District 23, Lou Henson All-American, Lou Henson Player of the Year Finalist, and Howell Trophy Finalist
- The Golden Eagles lost Felipe Haase, Marcelo Perez, Tyler Morman, DeAndre Pinckney and Nico Aguirre to graduation. Denijay Harris (Arkansas) and GianFranco Grafals (Nova Southeastern) opted for the transfer portal
- Southern Miss hit big in the portal for the second consecutive season after landing Victor Iwuakor (UNLV/Oklahoma), Andre Curbelo (St. John's/Illinois), Luke Ladner (Loyola New Orleans), Bryson Hall (Wallace State/Delta State), Lieb Yat (Seminole State College), Jose Benitez (Francis Marion) and Tegra Izay (Harcum/La Salle)
- Izay and Yat are the first 7-footers to don the Black and Gold since 7-foot-1 big man Gustavo Lino played for Southern Miss in 2009
- Juan Cardona was promoted to Associate Head Coach over the summer after producing one of the top defenses in college basketball
- Southern Miss' 18-win turnaround from the 2021-22 to 2022-23 was the second-best in NCAA Division I history. Iowa State owns the top spot at +22 in 2021-22

BREAKING DOWN MISSISSIPPI STATE
- Mississippi State is coming off a NCAA Tournament appearance where they lost to Pitt in the First Four
- The Bulldogs return 80.9 percent of its offense, including leading scorer Tolu Smith (15.7 ppg)
- Head coach Chris Jans is fifth among active NCAA active coaches with .742 winning percentage
- They also return 72.4 percent of its rebounds, 83.8 percent of its assists, 83.6 percent of its steals and 75.2 percent of its blocks from last season

THE SERIES
- Mississippi State leads 13-4 all-time against the Golden Eagles, dating to 1963
- It's the first time the two are meeting since the 2017 season where Mississippi Sate won 70-64
- Southern Miss hosts the Bulldogs for the first time since 1995 -- Mississippi State enjoyed a Final Four run that season
- Southern Miss is 1-2 in games played in Hattiesburg against the Bulldogs

Follow @SouthernMissMBB on Facebook, Instagram and X for updates.

Season Tickets are available for the 2023-24 season. Fans can purchase tickets at SouthernMissTickets.com, by calling 1-800-844-TICK (8425) or visit the Pat Ferlise Ticket Office on campus weekdays during normal business hours.

Men's Basketball and Mississippi State to Meet in Charity Game Sunday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nico Aguirre

Jose Benitez

Austin Crowley

Andre Curbelo

GianFranco Grafals

Felipe Haase

Bryson Hall

Denijay Harris

Victor Iwuakor

Tegra Izay

Luke Ladner

Cobie Montgomery

Tyler Morman

Marcelo Perez

DeAndre Pinckney

Lieb Yat