Southern Miss Set to Play Utah Valley in Jacksonville Classic Opener

Sunday, November 19

St. Augustine, Fla.

11 AM

Southern Miss

Utah Valley

Tickets

Southern Miss Set to Play Utah Valley in Jacksonville Classic Opener

11/18/2023 3:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Last year it was Cancun. This year it's Jacksonville. Nonetheless, the Southern Miss men's basketball team is set for another multi-team event (MTE) early in the season. The Golden Eagles will play Utah Valley in the Bay Bracket opener on Sunday morning at the Jacksonville Classic. Tip-off from Flagler College is set for 11 a.m. CT.

Southern Miss will then play either Cal State Fullerton or Cornell on Monday.

Game 4: Southern Miss (2-1, 0-0 SBC) vs. Utah Valley (2-1, 0-0 WAC)
Sunday, November 19 at 11 a.m. CT
TV: Pass the Ball Live Media ($) | Radio: Southern Miss Radio Network
Flagler Gymnasium (1,750)

The Golden Eagles are coming off a 76-45 win over Xavier (La.) on Wednesday night. Jay Ladner's team turned in a defensive clinic as they forced 23 Gold Rush turnovers and had 15 steals. Southern Miss also took care of business on the glass en route to 50 rebounds.

The game will feature William Anderson on Pass the Ball Live Media ($). Fans can listen on the Southern Miss Radio Network, Southern Miss Game Day App, or their local Southern Miss Network affiliate to hear Chris Harris on the call.

KEY GOLDEN EAGLE STORYLINES
- Southern Miss is coming off an 18-point loss at Akron after it ended the game on a near five-minute scoring drought
- Austin Crowley paced the Golden Eagles with 17 points after opening the season with a 19-point performance against William Carey
- Senior guard Mo Arnold has taken over as the floor general for the Golden Eagles -- he's averaging 7.0ppg, 7.5rpg and 4.5apg
- The 42 points scored by William Carey were the fewest under Jay Ladner and marked the 48^th time Southern Miss has held an opponent under 50 points since joining the Division I ranks
- Crowley (19), Donovan Ivory (13) and Victor Hart (12) all scored in double figures, while Crowley added 10 boards to pick up the first double-double of his career against the Crusaders
- Last season, Southern Miss racked up 25 wins for the fourth time in program history
- Crowley's breakout junior 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
- Haase, Perez, Morman, Pinckney and Aguirre all signed professional contracts, while Haase signed the largest European rookie contract of any undrafted player
- Southern Miss hit big in the portal for the second consecutive season after landing Victor Iwuakor (UNLV/Oklahoma), Andre Curbelo (St. John's/Illinois), Ladner (Loyola New Orleans), 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 UTAH VALLEY
- The Wolverines head to Jacksonville with a 2-1 record and are coming off a 62-45 loss at Charlotte
- Jaden McClanahan recorded an 11-point, 13-rebound double-double and Trevin Dorius scored a team-high 16 points with eight rebounds to lead Utah Valley to a 79-73 overtime road win over Sam Houston on Nov. 9 in Huntsville, Texas
- Five Wolverines reached double digit scoring against the Bearkats led by Dorius' 16. K'mani Doughty had 15 points, Caleb Stone-Carrawell scored 13, McClanahan had 11, and Nate Tshimanga helped with 10 points
- Utah Valley returns two letterwinners from last year's team that won a school-record 28 games, won a WAC regular season title, and made a run to the semifinals of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). –
Utah Valley was picked to finish fourth by the coaches and eighth by the media in the WAC preseason polls
- Todd Phillips enters his first season as the head coach of the Utah Valley basketball team after spending the past four seasons as an associate head coach/assistant coach under previous head coach Mark Madsen.

THE REST OF THE FIELD
- Cal State Fullerton is 1-2 and coming off a 72-44 lost at Central Florida
- The Titans are paced by Max Jones' 13.7 points per game
- Cornell owns a 3-1 record and dropped a 90-83 decision to George Mason on Wednesday night
- Cooper Noard leads the Big Red in scoring at 12.3 points per game, while Sean Hansen is averaging 12.0 points

MTE HISTORY
- Southern Miss is 98-79 overall in MTE events and 4-4 since Ladner took over before the 2019-20 season
- The Golden Eagles are coming off a Cancun Challenge Championship last season after defeating Winthrop and Purdue Fort Wayne
- Southern Miss is 87-71 in continental United States MTE events

SERIES HISTORY
- First official meeting between the two schools

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.