Golden Eagles Head to Birmingham for Rivalry Game Against UAB

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Southern Miss (3-4, 0-0 Sun Belt) men's basketball team is slated to play UAB (4-3, 0-0 American) on Friday night at Bartow Arena. Tip-off in Birmingham, Ala. is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.

Game 8: Southern Miss (3-4, 0-0 Sun Belt) at UAB (4-3, 0-0 American)
Friday, December 1 at 7 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: Southern Miss Radio Network
Bartow Arena (8,500)

Donovan Ivory backed Southern Miss to a 90-84 win last Saturday with a 32-point performance in his home state. The Golden Eagles got 25 points from Austin Crowley and another 12 from Victor Iwuakor off the bench. The win snapped a three-game losing skid and gave Southern Miss its first road win of the season.

The game will air on ESPN+. 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.

KEY GOLDEN EAGLE STORYLINES
- Southern Miss leads the Sun Belt in scoring defense at 64.1 points per game and second in field goal percentage defense at 40 percent
- Ivory and Crowley enjoyed breakout games this season in the win over Milwaukee. Victor Hart added 11 points, while Tegra Izay grabbed a career-high 11 boards
- Hart, who scored a career-high 23 points against Cal State Fullerton, went for 16 points and 10 rebounds against South Dakota State
- Hart scored a career-high 23 points in a loss to Cal State Fullerton. Izay -- who went for 11 points and 10 rebounds -- notched his first career double-double
- Hart led all Golden Eagles with 18 points in the tournament opening loss to Utah Valley. He went 9-of-13 from the floor in that game -- the most field goals he has made in a single game
- 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 UAB
- The Blazers head into Friday's game with a 4-3 record and a Tuesday night loss to McNeese
- Eric Gaines leads UAB in scoring at 14.3 points per game. He scored five against Southern Miss in last year's NIT First Round game
- Javian Davis (11.3) and Alejandro Vasquez (10.3) are both averaging double figures with Gaines
- Davis is averaging 8.1 rebounds per game and pulled down a career-high 15 boards against Bradley. He had 11 against McNeese in his last game
- UAB has wins over Maryland, Alcorn State, Middle Tennessee and Furman. It opened the season with an overtime loss to Bradley and a one-point loss to Clemson
- The Blazers are 50-8 under Andy Kennedy at Bartow Arena and have lost no more than two home games in a single season since the former UAB graduate took over

SERIES HISTORY
- This is the 57^th meeting all-time between the two schools and the first since both departed C-USA
- The Golden Eagles are 6-22 on the road against the Blazers and only have two road wins against them in the last 10 years
- UAB has won the last five meetings dating back to Jan. 8, 2021
- Southern Miss' last win was Jan. 23, 2020 -- a 84-77 victory at Bartow Arena

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.

Golden Eagles Head to Birmingham for Rivalry Game Against UAB

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Players Mentioned

Nico Aguirre

Mo Arnold

Jose Benitez

Austin Crowley

Andre Curbelo

GianFranco Grafals

Felipe Haase

Denijay Harris

Victor Hart

Donovan Ivory

Victor Iwuakor

Tegra Izay

Tyler Morman

Marcelo Perez

DeAndre Pinckney

Lieb Yat