Men's Basketball Prepped for In-State Battle Against No. 25 Ole Miss

Southern Miss Golden Eagles guard Cobie Montgomery (10) shots a three over Northwestern State Demons forward Justin Wilson (11) in a game between the Southern Miss Golden Eagles vs South Northwestern State in the NCAA Basketball Game. December 9, 2023. (Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com)

Photo by: Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com

Men's Basketball Prepped for In-State Battle Against No. 25 Ole Miss

12/22/2023 6:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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HATTIESBURG, Miss. – It's an early Christmas present for fans on the Mississippi Coast as Southern Miss (6-5, 0-0 Sun Belt) and No. 25 Ole Miss (11-0, 0-0 SEC) are set to tangle Saturday afternoon at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. Tip-off in Biloxi is set for 1 p.m.

Game 12: Southern Miss (6-5, 0-0 Sun Belt) vs. Ole Miss (11-0, 0-0 SEC)
Saturday, December 23 at 1 p.m. CT
TV: None | Radio: Southern Miss Radio Network
Mississippi Coast Coliseum (11,500)

The Golden Eagles are coming off an 82-79 win at Lamar on Monday night that helped right the ship following a tough road loss at McNeese the week prior. Junior guard Andre Curbelo made his Southern Miss debut and became the first Golden Eagle since 2012 to record at least 13 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals in 20 minutes or less of playing time.

The 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.
KEY GOLDEN EAGLE STORYLINES
- Austin Crowley went for 22 points and recorded the ninth 20-plus points game of his career
- Post players Tegra Izay (9) and Victor Iwuakor (8) combined for 17 rebounds and 16 points against the Cardinals
- Izay hauled in a career-high 14 rebounds in 30 minutes of action against McNeese
- Iwuakor led all Golden Eagles against Northwestern State with a career-high 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor. Montgomery went for a career-high 17 points
- Southern Miss' 35 bench points were the most in a single game against a Division I opponent this season
- Southern Miss' 53.8 percent shooting from the floor against Northwestern State was the best this season and marked the second consecutive game where it shot over 50 percent from the floor
- Ivory enjoyed a 32-point outburst in a road win at Milwaukee, while Hart helped the Golden Eagles to a win at UAB with a 26-point performance
- 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
- Departed Golden Eagles Felipe Haase, Marcelo Perez, Tyler Morman, DeAndre Pinckney and Nico Aguirre all signed professional contracts, while Haase signed the largest European rookie contract of any undrafted player
- Tegra Izay and Lieb 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 OLE MISS
- In his first year at the helm of the Ole Miss program, Chris Beard has his squad off to an 11-0 start and is one of three remaining unbeaten teams in the country
- The Rebels have wins over Eastern Washington, Detroit Mercy, Sam Houston, Temple, NC State, Memphis, Mount St. Mary's, UCF, Cal and Troy
- Auburn transfer Allen Flanigan leads the Rebels in scoring at 17.0 points per game, the highest output of his career
- Matthew Murrell (16.1) and Jaylen Murray (14.7) are also scoring in double figures each game with Flanigan
- Flanigan also leads Ole Miss in rebounding at 7.0 per game with a game-high 12 boards against Alabama State

SERIES HISTORY
- This marks the 20^th meeting all-time between the two in-state programs
- Ole Miss holds a 2-5 mark in games play at a neutral venue
- The two programs last met on Dec. 17, 2011, and saw Southern Miss escape with an 86-82 win at Reed Green Coliseum

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.