Golden Eagles Set to Host Louisiana in Battle for First Place

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- In what could be the biggest game at Reed Green Coliseum in nearly a decade, the Southern Miss (21-4, 10-2 SBC) men's basketball team will take on Louisiana (20-4, 10-2 SBC) on Thursday night in a clash for first place in the Sun Belt standings. The Golden Eagles and Ragin' Cajuns will tip at 7:30 p.m. following the conclusion of the women's basketball game.

How to Follow
- Stream the game on ESPN+ at 7:30 p.m. CST, with Lee Roberts (PxP) and Larry Boyd (Color) on the call
- John Cox will call the game on the Southern Miss Learfield Sports Network (Rock 104.5 in Hattiesburg/Laurel) and the Gameday App
- Follow @SouthernMissMBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for updates

Golden Eagle Nuggets
- Through 12 Sun Belt games, Austin Crowley is averaging 18.8 points per game and DeAndre Pinckney is averaging 14.6 points per game. Big man Felipe Haase is scoring 13.3 points per game in Sun Belt play
- Southern Miss is in a tie for first with Louisiana at 10-2 in the Sun Belt
- Haase is coming off a 26-point performance at Georgia State on Saturday afternoon
- Mo Arnold (11), Marcelo Perez (10), Pinckney (12) and Haase (26) all finished in double figures
- Pinckney (Jan. 10) and Crowley (Jan. 3) have both been named Sun Belt Player of the Week this season
- Southern Miss went 2-0 on the road last week, picking up a nine-point win at Troy and then the eight-point win in Atlanta
- Denijay Harris had a 19-point game at Troy. It was his second-highest scoring total this season behind his 22-point game at Arkansas State
- Southern Miss is tied for the best conference start in program history since the 1990-91 team started 10-2 in the Metro Conference
- The Golden Eagles have recorded at least 21 wins for the 12^th time in program history and for the first time since the 2011-12 season
- The 2022-23 team is the fifth-fastest team in program history to reach 20 wins
1. 1959-60: 22 games
1960-61: 22 games
3. 1990-91: 23 games
4. 2011-12: 23 games
5. 2022-23: 24 games
- The 13 wins before New Year's Day tie the 2011-12 team for wins recorded before the holiday
- The Golden Eagles picked up their first Sun Belt win in program history in a 64-60 win against Troy on Dec. 29, 2022
- Crowley scored 10-plus points in 15-straight games spanning Dec. 10 - Feb. 2
- Crowley (17.4), Haase (14.8) and Pinckney (13.4) are the only Golden Eagles averaging double-digit points per game
- Haase is the sixth active player in Division I basketball to have at least 1,500 points, 800 rebounds and 300 assists since the 2017-18 season
- The Golden Eagles lead the Sun Belt in scoring defense at 63.7 points per game
- Southern Miss had a record-breaking day in the steals department against Lamar on Dec. 10 as its 21 steals was the fourth most in a single game in program history
- Three days later it set a program record for three-point attempts when it tried 42 at Lamar on Dec. 13
- Pinckney (7.0) and Haase (6.6) pace the Golden Eagles on the glass, while Pinckney leads the with 174 total rebounds
- Jay Ladner went back to his usual starting five with Crowley, Arnold, Harris, Pinckney and Haase. That grouping is 12-2 when it starts for Southern Miss this season

Scouting the Ragin' Cajuns
- Louisiana is riding a seven-game winning streak after beating Marshall, 77-67, on Saturday night
- The Ragin' Cajuns lead the Sun Belt in field goal percentage (49.4), rebounding margin (6.6), three-point percentage (39.8) and effective field goal percentage (.558)
- Jordan Brown, who went for 26 points and 20 rebounds against Marshall, is averaging 19.9 points per game
- Thomas Fulks leads the Sun Belt in assists (157) and assists per game (6.5)
- Louisiana is ranked No. 4 in the Mid-Major Top 25 Poll

Series History
- Thursday will be the 58^th all-time meeting between Southern Miss and Louisiana
- It marks the second-straight year the Ragin' Cajun's come to Hattiesburg, which saw them win by 21 points last season
- Southern Miss dropped the first meeting this season, 75-61, in Lafayette on Jan. 5
- Southern Miss leads the all-time series, 32-25, and is 21-7 in games played in Hattiesburg

Up Next
- The Golden Eagles will host ULM on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 2:30 p.m. The game will immediately follow the Southern Miss women's basketball game against Coastal Carolina

University of Southern Mississippi Athletics

Golden Eagles Set to Host Louisiana in Battle for First Place

Players Mentioned

Mo Arnold

Austin Crowley

Felipe Haase

Denijay Harris

Marcelo Perez

DeAndre Pinckney

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