Golden Eagles Host First-Place Troy on Saturday Afternoon

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Southern Miss men's basketball team returns to Reed Green Coliseum on Saturday afternoon as it is set to take on Troy (11-7, 5-1 Sun Belt) at 2:30 p.m. The Golden Eagles (10-8, 4-2 Sun Belt) and Trojans will follow a 12 p.m. tip-off between the Lady Eagles and ULM. The doubleheader will air on ESPN+.

Game 19: Southern Miss (10-8, 4-2 Sun Belt) vs. Troy (11-7, 5-1 Sun Belt)
Saturday, January 20 at 2:30 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: Southern Miss Radio Network
Reed Green Coliseum (8,095)

Southern Miss and Troy meet for the second time in a seven-day span following last Saturday's 82-56 win for the Trojans in Alabama. A shorthanded Golden Eagle team bounced back on Wednesday night to pick up a 69-66 win over Arkansas State at the Coliseum. Victor Iwuakor enjoyed a breakout performance as the graduate transfer went for 10 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high six blocks.

The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Lee Roberts and Larry Boyd on the call. 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
- Iwuakor is picked up his first career double-double against Arkansas State with 10 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks
- Southern Miss' 50 rebounds against the Red Wolves marked the second time this season they reached that number
- Victor Hart picked up a career-high 14 rebounds to go along with 11 points. The double-double was his fourth of the season
- Southern Miss' win over No. 19 James Madison on Jan. 6 was the first ranked win since Jan. 15, 2011 over No. 22 UCF. It was the eighth ranked win in program history
- Curbelo dished out 20 assists over two games against James Madison and Georgia State
- Southern Miss moved to 2-0 in Sun Belt home openers following its win over Georgia State
- Curbelo became the first Golden Eagle since Ronald Jackson in 1980 to record a triple-double
- Curbelo led the Golden Eagles in points (18), rebounds (7) and steals (4) in the conference opener against Georgia Southern
- Hart picked up the third double-double of his career with 13 points and 11 rebounds against the Rebels
- Post players Tegra Izay (9) and Iwuakor (8) combined for 17 rebounds and 16 points against Lamar
- 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 48th 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
- 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 - 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

SCOUTING TROY
- The Trojans had a six-game winning streak snapped on Thursday night after a 74-71 defeat at South Alabama. The Trojans had wins over Eastern Kentucky, Coastal Carolina, Old Dominion, App State, Louisiana and Southern Miss in that stretch
- Troy is off to a 5-1 start in conference play for the first time since the 2023-24 season
- Christyon Eugene leads the Trojans in scoring at 15.4 points per game and had 10 points against the Golden Eagles last week
- Tayton Conerway (11.7) and Aamer Muhammad (10.3) are both averaging 10-plus points along with Eugene
- Troy is 11th in the country and tops in the Sun Belt with 10.1 steals per game
- Troy ranks 20th nationally in turnovers forced per game at 15.8. It's the second-best mark in the Sun Belt. Troy is 9-1 when it wins the turnover battle this season

THE SERIES HISTORY
- Southern Miss leads the all-time series 17-2 as the two are set to meet for the 20th time
- The Golden Eagles have won all 11 meetings in Hattiesburg
- Southern Miss squeaked past Troy by four in Hattiesburg last season

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 Host First-Place Troy on Saturday Afternoon

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Players Mentioned

Mo Arnold

Victor Hart

Donovan Ivory

Victor Iwuakor

Tegra Izay

Lieb Yat