Golden Eagles and Green Wave Set to Battle in The Crescent City

Tuesday, December 10

New Orleans, LA

7:30 PM

Southern Miss

Tulane

Golden Eagles and Green Wave Set to Battle in The Crescent City

12/9/2024 3:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- A series dating back to 1948 gets renewed on Tuesday night as Southern Miss (4-4, 0-0 Sun Belt) travels to New Orleans to battle Tulane (4-6, 0-0 American). The 82nd edition of the historic series will tip-off at 7:30 p.m. inside Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse.

Game 9: Southern Miss (4-4, 0-0 Sun Belt) at Tulane (4-6, 0-0 American)
Tuesday, December 10 at 7:30 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: Southern Miss Radio Network
Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse (4,000)

Jack Benjamin (PxP) and David Grubb (Color) will be on the ESPN+ 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.

The Opening Tip
- Tuesday marks the 82nd meeting between Southern Miss and Tulane
- The series dates back to a neutral site game in Jackson on Jan. 3, 1948
- The Golden Eagles are coming off back-to-back comeback wins over Alabama State and Milwaukee
- Southern Miss overcame a nine-point deficit against the Hornets en route to a 17-point win last Thursday
- Denijay Harris scored a career-high 24 points and grabbed eight boards against Milwaukee. Jett Montgomery also set a new career mark in scoring with 13 points
- Southern Miss is 30-3 at Reed Green Coliseum since the start of '22-23 season and 4-0 this season
- Harris leads the team in scoring at 15.0 points per game, while Alvarez (12.8) and Watson (10.8) are both averaging double figures
- The Golden Eagles are 4-0 this season when keeping opponents below 69 points
- Jeffery Armstrong, Harris and Gordon have all seen action in 100+ collegiate games
- Southern Miss returns six players that saw action last season, while only Cobie Montgomery and Tegra Izay saw limited starts
- Neftali Alvarez — sat out last season due to injury — and Harris are both back in the Black & Gold this season. Harris suited up for Arkansas last season after playing a key role in the '22-23 Sun Belt regular season title
- Eight players will suit up for the Golden Eagles this season that ever never donned the Golden Eagle logo. That list included Alfred Worrell Jr., DeAntoni Gordon, Brewer Carruth, Jett Montgomery, Christian Watson, John Wade III, Christian Reid, and Lieb Yat

About the Green Wave
- Tulane is riding a five-game losing streak with losses to New Orleans, Wyoming, Belmont, Southeastern Louisiana and George Mason
- The Green Wave's last outing was a 76-64 loss at George Mason on Saturday
- They own wins over Louisiana Christian, ULM, Alcorn State and Bethune Cookman
- Kaleb Banks is the top scorer for Tulane at 15.9 points per game, while Rowan Brumbaugh is averaging 13.0 points per game
- Despite the losing streak, Tulane's .384 field goal defense percentage ranks No. 35 in the country
- Its 6.1 blocks per game leads the American Conference and is No. 7 in the country

History with the Green Wave
- Southern Miss' 81 meetings with Tulane is the second-most amongst all-time opponents for the Golden Eagles
- Tulane leads the all-time series, 44-37, and have won the last four meetings
- Tulane leads 25-16 in New Orleans and won the 2020 meeting at home via a 58-38 score
- Jay Ladner is 1-5 against the Green Wave, while Ron Hunter is 2-4 against Southern Miss

The 20-20 Club
- WOAH! That was a lot of rebounds for Denijay Harris. The Columbus, Miss. Product became the fourth player in program history to record a 20-point, 20-rebound game when he did so against Alabama State
- It was the first 20-20 game since Mike Coleman had 38 points and 26 rebounds against Milwaukee on Feb. 13, 1975
- Harris' 20 rebounds were the most by a Golden Eagle since Joe Dawson pulled down 20 rebounds against Missouri Western on Nov. 29, 1978

ALL-TIME 20-20 LIST
Pts. Rebs. PLAYER (DATE)
24 32 Wendell Ladner (2/08/70)
23 31 Wendell Ladner (1/27/70)
27 30 Wendell Ladner (12/7/68)
35 29 Wendell Ladner (1/27/68)
26 28 Wendell Ladner (1/29/68)
29 27 Wendell Ladner (1/7/70)
38 26 Mike Coleman (2/13/75)
21 25 Wendell Ladner (1/19/70)
29 25 Wendell Ladner (1/20/69)
20 25 Wendell Ladner (2/20/68)
34 24 Wendell Ladner (1/30/69)
30 24 Wendell Ladner (2/03/68)
30 22 Wendell Ladner (2/17/69)
31 21 Tom Yachinich (12/07/70)
25 21 Wendell Ladner (1/27/69)
36 20 Wendell Ladner (12/29/67)
20 20 Denijay Harris (12/05/24)

Thriller at The Greenhouse
- Southern Miss and Milwaukee played an instant classic in a 66-65 win on Nov. 30
- The Golden Eagles trailed by as many as 11 and were down four with less than a minute to play
- Harris made a clutch three-pointer with 40 seconds left with then gave Alvarez the game-winning play with 3.6 seconds left
- Watson set a screen for the Puerto Rican, who then get to the left side of the hoop for a wide-open layup

The historic offensive outburst
- Southern Miss averaged 88.3 points per game over the first three games for a total of 265 points
- It's the second-highest scoring average over the first three games in the last 25 seasons
- Southern Miss averaged 88.7 points per game to start the 2018-19 season with scoring totals of 111, 74 and 81
- The current offensive output is No. 36 in the country and the best in the Sun Belt

Dipping into the Portal
- The Golden Eagles once again loaded up on veteran talent in the transfer portal after adding four players with Division I experience
- The four additions are DeAntoni Gordon (Little Rock), Christian Watson (Miami), John Wade III (Stanislaus State) and Denijay Harris (Arkansas)
- Gordon brings the beefiest resume after earning All-OVC honors at Little Rock while leading the Trojans in nearly every category at some point during his three-year career. Gordon played his first season of college basketball at Wichita State
- Watson and Harris have both played on the biggest stages during their careers at Miami (Fla.) and Arkansas, respectively. Watson was a member of the Hurricanes' 2022-23 Final Four team and logged minutes in NCAA Tournament
- Wade III had a stop at Cal State Northridge during the 2022-23 season but played at Stanislaus State last season. While at CSUN, Wade III played in only 10 games
- Ladner added Alfred Worrell Jr. comes to Southern Miss after playing JUCO ball at John A. Logan college

The Youngsters are Back
- Brewer Carruth, Jett Montgomery, and Christian Reid are the first freshman Ladner has signed since the 2021-22 season
- Current senior Trey Alfonso was the last freshman Southern Miss had
- Carruth prepped at Parklane Academy in McComb, while Reid played at Mater Lakes Academy. Montgomery enjoyed a standout career at Independence High School, but is no stranger to Southern Miss has his father, Mark, was a standout wide receiver for the Golden Eagles

Season Openers
- Since the 2000-01 season, Southern Miss has won 20 season openers
- The Golden Eagles are 5-1 in season openers under Ladner and have won their last four: Bowling Green, William Carey (2x) and Vanderbilt

Preseason Accolades
- Redshirt senior Andre Curbelo was tabbed Preseason Third Team All-Sun Belt by the league's coaches
- Curbelo appeared in 12 games last season while waiting for a NCAA waiver and later battling injuries
- He recorded the second triple-double in program history when he had 12 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds against Georgia State last season
- Southern Miss was picked to finish fifth in the preseason league poll

60 Years at Reed Green Coliseum
- The 2024-25 season marks the 60th season of Golden Eagle basketball at Reed Green Coliseum
- Southern Miss officially moved into The Greenhouse ahead of the 1965-66 season and played Alabama on Dec. 11 in the arena's dedication game
- The Golde Eagles are 522-239 on their home court and have had three undefeated seasons at Reed Green Coliseum

Single game and season tickets are available via SouthernMissTickets.com, calling 1-800-844-TICK or visiting the Pat Ferlise Ticket Office during normal business hours.

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