Golden Eagles Host South Alabama in Key Sun Belt Action

Thursday, February 22

Hattiesburg, Miss.

7 PM

Southern Miss

South Alabama

Tickets

Southern Miss Golden Eagles guard Tate Ryder (55) shots a three point shot in a game between the Southern Miss Golden Eagles and the Western Michigan Broncos in a NCAA Men's Basketball game. February 10, 2024. (Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com)

Photo by: Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com

Golden Eagles Host South Alabama in Key Sun Belt Action

2/21/2024 3:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Southern Miss Game Notes South Alabama Game Notes

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss (15-12, 8-6 Sun Belt) men's basketball opens its final weekend of home games on Thursday night with South Alabama (13-14, 5-9 Sun Belt) at Reed Green Coliseum. The Golden Eagles will get a rematch at 7 p.m. on ESPN+ against the team that ended their Sun Belt Tournament run a year ago.

Game 28: Southern Miss (15-12, 8-6 Sun Belt) vs. South Alabama (13-14, 5-9 Sun Belt)
Thursday, February 22 at 7 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: Southern Miss Radio Network
Reed Green Coliseum (8,095)

The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Lee Roberts (PxP) and Larry Boyd (color) 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
- Andre Curbelo returned from injury against Texas State and scored a career-high 24 points on 8-of-9 shooting
- Austin Crowley became the first Golden Eagle in 10 years to record a double-double in three consecutive games after going for 22 points and 10 rebounds against ULM
- Dating back to the 2022-23 season opener, Southern Miss has won 25 of its last 27 games at Reed Green Coliseum. The Golden Eagles are 13-1 at the Coliseum in Sun Belt play since joining the league
- The last Golden Eagle to record a 30-point, 10-rebound game was Gary Flowers in 2011. Crowley (30p, 11r) did so against Old Dominion and then Victor Iwuakor (31p, 13r) did the same against Western Michigan
- Iwuakor went for a career-best 31 points and 13 rebounds against the Broncos, while also recording three blocks
- Southern Miss' 55.9 percent shooting from the floor against Western Michigan was the best this season and marked the third game this season it's shot at lest 50 percent from the floor
- Iwuakor is five blocks shy of moving into the top-10 for most in a single season by a Golden Eagle
- The 18-point comeback against Troy is the second-biggest at home in program history
- 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 third time this season they reached that number
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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

SCOUTING SOUTH ALABAMA
- South Alabama heads into Thursday's game with a 13-14 overall record and a 5-9 mark in Sun Belt play
- The Jaguars had a three-game winning streak snapped after a 76-73 loss to Arkansas State last Saturday
- Samuel Tabe scored 35 points against Arkansas State and went 15-24 from floor with six rebounds
- South Alabama made a season-high 13 three-pointers in its MAC-SBC Challenge win over Northern Illinois and got five triples from Tyrell Jones • Isiah Gaiter leads the Jaguars in scoring at 13.6 points per game and went for a season-high 29 points against App State

SERIES HISTORY
- Thursday is the 50th meeting between Southern Miss and South Alabama
- The Golden Eagles lead the all-time series 27-22, but have lost the last two against the Jaguars
- Southern Miss is 15-9 in Hattiesburg and won last year's meeting 76-72

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.