Men's Basketball Takes Off for Season Opener at Buffalo

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Southern Miss men's basketball team opens the 2025-26 campaign at Buffalo on Monday night. The contest marks the third-straight season that the Golden Eagles are paired in the MAC-SBC Challenge. The season opener is slated to tip at 5:30 p.m. CT inside Alumni Arena.

Game 1: Southern Miss (0-0, 0-0 Sun Belt) at Buffalo (0-0, 0-0 MAC)

Monday, November 3 at 5:30 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: Southern Miss Radio Network
Alumni Arena (6,100)

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 game will air on ESPN+.

NEWS AND NOTES

- The Golden Eagles enter year seven of Jay Ladner at the helm as the former Southern Miss player guided his squad to a Sun Belt title during the 2022-23 season

- Southern Miss is 53-27 in season openers dating back to the 1945-46 season and has won four-straight

- The Golden Eagles return only four players from last season: Dalyn Brandon, Brewer Carruth, Tegra Izay, Jett Montgomery

- Ladner and Co. brought in 14 newcomers during the offseason: DJahi Binet, Dylan Brumfield, Robert Cowherd, Fallou Diagne, IJ Ezuma, Israel Hart, Blake Lander, Curt Lewis, Felipe Patino, EJ Paymon, Isaac Taveras, Chiant' Tramble, Chandler Watts, Tylik Weeks

- Southern Miss picked up an exhibition win over Jackson State last Monday as the Golden Eagles won 81-71 on the road. Taveras scored 20 points, while Weeks had a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double

- The 2025-26 season marks the 106th season of Southern Miss basketball and the 61st season inside Reed Green Coliseum

- Southern Miss was voted 12th in the preseason poll after finishing in 12th last season in the league standings

ABOUT THE OPPONENT

- Buffalo is coming off a 9-22 season and a 4-14 showing in MAC play. The Bulls' season ended with a n 88-70 loss to Akron in the MAC Tournament opener

- The Bulls return leading scorer Ryan Sabol, who averaged 14.4 points per game and shot 35 percent from 3-point land

- Georga Halcovage III enters his third season in charge of the Bulls after spending 15 years at Villanova as an assistant coach. Buffalo went 4-27 in his first season

- Buffalo follows its game against Southern Miss with another home game on Nov. 7 against Green Bay. The Bulls then hit the road for Chicago as they travel to DePaul on Nov. 11. Four of their first five games are in the friendly confines of Alumni Arena

- The Bulls fell 76-66 to Syracuse in their lone exhibition. Ezra McKenna finished with 18 points and went 4-for-6 from deep. Noah Batchelor had a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double

SERIES HISTORY

- The two meet for the second time after playing in 1995

- Southern Miss won 77-71 in a game played in Logan, Utah

- Former Golden Eagle Anthony Richards led the charge with 15 points, while Kelly McCarty had 10 points and 10 rebounds

NEW YORK STATE OF MIND

- While Southern Miss' record in New York is 2-3, there's one memorable trip that Jay Ladner and The Voice of the Golden Eagles, John Cox, remember very well

- Southern Miss won the 1987 NIT at Madison Square Garden after defeating Nebraska and La Salle where both Ladner and Cox were present

- The last trip to New York was in 1995, when the Golden Eagles played at St. Bonaventure

Southern Miss All-Time in New York
Date	Result	Score	Opponent
3/24/87	W	82-75	Nebraska
3/26/87	W	84-80	La Salle
12/4/92	L	75-103	Syracuse
12/5/92	L	69-78	Marist
3/16/95	L	70-75	St. Bonaventure

ON THIS DAY

Date: November 3

- Southern Miss has never played a game on November 3. It is the earliest game on the season calendar in program history

THE VETERAN OF THE COUNTRY

- Curt Lewis enters the season as one of the oldest players in Division I basketball. The Louisville, Ky., product was born on May 19, 1999

- Below is a list of the oldest players in the country

Ramel Bethea, Green Bay - July 27, 1996
Nginyu Ngala, Kansas - April 3, 1999
Curt Lewis, Southern Miss - May 19, 1999
Ibrahim Olajuwon, FIU - May 26, 1999
Hunter Erickson, Hawaii - September 14, 1999
Bouna Kebe, Delaware - December 24, 1999

LOADED NON-CON SLATE
- Southern Miss has a loaded non-conference slate that includes only five home games
- Notable stops on the road include South Carolina, Miami (Fla.), Radford, and LSU
- Southern Miss will also play Ole Miss at the Coast Coliseum on Dec. 13
- Other non-conference games are Buffalo, Tougaloo, Grambling (two times), William Carey, North Florida, UT Martin/Prairie View A&M and the second MAC-SBC Challenge opponent in February

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

Fans can follow @SouthernMissMBB on social media to get the latest Golden Eagle news.

University of Southern Mississippi Athletics

Men's Basketball Takes Off for Season Opener at Buffalo

Players Mentioned

Dalyn Brandon

Dylan Brumfield

Brewer Carruth

Robert Cowherd

Fallou Diagne

IJ Ezuma

Tegra Izay

Blake Lander

Curt Lewis

Jett Montgomery

Felipe Patino

EJ Paymon

Isaac Taveras

Chandler Watts

Tylik Weeks

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