Men's Basketball Hosts Rival Louisiana in Sun Belt Opener

Thursday, December 18

Hattiesburg, Miss.

7:30 PM

Southern Miss

Louisiana

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Men's Basketball Hosts Rival Louisiana in Sun Belt Opener

12/17/2025 9:32:00 AM | Men's Basketball

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HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Sun Belt play opens for Southern Miss (6-5, 0-0 Sun Belt) men's basketball on Thursday night as the Golden Eagles host Louisiana (1-10, 0-0 Sun Belt) at Reed Green Coliseum for a 7:30 p.m. tip.

Game 12: Southern Miss (6-5, 0-0 Sun Belt) vs. Louisiana (1-10, 0-0 Sun Belt)

Thursday, December 18 at 7:30 p.m. CT

TV: ESPN+ | Radio: Southern Miss Radio Network

Reed Green Coliseum (8,095)

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+ with Lee Roberts (pxp) and Larry Boyd (color).

NEWS AND NOTES

- Tylik Weeks posted his first career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds against Ole Miss — the rebound total was a career best

- The Golden Eagles picked up a 68-60 win over Grambling on last Monday, with Southern Miss coming back from a halftime deficit

- Weeks was named the Sun Belt Player of the Week as he took home MVP honors at the Pensacola Invitational

- Outside of an 11-point deficit at the half against North Florida, Southern Miss dominated the Pensacola Invitational and took home its second MTE title under Jay Ladner

- Weeks scored 37 points in the win over North Florida, which was the 11th-most in program history and the second-most by any Sun Belt player since the 2022-23 season

- Southern Miss fell on the road at South Carolina on Nov. 9 as the Gamecocks used a three-point barrage to finish the comeback in overtime. Weeks dropped a career-high 20 points, while Taveras scored 25 and Israel Hart had 17

- Felipe Patino went off for 18 points on six three-pointers in the win over Tougaloo on Nov. 6. Taveras produced a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double and Israel Hart had 11 points

- 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, Chiante' Tramble, Chandler Watts, Tylik Weeks

- 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

- The Ragin' Cajuns have lost nine straight as they are off to a 1-10 start in Quannas White's first season at the helm. Louisiana's lone win was a 58-52 victory over Southeastern Louisiana on Nov. 7

- Louisiana is coming off a 65-44 loss at LA Tech last Saturday. Dorian Finister led the Cajuns in scoring with 14 points. Finister is averaging 11.5 points per game as the only player to start all 11 games this season

- Jaxon Olvera leads Louisiana in scoring at 12.4 points per contest. Olvera and Finister are both averaging a team-best 4.5 rebounds per game

- Louisiana's 66 points scored against Stanford was a season high. Louisiana has 13 new players on the roster and nine hail from the state of Louisiana

- The Ragin' Cajuns rank last in the Sun Belt scoring offense (56.2) and scoring margin (-14.9). They rank fourth in scoring defense (71.1), 13th in field goal percentage (.376) and opponent field goal percentage (.455)

SERIES HISTORY

- Thursday's meeting is the 63rd all-time between the two schools, which includes a 13-year gap from 2009-22 of not playing

- The Cajuns took the first meeting in 1948 and won the next four after that. Southern Miss' first win over Louisiana was in 1952 in Hattiesburg

- The two teams are tied 3-3 since Southern Miss joined the Sun Belt ahead of the 2022-23 season. Last year, they split the series as the road team won each game

HOME SWEET REED GREEN

- Southern Miss is 38-9 at The Greenhouse since the start of the 2022-23 season

- Southern Miss moved to 69-12 in home openers dating back to the 1956-56 season when the Golden Eagles fell to Louisiana Tech

- The first home-opening win for Southern Miss was against Tyndall Field (Fla.) to open the 1947-48 season

- The Golden Eagles are now 7-0 in home openers under Jay Ladner, while six of those have been double-digit wins

ON THIS DAY

Date: December 18

- Southern Miss is 18-8 on Dec. 18. The last time the Golden Eagles played on this day was in 2023, when they beat Lamar by three on the road. The year prior, Southern Miss cruised to an 86-67 win over McNeese at RGC. In 2004, Southern Miss outlasted LSU in an overtime battle to win 88-84 in Biloxi. The first contest on Dec. 18 was a 57-52 win over North Texas in 1950

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.