University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Saturday, January 31
Hattiesburg, Miss.
2 PM
Southern Miss
vs
James Madison
Southern Miss and James Madison Set to Square Off in Saturday Matinee at The Greenhouse
1/30/2026 6:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Southern Miss (11-12, 5-6 Sun Belt) welcomes James Madison (11-11, 4-6 Sun Belt) to Reed Green Coliseum on Saturday afternoon as the Golden Eagles are looking to snap a five-game losing skid. The Golden Eagles and Dukes will tip at 2 p.m. on ESPN+ and the Southern Miss Radio Network.
Game 24: Southern Miss (11-12, 5-6 Sun Belt) vs. James Madison (11-11, 4-6 Sun Belt)
Saturday, January 31 at 2 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
- Southern Miss is off to a 5-6 start in league play after starting 5-1. The Golden Eagles have lost four-straight road games to Troy, Texas State, Georgia State, and Coastal Carolina. They also lost a home outing to App State on Thursday night
- Southern Miss limited its turnover number to a season-low seven at Coastal Carolina on Jan. 24
- Southern Miss picked up two wins in its first Sun Belt road trip, which is its best start in league play on the road in over 10 seasons
- Tylik Weeks is third in the league in scoring at 17.8 points per game, while Dylan Brumfield is 12.1 points per game in Sun Belt action
- Southern Miss won its Sun Belt opener against Louisiana, 62-54, in a low-scoring affair. Israel Hart dropped a season-best 17 points in the win
- Weeks posted his first career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds against Ole Miss — the rebound total was a career best
- 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
- 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
- James Madison welcomes 12 new players to its roster for the 2025-26 season, bringing in 10 transfer players and two freshmen. Eddie Ricks III and Justin Taylor are the lone returnees for the Dukes
-The Dukes are 11-11 and 3-9 on the road. They are coming off a win at first-place Troy on Thursday night. Cliff Davis scored 23 points as he went 5-for11 from deep. Ricks and Bradley Douglas joined Davis in double figures with 12 points and 14 points, respectively
- Justin McBride leads JMU in scoring at 16.7 points per game and is averaging 5.6 boards per game. Douglas (13.0) and Davis (13.2) are both averaging 10-plus points per contest
- Ricks leads the team in rebounding at 6.2 rebounds per game. He pulled down a season-high 12 boards in a non-conference game against Longwood
- James Madison ranks top-three in the Sun Belt in blocks per game (4.7), effective FG percentage (.527), and three-point percentage (.336)
SERIES HISTORY
- Saturday's meeting is the fourth all-time contest between the two. It's the first in Hattiesburg since the 2024 season, when James Madison was ranked in the AP Poll
- James Madison won the last outing, winning 83-72 in Harrisonburg last season
- Southern Miss cruised to an 83-70 win over the Dukes in the first-ever meeting in 2023
Charity Stripe Livin'
- Southern Miss has made a living at the free-throw line this season, making at least 20 free throws in seven games. The last time Southern Miss made at least 20 free throws in that many games was during the 2013-14 season, when it happened in 24 games
- A season-high 27 free throws were made in the win at Radford, while the Golden Eagles had 32 attempts in that game
- The 27 freebies were the most by a Jay Ladner-coached Southern Miss team. The top four of the Ladner era are all from this season
HOME SWEET REED GREEN
- Southern Miss is 41-11 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 Golden Eagles are 7-0 in home openers under Jay Ladner, while six of those have been double-digit wins
ON THIS DAY
Date: January 31
- Southern Miss is 19-6 on January 31. Ronnie Malone holds the record for most individual points on this date as he scored 34 in 1974 against Georgia Tech. The first-ever January 31 game was against Louisiana College in 1947, which was a 54-42 win. The last outing on this day was in 2024, when Southern Miss fell by seven at Arkansas State
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 had a loaded non-conference slate that includes only five home games
- Notable stops on the road included South Carolina, Miami (Fla.), Radford, and LSU. The Golden Eagles also played Ole Miss at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum
- Other non-conference games were Buffalo, Tougaloo, Grambling (two times), William Carey, North Florida, UT Martin/Prairie View A&M, and Kent State the second MAC-SBC Challenge 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.
Game 24: Southern Miss (11-12, 5-6 Sun Belt) vs. James Madison (11-11, 4-6 Sun Belt)
Saturday, January 31 at 2 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
- Southern Miss is off to a 5-6 start in league play after starting 5-1. The Golden Eagles have lost four-straight road games to Troy, Texas State, Georgia State, and Coastal Carolina. They also lost a home outing to App State on Thursday night
- Southern Miss limited its turnover number to a season-low seven at Coastal Carolina on Jan. 24
- Southern Miss picked up two wins in its first Sun Belt road trip, which is its best start in league play on the road in over 10 seasons
- Tylik Weeks is third in the league in scoring at 17.8 points per game, while Dylan Brumfield is 12.1 points per game in Sun Belt action
- Southern Miss won its Sun Belt opener against Louisiana, 62-54, in a low-scoring affair. Israel Hart dropped a season-best 17 points in the win
- Weeks posted his first career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds against Ole Miss — the rebound total was a career best
- 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
- 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
- James Madison welcomes 12 new players to its roster for the 2025-26 season, bringing in 10 transfer players and two freshmen. Eddie Ricks III and Justin Taylor are the lone returnees for the Dukes
-The Dukes are 11-11 and 3-9 on the road. They are coming off a win at first-place Troy on Thursday night. Cliff Davis scored 23 points as he went 5-for11 from deep. Ricks and Bradley Douglas joined Davis in double figures with 12 points and 14 points, respectively
- Justin McBride leads JMU in scoring at 16.7 points per game and is averaging 5.6 boards per game. Douglas (13.0) and Davis (13.2) are both averaging 10-plus points per contest
- Ricks leads the team in rebounding at 6.2 rebounds per game. He pulled down a season-high 12 boards in a non-conference game against Longwood
- James Madison ranks top-three in the Sun Belt in blocks per game (4.7), effective FG percentage (.527), and three-point percentage (.336)
SERIES HISTORY
- Saturday's meeting is the fourth all-time contest between the two. It's the first in Hattiesburg since the 2024 season, when James Madison was ranked in the AP Poll
- James Madison won the last outing, winning 83-72 in Harrisonburg last season
- Southern Miss cruised to an 83-70 win over the Dukes in the first-ever meeting in 2023
Charity Stripe Livin'
- Southern Miss has made a living at the free-throw line this season, making at least 20 free throws in seven games. The last time Southern Miss made at least 20 free throws in that many games was during the 2013-14 season, when it happened in 24 games
- A season-high 27 free throws were made in the win at Radford, while the Golden Eagles had 32 attempts in that game
- The 27 freebies were the most by a Jay Ladner-coached Southern Miss team. The top four of the Ladner era are all from this season
HOME SWEET REED GREEN
- Southern Miss is 41-11 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 Golden Eagles are 7-0 in home openers under Jay Ladner, while six of those have been double-digit wins
ON THIS DAY
Date: January 31
- Southern Miss is 19-6 on January 31. Ronnie Malone holds the record for most individual points on this date as he scored 34 in 1974 against Georgia Tech. The first-ever January 31 game was against Louisiana College in 1947, which was a 54-42 win. The last outing on this day was in 2024, when Southern Miss fell by seven at Arkansas State
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 had a loaded non-conference slate that includes only five home games
- Notable stops on the road included South Carolina, Miami (Fla.), Radford, and LSU. The Golden Eagles also played Ole Miss at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum
- Other non-conference games were Buffalo, Tougaloo, Grambling (two times), William Carey, North Florida, UT Martin/Prairie View A&M, and Kent State the second MAC-SBC Challenge 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.
Players Mentioned
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