University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss
Tougaloo
11/1/2026 4:32:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The wait is over inside The Greenhouse. Southern Miss men's basketball (0-0) officially opens the 2026-27 season Monday night when the Golden Eagles welcome in-state foe Tougaloo (0-0) to Reed Green Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. CT.
Game Details
Monday, Nov. 2 - 7 p.m. CT
Hattiesburg, Miss. - Reed Green Coliseum
Watch - smttt.info/4ySzM5W
Listen - Southern Miss Sports Network
Live Stats - smttt.info/4itsy2i
Promotion - Schedule Poster Giveaway
After two exhibition tests, Monday marks the first opportunity for Coach Jay Ladner's group to put a result in the record book. Southern Miss used the preseason to work through a roster featuring a mix of returning experience and new faces, with exhibitions against LSU New Orleans and Houston Christian providing the Golden Eagles a pair of live-game opportunities before opening night.
Southern Miss enters the new season with momentum to build from after finishing 19-16 a year ago and making its deepest Sun Belt Tournament run since joining the conference. The Golden Eagles won three straight games in Pensacola to reach the semifinals before their season ended against eventual tournament champion Troy.
Isaac Taveras returns at the center of the Golden Eagle lineup after averaging 15.3 points and 6.8 rebounds while shooting 51.5 percent from the floor last season. The senior was selected as the Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year by the league's head coaches and earned a spot on the Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team. Southern Miss was picked seventh in the preseason poll and received two first-place votes.
Monday also brings Southern Miss back to a place where it has traditionally started seasons well. The Golden Eagles have won 10 consecutive home openers and enter the night with a 69-12 all-time record in home openers. Coach Ladner is a perfect 7-0 in home-opening games at Southern Miss, with six of those victories coming by double figures.
Tougaloo opens its regular season Monday after an October scrimmage against Copiah-Lincoln Community College. The Bulldogs are coming off a 19-10 campaign that included the HBCU Athletic Conference Western Division title and a run to the HBCUAC Championship Game.
Southern Miss owns a 3-0 advantage in the all-time series, with all three meetings played in Hattiesburg. The Golden Eagles won 101-96 in double overtime in the first meeting in 2016 and followed with a 96-77 victory in 2019. The programs met again last November, when Southern Miss earned a 93-57 win at Reed Green Coliseum. Taveras finished that night with 16 points and 10 rebounds for the first double-double of his Southern Miss career.
Monday begins a non-conference schedule that will quickly test the Golden Eagles away from home as well. Once the opener is in the books, Southern Miss turns around for its first road trip of the regular season later in the week.
Up Next
Southern Miss travels to Ames, Iowa, Friday, Nov. 6, to face Iowa State. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT.
For more information and to stay up to date with the Golden Eagles, visit SouthernMiss.com and follow Southern Miss men's basketball on X, Instagram and Facebook at @SouthernMissMBB.
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