Golden Eagles Travel to Arkansas State as Regular Season Nears Finish

Tuesday, February 24

Jonesboro, Ark.

7:30 PM

Southern Miss

Arkansas State

Golden Eagles Travel to Arkansas State as Regular Season Nears Finish

2/23/2026 10:28:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Southern Miss Notes

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Southern Miss (15-14, 8-8 Sun Belt) heads to Arkansas State (18-11, 9-7 Sun Belt) on Tuesday night as the Golden Eagles begin a two-game road trip to end the regular season. Tip-off in Jonesboro is slated for 7:30 p.m. on ESPN+.

Game 30: Southern Miss (15-14, 8-8 Sun Belt) at Arkansas State (18-11, 9-7 Sun Belt)
Tuesday, February 24 at 7:30 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: Southern Miss Radio Network
First National Bank Arena (10,563)

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 coming off an 86-81 win over Old Dominion, where the Golden Eagles erased an 18-point deficit. The comeback win is the fourth-largest in program history, and Jay Ladner's second 18-point comeback win as head coach
- Tylik Weeks has moved into fourth all-time in single-season free throws with 172. He now trails Jeremy Wise, who is in third with 177 makes in the 2008-09 season
- Weeks scored 32 points against Troy on Feb. 14, with 30 of those points coming in the second half. He is the only Golden Eagle to score 30 points in a 20-minute half
-Djahi Binet was named the Sun Belt Player of the Week on Feb. 10 after averaging 24.0 points and 11.0 rebounds in games against Marshall and Kent State
- Southern Miss helped the Sun Belt to a 14-12 win in the MAC-SBC Challenge after beating Kent State, 66-65, on Feb. 7 at Reed Green Coliseum
- Binet became the first player in the Sun Belt this season to have a 30-point, 15-rebound game as he went for 31 points and 15 boards at Marshall on Feb. 4
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Arkansas State is 18-11 on the season and 9-7 in Sun Belt action. The Red Wolves have been winners in five of their last six, while the loss to South Alabama in that stretch was in overtime
- Christian Harmon leads A-State in scoring at 13.1 points per game. Matt Hayman (11.3), Chandler Jackson (10.8), and Joey Chammaa (10.3) all average 10+ points per game. Three other players average between eight and just under 10 points a game
- The Red Wolves rank top-three in the league in assists per game (15.7), bench points (33.9), effective FG% (.529), free throw percentage (74.4), free throws made (17.4), rebound margin (7.9), offensive rebounds (14.1), rebounds per game (40.9), scoring margin (5.5), scoring offense (83.0), and three-point attempts (28.0)
- Chammaa led the way with 21 points in A-State's last game, a 102-94 win over ULM. Seven Red Wolves scored in double figures. Aly Tounkara added 12 rebounds

SERIES HISTORY
- Southern Miss and Arkansas State are slated to meet for the 35th time in the series history
- The series is tied 17-17, with Arkansas State holding an 11-4 edge in Jonesboro
- Arkansas State has won the last four meetings, including a 93-86 win earlier this season in Hattiesburg

Charity Stripe Livin'
- Southern Miss has made a living at the free-throw line this season, making at least 20 free throws in 11 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 45-12 at The Greenhouse since the start of the 2022-23 season and ended the 2025-26 season 10-3
- 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: February 24
- Southern Miss is 11-9 when playing on February 24. The most notable contest was a 79-69 win at Texas State, which clinched the Sun Belt regular season title in 2023. The following year, Southern Miss beat Louisiana in Hattiesburg to win its second-straight on February 24. In 1992, the Golden Eagles blocked a program-record 14 shots against McNeese

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

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