HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Southern Miss men's basketball team will play its fourth game in six days on Wednesday night when it battles regional rival South Alabama in Mobile at 7 p.m. CT.
Fans can tune in to action from the Mitchell Center with video streaming from USAJaguars.com or audio from the Southern Miss IMG Sports Network (including Rock 104.5 in Hattiesburg/Laurel) and the USM Gameday app. Updates will also be provided via Twitter (@SouthernMissMBB).
The next home game is Sunday, Dec. 3 at 2 p.m. against Rust College. It will also serve as First Responders' Appreciation Day, where those in the field can receive one complimentary ticket and purchase additional ones at a discounted rate.
South Alabama (4-3) is coming off a last-shot win over New Orleans, 55-52, on Sunday. The Jaguars are led by Rodrick Sikes (15.4 ppg), who made the game-deciding three-pointer and Josh Ajayi (11.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg).
– The well-traveled Golden Eagles are set for their shortest swing of the season after previous multi-day trips to the Bahamas (August), Michigan and South Dakota, with just two home games in between all of it.
– South Alabama took a 78-55 victory in Hattiesburg last year (Nov. 30), helped by a 20-5 run to begin the second half. The Jaguars also snapped Southern Miss’ six-game win streak in the series. Cortez Edwards, still a few weeks away from becoming a starter as a sophomore, had a breakout performance with a then-career-high 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting. Tim Rowe blocked five shots in the contest, the most by a Golden Eagle since Gary Flowers in 2009 against New Orleans.
– Edwards was phenomenal over the weekend, playing all but five of the team’s 120 minutes. He scored 18 points each on Friday and Saturday, then recorded his fourth-career 20-point performance on Sunday.
– Tyree Griffin is the team leader in scoring (16.5 ppg), rebounding (6.2 rpg), assists (5.5 apg), and free-throw attempts (31). He was also named to the Pentagon Showcase All-Tournament team.
– Southern Miss is leading the league in turnover margin (+5.2), winning that battle in each of its six games this year. Included in that feat is a 10-turnover performance at defending Big Ten-champion Michigan and just eight errors against Northern Colorado. The Golden Eagles have also had a positive assist-turnover ratio in four consecutive games, including 37-20 over the previous two. This is the first team in the Doc Sadler era to have a positive assist-turnover ratio for the year.
– Kevin Holland holds the top ranking in C-USA for three-point shooting (61 percent) after a monster weekend in South Dakota. He made his first five three-point attempts against Youngstown State, leading to a career-high 17 points. He also went 5-for-5 from beyond the arc against Tulane on Dec. 10, 2016. He is 11-18 from long-range this season, and he also began the 2016-17 season with an identical mark. Holland, who ended last season with no turnovers in his final 205 minutes, had just one turnover in 94 minutes at the South Dakota tournament.
– The win over Youngstown State was the first for the program on a neutral court since the 2012 C-USA Tournament. The team’s 44.4 percent shooting clip for the season is so far the highest by any Sadler team at Southern Miss.
– Redshirt-junior Anfernee Hampton blew up on the scene with 16 points off the bench against Blue Mountain, hitting four triples in the process, and proved it to be no fluke with another 13 points in 20 minutes against South Dakota. For the season, he is shooting 56 percent and has no turnovers in 77 minutes.
– Of the Golden Eagles’ three losses, South Dakota and Michigan each won its league the previous season, and Northern Colorado swept the Sanford Pentagon Showcase.
Fans can tune in to action from the Mitchell Center with video streaming from USAJaguars.com or audio from the Southern Miss IMG Sports Network (including Rock 104.5 in Hattiesburg/Laurel) and the USM Gameday app. Updates will also be provided via Twitter (@SouthernMissMBB).
The next home game is Sunday, Dec. 3 at 2 p.m. against Rust College. It will also serve as First Responders' Appreciation Day, where those in the field can receive one complimentary ticket and purchase additional ones at a discounted rate.
South Alabama (4-3) is coming off a last-shot win over New Orleans, 55-52, on Sunday. The Jaguars are led by Rodrick Sikes (15.4 ppg), who made the game-deciding three-pointer and Josh Ajayi (11.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg).
– The well-traveled Golden Eagles are set for their shortest swing of the season after previous multi-day trips to the Bahamas (August), Michigan and South Dakota, with just two home games in between all of it.
– South Alabama took a 78-55 victory in Hattiesburg last year (Nov. 30), helped by a 20-5 run to begin the second half. The Jaguars also snapped Southern Miss’ six-game win streak in the series. Cortez Edwards, still a few weeks away from becoming a starter as a sophomore, had a breakout performance with a then-career-high 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting. Tim Rowe blocked five shots in the contest, the most by a Golden Eagle since Gary Flowers in 2009 against New Orleans.
– Edwards was phenomenal over the weekend, playing all but five of the team’s 120 minutes. He scored 18 points each on Friday and Saturday, then recorded his fourth-career 20-point performance on Sunday.
– Tyree Griffin is the team leader in scoring (16.5 ppg), rebounding (6.2 rpg), assists (5.5 apg), and free-throw attempts (31). He was also named to the Pentagon Showcase All-Tournament team.
– Southern Miss is leading the league in turnover margin (+5.2), winning that battle in each of its six games this year. Included in that feat is a 10-turnover performance at defending Big Ten-champion Michigan and just eight errors against Northern Colorado. The Golden Eagles have also had a positive assist-turnover ratio in four consecutive games, including 37-20 over the previous two. This is the first team in the Doc Sadler era to have a positive assist-turnover ratio for the year.
– Kevin Holland holds the top ranking in C-USA for three-point shooting (61 percent) after a monster weekend in South Dakota. He made his first five three-point attempts against Youngstown State, leading to a career-high 17 points. He also went 5-for-5 from beyond the arc against Tulane on Dec. 10, 2016. He is 11-18 from long-range this season, and he also began the 2016-17 season with an identical mark. Holland, who ended last season with no turnovers in his final 205 minutes, had just one turnover in 94 minutes at the South Dakota tournament.
– The win over Youngstown State was the first for the program on a neutral court since the 2012 C-USA Tournament. The team’s 44.4 percent shooting clip for the season is so far the highest by any Sadler team at Southern Miss.
– Redshirt-junior Anfernee Hampton blew up on the scene with 16 points off the bench against Blue Mountain, hitting four triples in the process, and proved it to be no fluke with another 13 points in 20 minutes against South Dakota. For the season, he is shooting 56 percent and has no turnovers in 77 minutes.
– Of the Golden Eagles’ three losses, South Dakota and Michigan each won its league the previous season, and Northern Colorado swept the Sanford Pentagon Showcase.
