HATTIESBURG — The Southern Miss basketball team continued its preparations on Tuesday for Wednesday's first-round NIT game against Charleston Southern.
The game is set for an 8:15 p.m. first tip on Wednesday and can be seen on ESPN3.com.
A little over 2,800 tickets had been sold for Wednesday's game as of Tuesday evening, and that's not including student ticket sales. USM coach Donnie Tyndall has already bought 1,000 tickets for students, and that's not included in that number.
I'm guessing we'll see a crowd of close to 4,500 on Wednesday.
USM senior forward Jonathan Mills said Tuesday that he believes the team has moved past the disappointment of not making the NCAA Tournament.
"I feel we've responded well," Mills said. "The first day, we had a great practice. We came in today and had a good practice. I feel like we're over it. We didn't give in. We just moved on. we're just looking forward to the NIT."
If the Golden Eagles win, they will host Louisiana Tech this weekend in the second round after the Bulldogs won at Florida State, 71-66 Tuesday night.
Louisiana Tech beat USM, 65-55, in Ruston, La., earlier this season.
Charleston Southern is 19-12 and employs a scheme that usually includes four guards on the court at all time. The Buccaneers average 9.1 3-pointers a game.
