Southern Miss men’s basketball opens Sun Belt Conference era with a win over Troy
La Familia.
Southern Miss’ whirling turnaround in the 2022-23 season is no accident. A revamped roster and a bolstered coaching staff have come together under a new team phrase that encapsulates an energy that coach Jay Ladner’s team is exuding.
The Golden Eagles (12-2, 1-0) have won more non-conference games this year than the previous two combined, and proved their product Thursday by defeating Troy, 64-60, in the opener of USM’s inaugural season in the Sun Belt Conference.
Southern Miss did it with contributions from Ole Miss import Austin Crowley (17 points), graduate transfer Felipe Haase (16) and fourth-year veteran Denijay Harris (12).
The Golden Eagles started 1-0 in league play last year before dropping 17 Conference USA games in a row to end the regular season. According to Harris, this group is different. It’s La Familia.
“It was like family from day one, guys were actually bonding,” Harris said after the game. “Wanted to be around each other... It started off the court and everything just led onto the court.”
The glue between each player shows up in grinding team victories, such as the four-point win over Liberty in which the Eagles had to recover from a 26-0 second-half run by the Flames.
It showed again against Troy in a game that didn’t see a Golden Eagle hit a three until Haase buried a corner triple at the 7:45 mark in the second half.
“It gives you some different type of hope,” Haase said of his team’s ability to win despite shooting 2-for-16 from deep. “We know in future games if we’re not shooting the ball well, we still have it in the back of our mind that we can still win and play at a good level without making the three ball.”
Southern Miss forced 16 Troy turnovers and held the Trojans to 34.5 percent shooting from the field. All five starters pulled in at least six rebounds and Crowley made off with five steals.
“One of the things that we try to stress on the defensive side, is that can be our equalizer,” Ladner said. “If we’ll defend, then we’ll have a chance in every game that we play. If we defend and rebound and those were the two things we did well, tonight.”
Hooping under the Sun
Southern Miss’ sudden resurgence couldn’t come at a better time as it begins life within a newly shaped Sun Belt. The top three teams in the conference on KenPom.com are all newcomers, with USM coming in at No. 3.
Ladner hopes to use the opportunity to recreate the “old magic” of Reed Green Coliseum, hearkening back to a time when USM won 20-plus games each year from 2010 to 2014.
The building saw a season-high 3,265 fans in attendance for a game played while the students were still on break.
“That old Reed Green, M.K. Turk magic is beginning to come back and that’s exciting,” Ladner said. “I want our players to experience that and they’re beginning to feel it, too.”
It’s a magic the Troy program is all too uncomfortably familiar with as the Trojans are now 0-16 when playing beneath the Black-and-Gold seats.
Troy will have its opportunities now that the two are formally rivals vying for the same title, and it’s exactly how Ladner wants it. Specifically, the chance to bring engaging hoops to fans in Hattiesburg and on the road against other regional opponents.
“When we would go play (Louisiana) at Lafayette... we would take a huge crowd there,” Ladner said. “We would take a huge crowd to (South Alabama) and vice versa. Now we’re playing them in a league and that resonates with our fan base... I don’t know if our fans ever got engaged with (Conference USA basketball), it was just hard. Plus the Sun Belt is really good.”
A year ago it seemed an unfortunate time for USM basketball to transition into a new conference. Southern Miss was even picked 14th by SBC coaches before the season began. The Golden Eagles have flipped the script, though, and showed Thursday they can immediately compete in the SBC.
“I think we have an opportunity to be a major contributor to the league in basketball,” athletic director Jeremy McClain said. “Although we’ve struggled the last few years, I think what we’ve done in non-conference shows you that this is a place where you can win in basketball. We’re trying to do the things necessary to make the right investments to continue to grow and get better.”
Southern Miss will return to action on Saturday when it hosts App State. The Mountaineers are coming off a 79-53 loss to Marshall, one of the the other four additions to the league.
This story was originally published December 29, 2022 at 11:12 PM.
