SAN ANTONIO – Coming off a win in its non-conference finale on Monday night, UTSA men's basketball will return to action on Thursday, hosting Southern Miss in the middle game of a three-game homestand, with tipoff slated for 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center. The game will be broadcast live on CUSA TV and Ticket 760 AM.
UTSA (7-7, 0-1 Conference USA) wrapped up its non-conference schedule on Monday with an impromptu game vs. Dallas Christian, which replaced a cancelled contest vs. Our Lady of the Lake from Dec. 22. The Roadrunners flew past DCC, holding the Crusaders to a program low for points in the first half, with a 55-12 margin. UTSA had five players reach double figures in the win, nailed 17 3-pointers and saw all 11 players who saw action score.
The Roadrunners are coming off a loss in their conference lid-lifter last Saturday at preseason league favorite UAB, as the Blazers posted an 87-59 win, shooting 49.2 percent and holding UTSA to a 34.9 percent clip from the field.
UTSA has averaged 69.7 points, 40.9 rebounds, 11.6 assists, 6.4 steals and 3.2 blocks per game as a team, shooting 38.4 percent from the field and 28.5 percent from range. Opponents are shooting 44 percent from the field and 34.3 percent from 3-point distance.
The Roadrunners head into the matchup with USM as the No. 3 ranked offensive rebounding per game team in the NCAA and as the tops in C-USA. UTSA also ranks 19th in the NCAA in total rebounds.
Junior guard Dhieu Deing leads the team with 15.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, while junior center Jacob Germany sports 14.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Jordan Ivy-Curry averages 13.9 points and 2.4 rebounds per game, while senior forward Cedrick Alley Jr. chips in a team-leading 7.2 rebounds and 9.4 points per game. Guard Darius McNeill averages 4.7 points and 1.8 rebounds per game.
The all-time series with Southern Miss is even 7-7, with UTSA owning all of its wins in San Antonio and going 0-7 in games played in Hattiesburg, Miss. UTSA and Southern Miss met twice last year in San Antonio, both UTSA wins and the Roadrunners have won three straight meetings in the series. In the last meeting in 2020-21, UTSA held onto a 42-36 halftime lead behind the strength of four players in double figures, including a 24-point game from Jhivvan Jackson. Jordan Ivy-Curry went for 14, while Keaton Wallace added 12 and Jacob Germany had 13 points and eight rebounds. UTSA shot 39.1 percent in the win, but went 13 of 34 from deep, with the Eagles shooting 46.9 percent from the field. LaDavius Draine had a team-leading 19 points for Southern Miss.
Southern Miss, led by third-year head coach Jay Ladner – a 1988 graduate of the Golden Eagles – has been idle since Dec. 21, a one-point loss at East Carolina. The Golden Eagles have had their two games last week – against Western Kentucky and Marshall – postponed due to COVID-19 concerns in their program. USM enters the matchup with UTSA having lost six straight games, including setbacks at Montana, South Alabama, Southern Illinois, Jacksonville, ULM and ECU.
The Golden Eagles have averaged 61.3 points, 35 rebounds, 12.6 assists, 5.0 steals and 3.0 blocks per game as a team. USM has shot 42.7 percent from the field and 32.5 percent from 3-point range, with opponents shooting 41.8 percent and 34.0 percent from deep.
Tae Hardy leads the team with 13.7 points per game, playing in seven of 12 games with four starts. Isaih Moore, a 6-foot-1 junior, averages 12.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while All-Conference USA contender Tyler Stevenson chips in 12.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, third-best in the league. Jaron Pierre Jr. averages 8.6 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. Six-foot guard Walyn Napper – who teamed with UTSA's Dhieu Deing on Dodge City last year – has averaged 5.7 points per game.
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