# 2019–20 Southern Miss Golden Eagles basketball team

The 2019–20 Southern Miss Golden Eagles men's basketball team represented the University of Southern Mississippi during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Golden Eagles, led by first-year head coach Jay Ladner, played their home games at Reed Green Coliseum in Hattiesburg, Mississippi as members of Conference USA.

## Previous season

The Golden Eagles finished the 2018–19 season 20–13, 11–7 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for third place. They defeated Marshall in the quarterfinals before losing to Western Kentucky in the semifinals of the C-USA tournament. They were invited to the College Basketball Invitational where they lost to Longwood in the first round.
Doc Sadler resigned on April 11 after 5 seasons at Southern Miss. Under Sadler, the Golden Eagles went 56–94 overall, but this season was their best under Sadler, in which the team went 20–13 overall and finished tied for 2nd in conference play. The following day, new Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg announced he had hired Sadler, a former Cornhuskers head coach who had spent a season on Hoiberg's staff at Iowa State, as an assistant. The school hired Southeastern Louisiana head coach and fellow alumnus Jay Ladner as their new head coach on April 17.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Dominic Magee | 0 | G | 6'4" | 190 | RS Senior | Harvey, LA | Graduated |
| Cortez Edwards | 1 | G | 6'2" | 180 | Senior | Kissimmee, FL | Graduated |
| Shakur Daniel | 2 | G | 6'5" | 175 | Freshman | Toronto, ON | Transferred to Ranger College |
| Christian Clark | 4 | G | 6'0" | 175 | RS Junior | Hattiesburg, MS | Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons |
| Tim Rowe | 12 | F | 6'11" | 220 | Senior | Lilburn, GA | Graduated |
| Kevin Holland | 20 | G | 6'1" | 187 | RS Senior | Tuscaloosa, AL | Graduated |
| Anfernee Hampton | 21 | G | 6'5" | 170 | RS Senior | Jackson, MS | Walk-on; graduated |
| LaDarius Marshall | 23 | F | 6'5" | 205 | Freshman | Jackson, MS | Transferred to Hinds CC |
| Tyree Griffin | 55 | G | 5'10" | 175 | RS Senior | New Orleans, LA | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Denijay Harris | 1 | G/F | 6'7" | 195 | Freshman | Columbus, MS | Junior college transferred from Southwest Mississippi CC |
| David McCoy | 4 | G | 6'0" | | Sophomore | Meridian, MS | Junior college transferred from Jones County JC. Will join the team as a walk-on. |
| Jay Malone | 10 | G | 6'1" | 175 | RS Sophomore | Meridian, MS | Junior college transferred from Southwest Mississippi CC |
| Bill Muse | 22 | G | 6'2" | 185 | RS Senior | Muskogee, OK | Transferred from Coastal Carolina. Will be eligible to play immediately since Muse graduated from Coastal Carolina. Will join the team as a walk-on. |
| Jarrod Rigby | 25 | G | 6'0" | 160 | RS Senior | Bay St. Louis, MS | Transferred from Southeastern Louisiana. Will be eligible to play immediately since Rigby graduated from Southeastern Louisiana. Will join the team as a walk-on. |
| Isaiah Jones | 44 | F | 6'8" | | RS Junior | Phoenix, AZ | Junior college transferred from Connors State College |

## Recruiting class of 2019

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Angel Smith SG | Fort Lauderdale, FL | Northeast High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Jul 19, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Jeffery Armstrong PG | Rainsville, AL | Massanutten Military Academy | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 125 lb (57 kg) | Jun 12, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Auston Leslie SG | Huntsville, AL | Westminster Christian Academy | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Jun 12, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Hunter Dean C | Mandeville, LA | Lakeshore High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Apr 29, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Artur Konontsuk PF | Pärnu, Estonia | Get Better Academy | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Aug 8, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Opponent | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||
| October 29, 2019* 7:00 pm | Mississippi College | W 73–68 | | Reed Green Coliseum Hattiesburg, MS |
| Non-conference regular season |||||
| November 5, 2019* 7:00 pm | Delta State | W 90–71 | 1–0 | Reed Green Coliseum (2,824) Hattiesburg, MS |
| November 9, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | at South Alabama | L 69–75 | 1–1 | Mitchell Center (1,893) Mobile, AL |
| November 14, 2019* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | at North Florida | L 63–66 | 1–2 | UNF Arena (2,058) Jacksonville, FL |
| November 19, 2019* 7:00 pm | at Iowa State Battle 4 Atlantis campus-site game | L 45–73 | 1–3 | Hilton Coliseum (13,810) Ames, IA |
| November 24, 2019* 2:00 pm | William Carey | W 83–64 | 2–3 | Reed Green Coliseum (2,635) Hattiesburg, MS |
| November 27, 2019* 6:00 pm, ESPNU | vs. No. 8 Gonzaga Battle 4 Atlantis quarterfinals | L 69–94 | 2–4 | Imperial Arena (1,459) Nassau, Bahamas |
| November 28, 2019* 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | vs. No. 13 Seton Hall Battle 4 Atlantis consolation 2nd round | L 56–81 | 2–5 | Imperial Arena (1,204) Nassau, Bahamas |
| November 30, 2019* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | vs. Alabama Battle 4 Atlantis 7th place game | L 68–83 | 2–6 | Imperial Arena (1,159) Nassau, Bahamas |
| December 4, 2019* 7:00 pm | Tulane | L 56–61 | 2–7 | Reed Green Coliseum (3,668) Hattiesburg, MS |
| December 7, 2019* 2:00 pm | Southern Illinois | W 72–69 | 3–7 | Reed Green Coliseum (2,009) Hattiesburg, MS |
| December 14, 2019* 2:00 pm | North Florida | L 69–72 | 3–8 | Reed Green Coliseum (2,380) Hattiesburg, MS |
| December 16, 2019* 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | at No. 24 Texas Tech | L 65–71 | 3–9 | United Supermarkets Arena (12,290) Lubbock, TX |
| December 21, 2019* 2:00 pm | Tougaloo | W 96–77 | 4–9 | Reed Green Coliseum (2,408) Hattiesburg, MS |
| Conference USA regular season |||||
| December 30, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | Louisiana Tech | L 49–80 | 4–10 (0–1) | Reed Green Coliseum (3,005) Hattiesburg, MS |
| January 4, 2020 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | at Louisiana Tech | L 50–78 | 4–11 (0–2) | Thomas Assembly Center (2,341) Ruston, LA |
| January 9, 2020 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | at UTEP | L 64–76 | 4–12 (0–3) | Don Haskins Center (4,622) El Paso, TX |
| January 11, 2020 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | at UTSA | L 70–80 | 4–13 (0–4) | Convocation Center (1,095) San Antonio, TX |
| January 16, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | North Texas | L 52–72 | 4–14 (0–5) | Reed Green Coliseum Hattiesburg, MS |
| January 18, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | Rice | W 81–68 | 5–14 (1–5) | Reed Green Coliseum (3,571) Hattiesburg, MS |
| January 23, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | at UAB | W 84–77 | 6–14 (2–5) | Bartow Arena (2,705) Birmingham, AL |
| January 25, 2020 5:00 pm | at Middle Tennessee | L 63–65 | 6–15 (2–6) | Murphy Center (3,523) Murfreesboro, TN |
| January 30, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | Old Dominion | L 58–68 | 6–16 (2–7) | Reed Green Coliseum (2,889) Hattiesburg, MS |
| February 1, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | Charlotte | W 74–68 $^{OT}$ | 7–16 (3–7) | Reed Green Coliseum (3,840) Hattiesburg, MS |
| February 6, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | at Marshall | L 58–72 | 7–17 (3–8) | Cam Henderson Center (5,528) Huntington, WV |
| February 8, 2020 6:30 pm, Stadium | at Western Kentucky | L 72–75 | 7–18 (3–9) | E. A. Diddle Arena (6,170) Bowling Green, KY |
| February 13, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | Florida Atlantic | W 68–66 | 8–18 (4–9) | Reed Green Coliseum Hattiesburg, MS |
| February 15, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | FIU | W 75–67 | 9–18 (5–9) | Reed Green Coliseum (4,059) Hattiesburg, MS |
| February 22, 2020 12:00 pm, ESPN3 | Middle Tennessee | L 53–61 | 9–19 (5–10) | Reed Green Coliseum (3,203) Hattiesburg, MS |
| March 1, 2020 3:00 pm, CUSA.tv | at UTEP | L 56–75 | 9–20 (5–11) | Don Haskins Center (4,975) El Paso, TX |
| March 4, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | Rice | L 57–72 | 9–21 (5–12) | Reed Green Coliseum (3,065) Hattiesburg, MS |
| March 7, 2020 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Middle Tennessee | L 62-65 $^{OT}$ | 9-22 (5-13) | Murphy Center Murfreesboro, TN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time Source. |||||