# 2023–24 Southern Miss Golden Eagles basketball team

The 2023–24 Southern Miss Golden Eagles basketball team represented the University of Southern Mississippi during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team, led by fifth-year head coach Jay Ladner, played their home games at Reed Green Coliseum in Hattiesburg, Mississippi as second-year members of the Sun Belt Conference. They finished the season 16–16, 9–9 in Sun Belt play, to finish in sixth place. As the No. 6 seed in the Sun Belt tournament, they lost to Texas State in the second round.

## Previous season

The Golden Eagles finished the 2022–23 season 25–8, 14–4 in Sun Belt play, to finish first in the conference. They would lose to South Alabama in the first round of the Sun Belt tournament.

## Preseason
### Preseason Sun Belt Conference poll

The Golden Eagles were picked to finish in fourth place in the conference's preseason poll. Senior guard Austin Crowley was named the preseason player of the year. Senior guard Austin Crowley was named to the preseason All-SBC First Team.
Coaches poll :
| Predicted finish | Team (1st-place votes) |
| 1 | James Madison – 176 (7) |
| 2 | App State – 159 (2) |
| 3 | Old Dominion – 154 (1) |
| 4 | Southern Miss – 148 |
| 5 | Louisiana – 136 (2) |
| 6 | South Alabama – 129 (2) |
| 7 | Marshall – 119 |
| 8 | Troy – 91 |
| 9 | Arkansas State – 84 |
| 10 | Texas State – 72 |
| 11 | Georgia State – 69 |
| 12 | Coastal Carolina – 59 |
| 13 | Georgia Southern – 42 |
| 14 | ULM – 32 |

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 24, 2023* 7:00 p.m. | | Delta State | W 101–65 | | – | – | – | Reed Green Coliseum Hattiesburg, MS |
| October 29, 2023* 2:00 p.m. | | Mississippi State Charity exhibition game | L 54–60 | | – | – | – | Reed Green Coliseum Hattiesburg, MS |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2023* 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | William Carey | W 64–42 | 1–0 | 19 – Crowley | 10 – Crowley | 3 – Crowley | Reed Green Coliseum (4,360) Hattiesburg, MS |
| November 10, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Akron MAC–SBC Challenge | L 54–72 | 1–2 | 17 – Crowley | 7 – Arnold | 7 – Arnold | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,432) Akron, OH |
| November 15, 2023* 7:30 p.m. | | Xavier (LA) | W 76–45 | 2–1 | 11 – tied | 7 – Montgomery | 5 – Crowley | Reed Green Coliseum (4,094) Hattiesburg, MS |
| November 19, 2023* 12:00p.m., PassThaBall Live | | vs. Utah Valley Jacksonville Classic semifinals | L 65–67 | 2–2 | 18 – Hart | 5 – tied | 4 – Crowley | Flagler Gymnasium (311) St. Augustine, FL |
| November 20, 2023* 12:00p.m., PassThaBall Live | | vs. Cal State Fullerton Jacksonville Classic consolation | L 67–74 | 2–3 | 13 – Hart | 10 – Izay | 4 – Crowley | Flagler Gymnasium (221) St. Augustine, FL |
| November 22, 2023* 7:00p.m., ESPN+ | | South Dakota State | L 54–65 | 2–4 | 18 – Crowley | 10 – Hart | 2 – tied | Reed Green Coliseum (3,945) Hattiesburg, MS |
| November 25, 2023* 1:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Milwaukee | W 90–84 | 3–4 | 32 – Ivory | 11 – Izat | 4 – Crowley | Klotsche Center (1,695) Milwaukee, WI |
| December 1, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UAB | W 85–82 | 4–4 | 26 – Hart | 11 – Iwuako | 6 – Crowley | Bartow Arena (3,336) Birmingham, AL |
| December 9, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Northwestern State | W 83–74 | 5–4 | 18 – Iwuako | 12 – Hart | 7 – Crowley | Reed Green Coliseum (3,699) Hattiesburg, MS |
| December 13, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at McNeese | L 48–67 | 5–5 | 12 – tied | 14 – Izay | 3 – tied | The Legacy Center (3,494) Lake Charles, LA |
| December 18, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Lamar | W 82–79 | 6–5 | 22 – Crowley | 9 – Izay | 6 – tied | Neches Arena (1,122) Beaumont, TX |
| December 23, 2023* 1:00 p.m. | | vs. No. 25 Ole Miss | L 72–89 | 6–6 | 15 – Montgomery | 11 – Hart | 2 – tied | Mississippi Coast Coliseum Biloxi, MS |
| Sun Belt Conference regular season |||||||||
| December 30, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Georgia Southern | L 67–88 | 6–7 (0–1) | 18 – Curbelo | 7 – Curbelo | 3 – Curbelo | Hanner Fieldhouse (1,208) Statesboro, GA |
| January 4, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Georgia State | W 79–73 | 7–7 (1–1) | 25 – Crowley | 10 – Curbelo | 11 – Curbelo | Reed Green Coliseum (3,733) Hattiesburg, MS |
| January 6, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | No. 19 James Madison | W 81–71 | 8–7 (2–1) | 16 – Hart | 8 – Crowley | 9 – Curbelo | Reed Green Coliseum (4,107) Hattiesburg, MS |
| January 11, 2024 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Louisiana–Monroe | W 71–58 | 9–7 (3–1) | 22 – Ivory | 14 – Hart | 3 – tied | Fant-Ewing Coliseum (1,249) Monroe, LA |
| January 13, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Troy | L 56–82 | 9–8 (3–2) | 14 – Crowley | 6 – tied | 3 – tied | Trojan Arena (4,121) Troy, AL |
| January 17, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Arkansas State | W 69–66 | 10–8 (4–2) | 25 – Crowley | 11 – Arnold | 3 – Crowley | Reed Green Coliseum (4,583) Hattiesburg, MS |
| January 20, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Troy | W 64–63 | 11–8 (5–2) | 20 – Ivory | 8 – Iwuakor | 5 – Crowley | Reed Green Coliseum (5,587) Hattiesburg, MS |
| January 24, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Coastal Carolina | W 79–63 | 12–8 (6–2) | 28 – Ivory | 8 – Montgomery | 7 – tied | HTC Center (1,489) Conway, SC |
| January 27, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Marshall | L 67–83 | 12–9 (6–3) | 18 – Crowley | 8 – Ivory | 5 – Ivory | Cam Henderson Center (4,697) Huntington, WV |
| January 31, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Arkansas State | L 71–78 | 12–10 (6–4) | 17 – tied | 12 – Iwuakor | 3 – tied | First National Bank Arena (2,032) Jonesboro, AR |
| February 3, 2024 4:15 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Texas State | L 55–60 | 12–11 (6–5) | 16 – Crowley | 7 – Iwuakor | 2 – tied | Strahan Arena (1,907) San Marcos, TX |
| February 7, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Old Dominion | W 78–73 | 13–11 (7–5) | 30 – Crowley | 11 – tied | 4 – Arnold | Reed Green Coliseum (3,927) Hattiesburg, MS |
| February 10, 2024* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Western Michigan MAC–SBC Challenge | W 86–54 | 14–11 | 31 – Iwuakor | 13 – Iwuakor | 10 – Crowley | Reed Green Coliseum (3,842) Hattiesburg, MS |
| February 15, 2024 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Louisiana-Monroe | L 59–68 | 14–12 (7–6) | 22 – Crowley | 10 – Crowley | 4 – Armstrong | Reed Green Coliseum (4,247) Hattiesburg, MS |
| February 17, 2024 2:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Texas State | W 78–74 | 15–12 (8–6) | 24 – Curbelo | 6 – tied | 5 – Crowley | Reed Green Coliseum (4,425) Hattiesburg, MS |
| February 22, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | South Alabama | L 64–83 | 15–13 (8–7) | 14 – Montgomery | 12 – Hart | 3 – Arnold | Reed Green Coliseum (4,202) Hattiesburg, MS |
| February 24, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Louisiana | W 82–71 | 16–13 (9–7) | 24 – Curbelo | 11 – Iwuakor | 4 – Crowley | Reed Green Coliseum (4,845) Hattiesburg, MS |
| February 28, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at South Alabama | L 70–73 | 16–14 (9–8) | 25 – Curbelo | 9 – Iwuakor | 3 – Crowley | Mitchell Center (2,253) Mobile, AL |
| March 1, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Louisiana | L 61–77 | 16–15 (9–9) | 18 – Iwuakor | 10 – Iwuakor | 3 – Arnold | Cajundome (5,011) Lafayette, LA |
| Sun Belt Conference tournament |||||||||
| March 7, 2024 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (6) | vs. (11) Texas State Second round | L 59–75 | 16–16 | 20 – Hart | 9 – Hart | 7 – Curbelo | Pensacola Bay Center (987) Pensacola, FL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. |||||||||