# 2021–22 Southern Miss Golden Eagles basketball team

The 2021–22 Southern Miss Golden Eagles basketball team represented the University of Southern Mississippi during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by third-year head coach Jay Ladner, and played their home games at Reed Green Coliseum in Hattiesburg, Mississippi as members of Conference USA (C-USA).
On October 28, 2021, Southern Miss announced that this would be the last season for the team in the C-USA and they would become a member of the Sun Belt Conference on July 1, 2022.

## Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Golden Eagles finished the 2020–21 season 8–17, 4–13 in C-USA play last place in West Division. They lost in the first round of the C-USA tournament to Rice.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Justin Johnson | 2 | G/F | 6'6" | 185 | Junior | Fort Lauderdale, FL | Transferred to Texas–Rio Grande Valley |
| LaDavius Draine | 11 | G | 6'4" | 210 | Senior | Calhoun City, MS | Graduate transferred to Tulsa |
| Javarzia Belton | 20 | F | 6'10" | 275 | Freshman | Calhoun Falls, SC | Left the team for personal reasons |
| Jay Malone | 21 | G | 6'0" | 167 | RS Junior | Meridian, MS | Left the team for personal reasons |
| Artur Konotsuk | 34 | F | 6'8" | 213 | Sophomore | Pärnu, Estonia | Left the team for personal reasons |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Walyn Napper | 1 | G | 6'0" | 170 | Sophomore | Columbia, SC | Dodge City CC |
| Isaih Moore | 11 | F | 6'10" | 205 | Junior | Columbia, SC | St. John's |
| Mo Arnold | 12 | G | 6'2" | 180 | Sophomore | Picayune, MS | Jacksonville |
| Tate Ryder | 25 | G | 6'0" | 170 | Sophomore | Hattiesburg, MS | East Central CC |

### 2021 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Rashad Bolden PG | Ridgeland, MS | St. Andrews Episcopal School | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Apr 14, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| 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: "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 4, 2021* 7:00 p.m., CUSA.tv | | Delta State | W 68–60 | | Reed Green Coliseum (706) Hattiesburg, MS |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 9, 2021* 7:00 p.m., CUSA.tv | | William Carey | W 81–67 | 1–0 | Reed Green Coliseum (2,959) Hattiesburg, MS |
| November 12, 2021* 7:00 p.m., CUSA.tv | | Louisiana | L 45–66 | 1–1 | Reed Green Coliseum (3,574) Hattiesburg, MS |
| November 16, 2021* 7:00 p.m., Big 12 Now | | at TCU | L 51–83 | 1–2 | Schollmaier Arena (4,915) Fort Worth, TX |
| November 21, 2021* 2:00 p.m., CUSA.tv | | Lamar | W 82–75 | 2–2 | Reed Green Coliseum (3,037) Hattiesburg, MS |
| November 24, 2021* 6:00 p.m. | | vs. UNC Wilmington Zootown Classic | W 80–66 | 3–2 | Dahlberg Arena Missoula, MT |
| November 25, 2021* 6:00 p.m. | | vs. UC San Diego Zootown Classic | W 56–55 | 4–2 | Dahlberg Arena (127) Missoula, MT |
| November 26, 2021* 8:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Montana Zootown Classic | L 62–74 | 4–3 | Dahlberg Arena (3,135) Missoula, MT |
| December 1, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at South Alabama | L 55–85 | 4–4 | Mitchell Center (2,418) Mobile, AL |
| December 4, 2021* 9:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Southern Illinois | L 41–66 | 4–5 | Banterra Center (4,513) Carbondale, IL |
| December 11, 2021* 2:00 p.m., CUSA.tv | | Loyola (New Orleans) | Postponed | Postponed | Reed Green Coliseum Hattiesburg, MS |
| December 14, 2021* 7:00 p.m., CUSA.tv | | Jacksonville | L 51–62 | 4–6 | Reed Green Coliseum (3,057) Hattiesburg, MS |
| December 18, 2021* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Louisiana–Monroe | L 65–74 | 4–7 | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,423) Monroe, LA |
| December 21, 2021* 11:00 a.m., ESPN+ | | at East Carolina | L 67–68 | 4–8 | Williams Arena (2,054) Greenville, NC |
| January 6, 2022 7:00 p.m., CUSA.tv | | at UTSA | W 74–73 | 5–8 (1–0) | Convocation Center (718) San Antonio, TX |
| January 8, 2022 8:00 p.m., CUSA.tv | | at UTEP | L 54–87 | 5–9 (1–1) | Don Haskins Center (3,841) El Paso, TX |
| January 13, 2022 6:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Louisiana Tech | L 57–80 | 5–10 (1–2) | Thomas Assembly Center (2,731) Ruston, LA |
| January 16, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Louisiana Tech | L 62–76 | 5–11 (1–3) | Reed Green Coliseum (3,110) Hattiesburg, MS |
| January 19, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Southeastern Baptist | W 100–50 | 6–11 | Reed Green Coliseum (3,056) Hattiesburg, MS |
| January 22, 2022 1:00 p.m., CUSA.tv | | at Middle Tennessee | L 60–74 | 6–12 (1–4) | Murphy Center (3,512) Murfreesboro, TN |
| January 27, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | North Texas | L 54–63 | 6–13 (1–5) | Reed Green Coliseum (3,205) Hattiesburg, MS |
| January 29, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Rice | L 62–76 | 6–14 (1–6) | Reed Green Coliseum (3,074) Hattiesburg, MS |
| February 3, 2022 6:00 p.m., CUSA.tv | | at FIU | L 67–77 | 6–15 (1–7) | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (2,874) Miami, FL |
| February 5, 2022 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Florida Atlantic | L 57–84 | 6–16 (1–8) | FAU Arena (1,366) Boca Raton, FL |
| February 10, 2022 6:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at UAB | L 63–84 | 6–17 (1–9) | Bartow Arena (3,638) Birmingham, AL |
| February 14, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Western Kentucky Rescheduled from December 30 | L 77–87 | 6–18 (1–10) | Reed Green Coliseum (2,726) Hattiesburg, MS |
| February 17, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UTSA | L 79–98 $^{OT}$ | 6–19 (1–11) | Reed Green Coliseum (3,339) Hattiesburg, MS |
| February 19, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UTEP | L 70–84 | 6–20 (1–12) | Reed Green Coliseum (2,861) Hattiesburg, MS |
| February 21, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Marshall Rescheduled from January 1 | L 60–74 | 6–21 (1–13) | Reed Green Coliseum (2,690) Hattiesburg, MS |
| February 24, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at North Texas | L 61–85 | 6–22 (1–14) | The Super Pit (4,150) Denton, TX |
| February 26, 2022 6:00 p.m., CUSA.tv | | at Rice | L 72–77 $^{OT}$ | 6–23 (1–15) | Tudor Fieldhouse (4,087) Houston, TX |
| March 2, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UAB | L 68–81 | 6–24 (1–16) | Reed Green Coliseum (2,680) Hattiesburg, MS |
| March 5, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Charlotte | L 67–70 | 6–25 (1–17) | Reed Green Coliseum (2,840) Hattiesburg, MS |
| C-USA tournament ||||||
| March 8, 2022 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (W7) | vs. (W6) UTSA First round | W 67–64 | 7–25 | Ford Center at The Star Frisco, TX |
| March 9, 2022 8:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (W7) | vs. (E3) Florida Atlantic Second round | L 59–86 | 7–26 | Ford Center at The Star Frisco, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. ||||||
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