The Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles secured an 86-81 victory over the Old Dominion Monarchs, a margin of five points that belies the competitive nature of the contest. Despite trailing at halftime, with Old Dominion holding a 47-40 advantage, Southern Miss managed to outscore their opponents 46-34 in the second half to claim the win. This reversal of fortunes ultimately decided the outcome, as the difference in scoring between the two halves proved sufficient to swing the result in Southern Miss's favor.
The final margin of five points suggests that this game was decided by a possession or two, with Southern Miss's second-half performance proving the decisive factor. Given the relatively close NET rankings, with Southern Miss at 237 and Old Dominion at 250, a closely contested game was perhaps to be expected. As the teams' overall statistics will likely reveal, the difference between Southern Miss and Old Dominion ultimately came down to a few key factors that allowed the former to emerge victorious.
The Southern Miss trio of Tylik Weeks, Israel Hart, and Isaac Taveras played pivotal roles in their team's 86-81 victory over Old Dominion. Weeks led the way with 27 points, shooting 10-17 from the field and 7-9 from the free throw line, while also collecting 5 rebounds. Hart contributed 21 points, with 4 of his 6 field goals coming from beyond the three-point line, where he shot 4-6. His perfect 5-5 mark from the free throw line was also notable.
Taveras rounded out the top performers with a well-rounded stat line, posting 16 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. He shot 6-12 from the field and 1-2 from three-point range, while also recording 1 block. Hart added 1 block and 1 assist to his scoring total, but was limited to just 2 rebounds. Weeks, meanwhile, did not record an assist, but his scoring prowess was a key factor in the Southern Miss win. The collective efforts of these three players ultimately propelled their team to a 5-point victory.
The top performers for Old Dominion were unable to propel their team to victory, despite putting up respectable numbers. KC Shaw led the way with 18 points, shooting 7-15 from the field and a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line. Jordan Battle added 17 points, including 2-3 from beyond the arc and 7-7 from the charity stripe, but was shut down on the glass, failing to secure a single rebound.
LJ Thomas was the most well-rounded of the trio, contributing 15 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks. However, his 4-11 shooting from the field and 6-10 mark from the free throw line were not enough to overcome the deficit. While these performances were solid, they ultimately fell short of what was needed to overcome the opposing team's strong outing.
Beyond the top performers, the remainder of the players on both teams generally fell in line with their seasonal trends, with no notable outliers.
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Final
The pre-game prediction of a Southern Miss victory by a slim margin proved to be accurate, as the home team ultimately emerged with a 5-point win. While the margin of victory was slightly larger than anticipated, the outcome itself was in line with expectations. This suggests that the underlying factors that were expected to influence the game, such as the teams' relative strengths and weaknesses, did indeed play out as anticipated.
A closer examination of the team statistics reveals that Southern Miss's exceptional shooting performance was a key factor in their victory. The team's effective field goal percentage of 60.0% and 3-point percentage of 50.0% were significantly higher than their season averages, indicating a high level of efficiency on offense. Additionally, Southern Miss's ability to dominate the offensive glass, securing nearly half of their missed shots, likely limited Old Dominion's transition opportunities and forced them to work harder on defense. These factors combined to give Southern Miss the edge they needed to secure the win, and ultimately decided the outcome of the game.
The outcome of this contest has significant implications for both teams' NCAA Tournament resumes, albeit in vastly different ways. For Southern Miss, the win, albeit a Quad 4 victory, still adds a much-needed layer of depth to their profile, which now boasts a 15-14 record, but their NET ranking of 237 and lack of Quad 1 and 2 wins will likely keep them on the periphery of the bubble conversation, potentially slotting them as a 16-seed if they were to secure an automatic bid. Conversely, Old Dominion's loss, as a Quad 3 opportunity, is a missed chance to bolster their own flagging resume, now saddled with a 10-19 record and a NET ranking of 250, making a postseason berth all but implausible, with their Quad 1 and 2 winless records all but cementing their position as a team that will likely be watching the tournament from home. The reality is, Southern Miss's victory has merely delayed the inevitable for both programs: a long offseason spent pondering what could have been.