Miss coach M.K. Turk and Ole Miss coach
Ed Murphy, who had been college roommates at Livingston. The Golden Eagles
roared out to a 52-34 halftime lead by
making 21 of the first 31 shots they took
that night and led by as many as 30 in the
second half before Turk began to empty the
bench. Forward John White led the Eagle
attack with 21 points, while center Randolph
Keys poured in 20 points and 16 rebounds.
Southern Miss would go on to win the 50th
NIT championship that season.
Southern Miss 91
Kansas State 89 (OT)
Jan. 11, 1988
After the Golden Eagles had defeated the
Wildcats 71-69 in Manhattan, Kan., earlier
in the year, K-State came to Green Coliseum
for a return match. The Wildcats, led by
future NBA star Mitch Richmond, saw the
Golden Eagles battle to a 40-34 halftime
lead. Although Southern Miss led throughout
much of the second half, the Wildcats rallied
to tie the game at 80 in the final seconds
of regulation and had a chance to win it
at the buzzer, when Golden Eagle forward
Derek Hamilton was called for a dead ball
technical foul. But when the Wildcats missed
a shot at the buzzer, the game went into
overtime and the Eagles went on to win the
game. Forward John White led the Eagle
attack with 25 points, while center Randolph
Keys had 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Richmond had 20 points for the Wildcats but
made just 6 of 23 field goal attempts.
Southern Miss 95
Louisville 92
Jan. 28, 1988
Before a sellout crowd and a national television audience on ESPN, the 25th-ranked
Golden Eagles defeated Louisville in one of
the great shootouts in the history of Green
Coliseum. The victory was Southern Miss’
ninth in a row and improved the Eagles’
record to 15-2. The Golden Eagles rallied
from a 47-45 halftime deficit behind the play
of “The Fab Four,” Casey Fisher, John White,
Derek Hamilton and Randolph Keys. Fisher
scored 22 points that night, including six
three-pointers, while White added 21. The
Golden Eagles fired up 26 three-pointers that
night, making 11, to offset a 28-point performance by Cardinal star center Pervis Ellison
and 25 points from forward Herbert Crook.
Southern Miss 54
Holy Cross 56
March 12, 1981
Before a sellout crowd at Green Coliseum,
Southern Miss made its first ever appearance
in post-season play, when the Eagles battled
the Holy Cross Crusaders in the opening
round of the NIT. In a nip and tuck battle,
the Crusaders took a 31-29 halftime lead,
but the Golden Eagles were forced to play
a large portion of the opening half without
6-9 center Ronald Jackson, who suffered a
stress fracture of his foot. With forward Joe
“Awesome” Dawson picking up the slack
with 17 points and forward Eddie Jiles scor-
ing nine, Southern stayed close all the way
to the final buzzer, before the Crusaders won
56-54.
Southern Miss 86
Memphis 82
Feb. 10, 1990
Golden Eagle star Clarence Weatherspoon
and Memphis forward Ben Spiva were
involved in a scuffle late in the first half and
after official Danny Hooker reviewed the
replay on the television monitor, both players
were ejected from the game. The Golden
Eagles grabbed a 49-37 lead at halftime with
Weatherspoon on the bench during the final
two minutes of the first half. In the second
half with Spoon gone, the Eagles, led by
guard Russell Johnson and center Daron
Jenkins, held off the Tigers to win. Johnson
had 19 points and 10 assists, while Jenkins
had 17 points and seven rebounds.
Southern Miss 83
USF 77
March 3, 2001
The Golden Eagles won their first-ever
Conference USA regular season championship when they defeated the USF Bulls,
83-77. Behind the aggressive play of senior
center Vandarel Jones, the league’s defensive
player-of-the-year, the Eagles led nearly the
entire game and fought off several rallies
by the Bulls. Jones scored 19 points, pulled
down 15 rebounds and blocked eight shots
to lead the Eagles, while senior guard David
Wall added 16 points and senior point guard
Mel Cauthen chipped in 13 points and had
seven assists. The victory gave the Golden
Eagles a 21-7 regular season record and an
11-5 mark in Conference USA.
Southern Miss 84
Memphis 67
January 11, 2003
After falling behind 35-29 to the 10-2
Memphis Tigers and Coach John Calipari,
Southern Miss put together one of the most
dominating second halves in school history,
outscoring the Tigers 55-32 and winning
the game 84-67. Junior Greg Johnson led
the Golden Eagle attack scoring 22 points
and pulled down 10 rebounds. Three other
Southern Miss players, freshman Jasper
Johnson ( 17), sophomore David Haywood
( 13) and junior Charles Gaines ( 12) also
scored in double figures as James Green’s
team improved to 9-4 on the year and 2-0 in
Conference USA.
University of
Southern Mississippi
Basketball Attendance
(since 1973-74)
Year
Total
Home
Avg/Games
2010-11 138,862 52,761 3,517/15
2009-10 150,159 46,267 3,305/14
2008-09 147,779 53,044 3,789/14
2007-08 167,718 50,644 3,617/14
2006-07 142,474
62,654
3,481/18
2005-06 140,440
56,267
3,517/16
2004-05 155,520
54,240
4,172/13
2003-04 101,444
47,833
3,683/13
2002-03 154,521
47,027
3,359/14
2001-02 101,450
41,324
3,179/13
2000-01 198,374
54,309
3,879/14
1999-00 148,701
44,061
3,389/13
1998-99 154,493
54,365
3,883/14
1997-98 161,393
51,170
3,936/13
1996-97 168,002
47,126
3,927/12
1995-96 146,320
64,067
4,567/14
1994-95 191,764
56,715
4,363/13
1993-94 141,208
57,659
4,435/13
1992-93 176,654
51,408
4,284/12
1991-92 220,833
69,420
5,785/12
1990-91 229,506
84,493
7,041/12
1989-90 224, 106
76,730
6,394/12
1988-89 166,149
70, 138
5,395/13
1987-88 227,822 105,902 7,564/14
1986-87 225,182
73,845
4,615/16
1985-86 154,279
53,648
3,577/15
1984-85 181,636
46,615
3,885/12
1983-84 167,694
54,493
4,192/13
1982-83 148,435
49,388
4,116/12
1981-82 105,828
47, 123
3,927/12
1980-81 145,770
79,794
5,700/14
1979-80 97,516
48,628
4,052/12
1978-79 84,716
34, 102
3,100/11
1977-78 74,393
30,365
2,336/13
1976-77 88,258
47,704
3,407/14
1975-76 69,659
30,884
2,376/13
1974-75 76,334
34,821
2,679/13
1973-74 77,556
29,882
2,490/12
Totals
