No. 19 Louisville comes to town for C-USA clash...

[IE]

Big game tonight
No. 19 Louisville comes to town for C-USA clash


The Louisville Cardinals always attract a big crowd to Reed Green Coliseum.

And University of Southern Mississippi senior David Haywood expects nothing different when the 19th-ranked Cardinals take the Golden Eagles' home floor tonight.

"I think we'll definitely have a packed house," Haywood said. "I think everybody's going to come support us, because it's Louisville, but I think all this year our crowd has been real good. They've been pretty consistent coming to our games this year."



The Golden Eagles (9-5) are still looking for their first Conference USA win of the season after consecutive losses to UAB and Memphis. The Cardinals come to town with a 12-3 overall record and 1-0 C-USA mark, having knocked off TCU in their league opener last week.

Despite their lackluster start in C-USA play thus far, the Golden Eagles don't sound intimidated by the nationally ranked Cardinals.

"They're human, they're just like us. So, if we play hard and we match their intensity, we can win," said Southern Miss sophomore forward Mildon Ambres.

The Eagles will need to exhibit the kind of intensity they produced in the second half of last Sunday's game at Memphis. After woefully behind 43-18 at halftime, the Golden Eagles outscored the Tigers 28-17 in the final 20 minutes.

Southern Miss first-year coach Larry Eustachy has no illusions about the challenge facing his team.

"Louisville is very well coached and very talented," he said. "It's important that we handle their pressure well. Turnovers are going to be the key for us."

Tonight's contest could mark the Cardinals' final appearance in Hattiesburg. Louisville, an original member of Conference USA along with the Southern Miss, is set to join the Big East Conference next season.

In their last meeting at Green Coliseum (Jan. 29, 2003), the Cardinals cruised to a 95-64 victory over the Eagles before a crowd of 6,308.

"We're confident we'll get at least that, if not more and have a near-capacity crowd in there for the first time in many years," said Southern Miss athletic marketing director Greg Herring. "Obviously, starting off as we have with a winning season, there's going to be a lot of interest."

Last season the two teams met in Louisville with the Cardinals taking an easy 42-76 victory. But Louisville head coach Rick Pitino isn't looking past the Golden Eagles, despite the fact that his team travels to 18th-ranked Cincinnati Saturday.

"Anytime you play on the road in a good conference, it's difficult," he said. "Southern Miss is 5-0 at home and they will be playing with a lot of emotion."

Junior forward Jasper Johnson continues to lead the Golden Eagles in scoring (16.5 ppg) and rebounding (7.7 rpg). Sophomore guard Jarekus Singleton and junior guard Rashaad Carruth also own double-figure scoring averages at 11.3 and 10.4 respectively.

The Cardinals have five players averaging more than 10 points per game led by junior forward Francisco Garcia (17.1). Junior guard Taquan Dean is next at 14.1, followed by senior guard Larry O'Bannon (13.7), freshman forward Juan Palacios (11.1) and senior forward Ellis Myles (10.3), who also leads the team in rebounding with a 9.9 average per game.

 

[IE]

Louisville brings Fab 5 to USM

Eagles trying to shake off losing blues

By AL JONES

Southern Miss walked out of the tunnel late Sunday night feeling the effects of a slow start that saw Memphis roll to a 60-46 win at the FedEx Forum.

Jarekus Singleton, one of the top players averaging 11 points per game, was held to three points and didn't factor in the outcome despite playing in the post, as well as the point guard slot.

Singleton said the team must avoid slow starts to gain confidence.

Mildon Ambres, an LSU transfer who scored a team-high eight points in his first start, said the Golden Eagles must change its mind set to be competitive.

For Southern Miss, talk is cheap.

The Golden Eagles owe a three-game losing streak to New Orleans, Alabama-Birmingham and Memphis. In the losses, Golden Eagles coach Larry Eustachy said the difference in a win or loss is the number of points the opponents have scored off turnovers.

Now, the Golden Eagles (9-5, 0-2) must put the loss behind them as quickly as possible because the high-flying Louisville Cardinals (12-3) are in town tonight for a Conference USA battle at Reed Green Coliseum.

After the Memphis game, Eustachy questioned his team's determination to play hard while getting pushed around under the basket. Eustachy blasted his team for turning the ball over 20 times and only scoring five baskets in the first half.

"Sometimes I say things where my ego is involved," Eustachy said. "Our guys are trying to play the game the right way, but we can't shoot ourselves in the foot with turnovers. We have given up more than 60 points combined in the last three games off our turnovers, and we can't do that. That is a big concern of mine, and it really has nothing to do with what our opponents are doing.

"It's about being tough and hard nosed. We are learning and it's been inch by inch, but we need a leader."

As bad as the Golden Eagles played in the first half against Memphis (down 43-18), they did outscore the Tigers 28-17 in the second half, which according to Eustachy was the best half the Golden Eagles have played this season.

"We played OK," he said. "We shot too quick and that triggered the onslaught. But we played through it and there were some positive things that happened. If we play like we did in the second half, we're up 11 instead of being down 25."

The No. 19 Cardinals display one of the top starting fives in the country, led by All-American guard Francisco Garcia with 17.1 points per game. Garcia shoots .503 from the field and averages 33 minutes of action.

Other starters are guard Taguan Dean (14.1 points), Larry O'Bannon (13.7 points), Juan Palacios (11.1 points) and Ellis Myles (10.3 points). Louisville averages 82.7 points per game and yields 62 while shooting .485 from the floor to opponents .372.

With Dean and Garcia leading the charge, Rick Pitino's team shoots .402 from 3-point range and out rebounds opponents by six.

"Louisville will be the best team we have played," Eustachy said. "They are really sound and we cannot beat ourselves. We have to play quality basketball to be in the game in the end."

Eustachy said he wasn't sure if Ambres will start again while Jasper Johnson comes off the bench. Johnson, a sophomore forward, leads the Golden Eagles with 16.5 points. Singleton is chipping in 11.3 points and Rashaad Carruth adds 10.4 points.

The Golden Eagles are still trying to overcome the loss of guard Solomon Brown who was dismissed from the team before the UAB game.

On Saturday, Southern Miss travels to Houston, a team that knocked off the Cardinals last week.

That means the Golden Eagles have opened league play against four top conference teams in UAB, Memphis, Louisville and Houston, which is led by former Texas coach Tom Penders.

"That's what we are dealing with and that is fine," Eustachy said. "Those are the cards that we have been dealt, and we can't dwell in it. We will be better for it in the long run, and we will get this thing turned around."

Game plan

Probable starting lineups
Louisville

G - Taquan Dean, 6-3, jr., 14.1 pts.

G - Francisco Garcia, 6-7, jr., 17.1 pts.

G - Larry O'Bannon, 6-4, sr., 13,7 pts.

F - Juan Palacios, 6-8, fr., 10.3 pts.

F - Ellis Myles, 6-8, sr., 10.3 pts.

Southern Miss

G - Michael Ford, 6-1, jr., 8.4 pts.

G - Rashaad Carruth, 6-3, jr., 10.4 pts.

G - David Haywood, 6-4, sr., 6.6 pts.

F - Jarekus Singleton, 6-3, so., 11.3 pts.

F - Jasper Johnson, 6-8, so., 16.5 pts.

 

[sipony]

i like s. miss at home