Southern Miss opens new year at ULM in Sun Belt matchup

By: Luke Matheson

Southern Miss returns to Sun Belt Conference play Thursday, opening the new year on the road against longtime rival ULM at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.

The Golden Eagles (7-7, 1-1 Sun Belt) and Warhawks (3-11, 0-2) will meet for the 46th time overall in a 4 p.m. tipoff in Monroe, Louisiana. The game will stream on ESPN+ and air on the Southern Miss Radio Network.

Southern Miss enters the matchup looking to build momentum after a split in recent outings. The Golden Eagles opened league play with a 62-54 win over Louisiana before dropping a seven-point decision to preseason Sun Belt favorite Arkansas State prior to the holiday break. Earlier in the week, Southern Miss rallied from a halftime deficit to defeat Grambling 68-60.

Tylik Weeks continues to pace the Golden Eagles, averaging 17.3 points per game. The Sun Belt Player of the Week after earning MVP honors at the Pensacola Invitational, Weeks is coming off a 25-point performance against Arkansas State. He also posted the first double-double of his career earlier this season with 18 points and 10 rebounds against Ole Miss.

Brewer Carruth added a career-high 16 points in the loss to Arkansas State, while Israel Hart has emerged as a steady scoring presence, including a season-best 17 points in the win over Louisiana.

Southern Miss captured its second multi-team event title under head coach Jay Ladner at the Pensacola Invitational, highlighted by Weeks’ 37-point outburst against North Florida — the 11th-highest single-game total in program history and the second-highest by any Sun Belt player since the 2022-23 season.

ULM enters Thursday’s contest seeking its first conference win. The Warhawks’ three victories this season have come against Rust, Mississippi Valley State and Arkansas Baptist. ULM opened Sun Belt play with a double-overtime loss to South Alabama before falling at Louisiana.

MJ Russell leads ULM in scoring at 17.1 points per game, ranking among the conference’s top five scorers. Lavell Brodnex anchors the frontcourt, averaging 9.6 rebounds per game, which ranks second in the Sun Belt. Brodnex also leads the league in offensive rebounds. Krystian Lewis leads the Warhawks in assists and steals and set a Sun Belt single-game high this season with eight 3-pointers in a Dec. 17 game against South Alabama.

Thursday’s meeting marks the eighth between the schools since both joined the Sun Belt. Southern Miss holds a 27-18 edge in the all-time series but is 7-12 all-time in Monroe. The Golden Eagles have won two of their last three trips to Fant-Ewing Coliseum but fell there last season, 81-74.

Southern Miss is playing on New Year’s Day for the fifth time in program history and enters Thursday with a 1-3 record in those games.

Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. as the Golden Eagles look to start 2026 with a road conference win.