Week 16 Men’s Basketball Preview: Southern Miss
Since winning their first four games after the calendar turned to 2026, Southern Miss has been unable to notch back-to-back victories. That trend continued last week with a 84-78 loss to South Alabama. Despite never leading, the Golden Eagles (14-14, 7-8 Sun Belt) rallied from a 15-point deficit to keep the game close. Tylik Weeks continued his offensive surge by scoring 32 points in a 69-65 victory over Troy on Saturday.
30 points in the second half 🐐@TylikWeeks pic.twitter.com/j22WQ20iXf
— Southern Miss MBB (@SouthernMissMBB) February 15, 2026
With two weeks left in the regular season, Southern Miss is looking to improve its conference record. As of Feb. 16, the Golden Eagles sit in ninth place in the Sun Belt Conference standings, meaning they would have to win six games in six days at the conference tournament to secure an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The push begins with the program’s final regular-season home game Saturday against Old Dominion, which is trying to climb out of the bottom four seeds.
Old Dominion at Southern Miss
Old Dominion (10-18, 6-9) is coming off a Senior Day victory over Louisiana, 83-72 ,on Saturday. Jordan Battle led all scorers with 27 points. Battle, who led Coastal Carolina in scoring last season, made a layup with 11:30 remaining to give the Monarchs the lead for good.
ODU’s leading scorer, Ketron Shaw, added 16 points, raising his season average to 17 points per game, fifth in the Sun Belt.
One issue for the Monarchs against Louisiana was ball security. Seven of their eight turnovers came on steals by the Rajun’ Cajuns.
Southern Miss will need to continue to improve its 3-point shooting to return to .500 in conference play. After shooting 40% against South Alabama, the Golden Eagles were held to 2-for-12 (16.7%) from beyond the arc against Troy.
Old Dominion has held opponents to under 40% from 3-point range in 22 games. In Sun Belt play, only four teams have shot better than 40% against the Monarchs, who went 1-3 in those contests. Battle ranks second in the conference at 41.2% from 3-point range.
To come away with a victory, the Monarchs must overcome Southern Miss’ advantage on the glass. The Golden Eagles rank third in the Sun Belt in defensive rebounding, led by Djahi Binet, who averages 4.86 defensive rebounds per game. Weeks averages 4.59.
Tipoff: Saturday, Feb. 21, 2 p.m. CST
TV: ESPN+
Radio: ESPN Radio 94.1 FM(Old Dominion); Southern Miss Radio Network (Southern Miss)
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