Troy University Athletics
Troy University
Southern Miss
Troy Closes Out Regular Season at Southern Miss
2/27/2025 3:42:00 PM | Basketball (M)
TROY, Ala. – The Troy men's basketball team looks to close out the regular season on a high note, as it travels to Hattiesburg, Miss., for a 7:30 p.m. tip on Friday night against Southern Miss at the Reed Green Coliseum.
Troy (19-10, 12-5 SBC) is still in the hunt for the Sun Belt regular season championship and the No. 2 seed in the Sun Belt Tournament, and will need a win and some help to achieve both. On the other side, Southern Miss (10-20, 5-12 SBC) will be the No. 12 seed in the tournament and will play in the first round next Tuesday in Pensacola.
The Trojans are coming off a 74-69 win over Texas State in San Marcos on Tuesday, while the Golden Eagles fell to South Alabama at home on Wednesday night.
Game Information
The Matchup: Troy at Southern Miss
When: Friday, Feb. 28, 2025 | 7:30 p.m.
Where: Hattiesburg, Miss. | Reed Green Coliseum (8,095)
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Troy Sports Media Network
Live Stats: Troystats.com
With a win and loss by James Madison on Friday, Troy will win its first regular season conference title since the 2008-09 season. Additionally, with a win and a South Alabama loss, Troy will be the No. 2 seed in the Sun Belt Tournament and receive an automatic bid into the semifinals on Sunday. The Sun Belt Conference will announce a full bracket following the conclusion of all the regular season contests.
Tayton Conerway fueled Troy to a crucial road win on Tuesday over Texas State, as the senior guard had a team-high 24 points, five rebounds, five steals and three assists. Conerway continues to lead the Trojans in scoring this season at 13.8 points.
Defensively, Conerway has also impressed this year. His 86 steals leads the team and the Sun Belt, while also good for third nationally. With there more steals he will set a new program record for steals in a single season. The current mark of 88 is held by Bobby Dixon in the 2005-06 season.
Myles Rigsby and Thomas Dowd each had strong games for the Trojans. Rigsby scored 15 points, while Dowd had eight points and 10 rebounds.
Troy has been impressive on the road during conference play this season with a 6-2 record. The Trojans have won their last four road games and are a win away from finish the season with a better road conference record (7-2) than home (6-3).
One of the main keys for Troy's success this season has been its ability to play strong defense at each level. The Trojans are holding opponents to 41.2 percent from the field, which is fourth in the Sun Belt and 41st nationally. Troy is also forcing the most steals (9.6) per game in the Sun Belt and second-most blocks (4.6).
Troy's forcing teams into 14.0 turnovers per game this year, good for second in the SBC and 50th in the country.
Scouting Southern Miss
The Trojans are still looking for their first program win in Hattiesburg. Troy is 3-18 all-time against Southern Miss and has never beaten the Golden Eagles twice in the same season. Earlier this year, Troy defeated Southern Miss 70-61 in Trojan Arena.
The Golden Eagles are led by Denijay Harris and his 17 points and 11 rebounds per game. His 17 double-doubles this year is leading the Sun Belt and fifth in the NCAA. Despite its poor record this year, Southern Miss is 9-5 at home and nearly took down South Alabama on Wednesday.
Notables
• Scott Cross is in his sixth season at the helm for Troy men's basketball, and his 18th as a Division I men's basketball head coach. While at Troy he has put together a 99-86 record, which includes three straight seasons of 20 or more wins. The Trojans have also won 10 or more conference games in each of the last four years, including 2024-25.
• Cross sits in sole possession of the fourth most wins by a head coach in program history. He is four away from tying Wes Bizilia for third.
• Troy guaranteed itself no worse than the No. 4 seed in the Sun Belt Tournament after defeating Texas State 74-69 on Tuesday night in San Marcos.
• Tayton Conerway had a team-high 24 points, while also adding five steals, five rebounds and three assists. It was his second consecutive 20-point performance after having 21 against Coastal Carolina on Saturday.
• Myles Rigsby added 15 points and made all eight of his free throw attempts in the second half to help ice the game. Thomas Dowd had eight points and 10 rebounds.
• Conerway has scored in double-digits in 16 of 17 conference games this year and has 13 games of 15-plus points.
• Conerway's career-high 32 points against Arkansas State on Jan. 11 was the first time a Trojan has scored 30-plus points since 2019. \
• Against ULM on Jan. 15, Conerway had the first double-double of his career with 10 points and a career-high 12 assists.
• Conerway sits just three steals away from setting a new program record for steals in a season (89).
• He has also dished three or more assists in 26 of 29 games this season.
• The Trojans entered 2024-25 picked to finish third in the Sun Belt Coaches Preseason Poll, which is the highest it had been selected to finish since the start of the 2017-18 season. Troy received one first-place vote.
• If the season ended today, Troy would be the No. 3 seed in the Sun Belt Tournament and would advance straight to the quarterfinals.
• Troy's last regular season conference title came during the 2008-09 season.
