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USM is 25-7 and 14-4. They are 2-3 over their last 5 games, and 7-3 over their last 10 games. They won the regular season Sun Belt Conference, but were ousted by South Alabama in the conference tournament.

Based on KenPom ratings, their top 3 wins were at Liberty (48), at Vandy (80), and Louisiana (92). Their worst losses were at Northwestern State (214), at Old Dominion (174), and South Alabama (94).

Southern Miss has had an outstanding season. KenPom has them ranked 98th. They started the season ranked 324th!!!

KenPom has it UAB 82 - USM 74.

This is a cool matchup for us. I hope we hang another L on them and go on a big NIT run.

They have three players averaging double figures.

SG Austin Crowley 6’5” - 16.1 pts
C Felipe Haase 6’9” - 15.3 pts
PF DeAndre Pinckney 6’8” - 12.9 pts

Their PG is Neftali Alvarez 6’0” (7.8 pts) and SF Denijay Harris 6’7” (9.0).

Their main threats from beyond the 3-point arc are Crowley, Haase, and Pinckney.

Crowley is 67-187 (35.8%)
Haase is 60-148 (40.5%)
Pinckney is 38-111 (34.2%)

Yes, the 6’9” center (Haase) is their best 3-point shooter percentage wise.

Something to point out USM is not very good on the road. 15-0 at home and 8-6 on the road

Haase is a 5th year senior from Chile. He played two years at South Carolina (bench player but played every game!), and two years at Mercer.

He puts up about five 3-pointers per game. He is an outstanding free throw shooter (87%), and led the Sun Belt in conference games at 90.6%.

I don’t think we have played against a center like this all season!

(03-13-2023 09:47 PM)KevMo4UAB Wrote:  Haase is a 5th year senior from Chile. He played two years at South Carolina (bench player but played every game!), and two years at Mercer.

He puts up about five 3-pointers per game. He is an outstanding free throw shooter (87%), and led the Sun Belt in conference games at 90.6%.

I don’t think we have played against a center like this all season!

What about Khalifa at Charolette? He's a big who's a good 3pt shooter

This guy can’t be as goofy looking as Khalifa though

(03-13-2023 09:51 PM)UABrandon Wrote:  

(03-13-2023 09:47 PM)KevMo4UAB Wrote:  Haase is a 5th year senior from Chile. He played two years at South Carolina (bench player but played every game!), and two years at Mercer.

He puts up about five 3-pointers per game. He is an outstanding free throw shooter (87%), and led the Sun Belt in conference games at 90.6%.

I don’t think we have played against a center like this all season!

What about Khalifa at Charolette? He's a big who's a good 3pt shooter

I think that’s a fair comparison. Khalifa is better around the basket, but Haase shoots lights out from 3 and the foul line.

Khalifa 6’11” 230#
2-pointers 104-174 59.8%
3-pointers 41-113 36.3%
FT 27-37 73.0%

Haase 6’9” 245#
2-pointers 89-161 49.7%
3-pointers 60-148 40.5%
FT 112-129 86.8%

Haase shoots free throws better than Jelly.

I'm not at all trying to suggest this will be a cake walk, I'm mostly just glancing through their stats and trying to figure out how this was a top-100 team in KenPom.

Skimming through their rankings on KenPom this is how it looks to me. They play at an average pace (#119), play solid defense (#51) and get a decent amount of turnovers (#82). Then they get offensive rebounds (#103), shoot 2pt pretty well (#82) while not getting blocked (#25) and not turning the ball over (#58).

Haase actually started 8 games at South Carolina his sophomore year. My mistake.

I thought maybe there were 2 other NIT games on ESPN+ but nope. Just our game... So much for eyeballs on us for the NIT. Let's beat the mustard buzzards and get a good time and channel for the next game (possibly Clemson).

We are the only NIT game tonight that doesn’t feature at least one Power 6 (I count Big East here).

(03-14-2023 02:03 PM)DuelingDragon Wrote:  We are the only NIT game tonight that doesn’t feature at least one Power 6 (I count Big East here).

Yep, if Liberty wasn't paying Villanova they would be demoted to ESPN+

Note for those who can't make the Bart - the game will be on ESPN+.

The lowest ticket price is only $10 to get in the game

UAB Marketing dropped the ball

I know it’s mainly because of the NIT but it’s fun that Southern Miss brought their band and mascot/cheer to the game. But where were they when we played them in football? We rarely had visiting bands since the return.

settle down, playing too chaotic when no need to

Terrible start. Blew a chance to run the lead out to double digits while USM was settling in.

Just turned this game on 5 minutes ago and we’ve had three HORRENDOUS turnovers.

This team must’ve been an opposing coaches dream this year. We have absolutely no composure. Speed us up and we turn the ball over like crazy.