GAME NOTES: The Southern Miss basketball program gets to take out its frustrations on the hardwood Thursday as the Golden Eagles visit the Rice Owls in a Conference-USA matchup.

Calling the penalty painful but necessary, Southern Miss announced Tuesday it will keep its men's basketball team out of the postseason this year over an investigation into the program that is being conducted by the university and the NCAA.

The self-imposed postseason ban means the Eagles will not be permitted to participate in the Conference USA championship or any other postseason tournament.

The school said in November it was working with the NCAA to investigate issues surrounding the program. Those issues, the school said Tuesday, are related to the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons, when Donnie Tyndall was head coach.

The Eagles are 5-11 this season and have lost their first five conference games. The latest loss came last Saturday against UAB, as the Eagles were upended 63-56 on their home floor. Matt Bingaya netted 17 points, Rasham Suarez added 16 and Norville Carey chipped in with 14 and seven rebounds in the club's eighth straight loss.

UAB held a commanding advantage in bench scoring over Southern Miss, 27-2, and outscored the Golden Eagles from the charity stripe, 15-10, in the win.

The Golden Eagles have struggled to score points against Division I foes all season long, resulting in the program coming up with just 60.5 ppg, compared to opponents at 69.2 ppg. Bingaya is listed as the leading scorer with 14.5 ppg, and he is also first on the glass with 5.4 rpg, followed by Chip Armelin with 12.8 ppg.

Rice had dropped three of its first four conference games before surprisingly topping Charlotte, 73-68, in overtime last Saturday. The Owls scored the final six points of regulation to force overtime, then converted 80 percent of their shots and all four of their free throws in the final five minutes to secure the win.

Marcus Jackson finished with 20 points and five assists, while Seth Gearhart added 18 points and Bishop Mency 13 in the road win.

The leading scorer for the Owls in each of the last five games, Jackson has used 40.0 percent shooting effort beyond the arc to arrive at 14.6 ppg. But more than just the top scorer for the program, Jackson is also tops in the passing department with 59 assists and is one of the better rebounders with 4.1 per contest. Gearhart, a 38.6 percent shooter out on the perimeter, is responsible for another 13.6 ppg for a team generating just 62.9 ppg. Max Guercy is just below the double-digit mark, averaging 8.8 ppg.

With nothing but pride to play for the rest of the season, Southern Miss will be hard pressed to manage many more victories. The team has won five straight over the Owls and lead the all-time series 8-4, but this is a different season and the Eagles are in a downward spiral they can't seem to stop.