GAME NOTES: The Southern Miss Golden Eagles seek their first win in more than a month, as they take on the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders in Conference USA action at Reed Green Coliseum.

Already four games under .500 on the season, the Golden Eagles have lost six straight outings and seven of the last eight, with the only win during that stretch coming against Spring Hill (66-56), a program outside the Division I ranks. Last Saturday, USM was beaten up by UTEP on the road in a 74-70 decision that dropped the visitors to 0-5 in conference play.

The Blue Raiders are shooting for their first three-game win streak of the season as they take the floor against Southern Miss. With victories over FIU (65-52) and Florida Atlantic (82-58), this is the fourth time this season that Middle Tennessee has registered back-to-back wins. Defensively, the Blue Raiders are one of only three teams in the nation, the others being New Mexico and Cincinnati, that have yet to allow 70 points to an opponent.

The Blue Raiders own a 2-1 mark in the all-time series, although USM won the only meeting in Hattiesburg back in 1959. Middle Tennessee captured an 81-66 win in the most recent encounter last season.

Against FAU, the Blue Raiders shot 53.8 percent from the floor in the first half and 12-of-13 at the free-throw line, earning an eight-point advantage at the break. In the second half the team matched its effort at the charity stripe and held the visitors to just seven field goals, en route to the comfortable victory.

Darnell Harris scored a game-high 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor, adding six rebounds, followed by Marcus Tarrance, Reggie Upshaw and Perrin Buford with 12 points apiece for a squad that outscored the Owls 24-13 at the free-throw line and forced 16 turnovers.

Over the course of three league outings, the Blue Raiders have allowed an average of only 54.7 ppg, a number that falls in line with the unit's defensive effort through 16 games (59.2 ppg allowed). When it comes to scoring points however, MT is barely ahead of opponents with just 60.3 ppg, which is why it is only two games over .500. Upshaw leads the team in scoring with 9.0 ppg and is also first on the glass with 6.1 rpg while Jacquez Rozier, the only player to start every game, checks in with 8.8 ppg and 5.6 rpg.

The performance by Southern Miss against the Miners at the Don Haskins Center last time out left a lot to be desired, as the visitors connected on a mere 5- of-25 shots from the floor in the first half, including 1-of-11 behind the 3- point line. The second half was slightly better, but in the end the Golden Eagles were just 30.6 percent accurate from the field and 4-of-19 out on the perimeter, as Norville Casey was the lone double-digit scorer with 10 points in 19 minutes of playing time.

The Golden Eagles have struggled to score points against Division I foes all season long, resulting in the program coming up with just 60.8 ppg, compared to opponents at 70.2 ppg. Matt Bingaya is listed as the leading scorer with 14.7 ppg, and he is also first on the glass with 5.5 rpg, followed by Chip Armelin with 12.8 ppg.

Given the struggles that the Golden Eagles have scoring points and the ability of Middle Tennessee to shut down foes, on paper this is a game that the Blue Raiders should win rather easily.