Longwood to host Southern Miss in CBI
The postseason will indeed be coming to Willett Hall this Wednesday as Longwood will host Southern Miss from Conference USA for a 7 PM tipoff. The occasion will mark Longwood’s first postseason trip in the Division I era and the first overall postseason matchup since 2001 when the team went to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
Longwood is one of sixteen teams in the 2019 CBI field that features West Virginia, South Florida, and DePaul. Should Longwood advance Wednesday, they’ll play the winner of the aforementioned Blue Demons and Central Michigan.
About Southern Miss
We’ll have a more detailed game preview later this week, but let’s start with a brief look at the Golden Eagles who will bring a 20–12 from Hattiesburg.
The first thing you need to know is if you see a guy wandering around Willett Hall in a Southern Miss t-shirt and sweatpants, it’s probably not a fan and it’s likely their head coach Doc Sadler.
Sadler is the former head coach of UTEP and Nebraska. He came to Southern Miss in 2014 to clean up the Donnie Tyndall scandal. In his first four seasons the Golden Eagles had a 36–81 mark, before breaking through for a second place finish in CUSA this year.
On the court, Southern Miss’ leader is undoubtedly redshirt senior and Oklahoma State transfer Tyree Griffin. The 5'10 guard has averaged 14 points, 7.1 assists, and 3.5 rebounds per game.
The Golden Eagles will come into Willett Hall with a 101 KenPom rating, meaning they’ll be the third highest ranked opponent to visit Longwood. VCU (52) visited Longwood in 2006 and Seton Hall (55) also made the trip to Farmville in 2011.
Get to Farmville
We need a packed house on Wednesday night. You can purchase tickets for the game at LongwoodTickets.com. Longwood will offer free first-round tickets for Longwood faculty, staff and students, Longwood season-ticket holders, and children ages five and younger on a first-come, first-serve basis.
