The college basketball offseason is here, and we decided to have some fun over the next few months, ranking ALL 364 teams in D1. Number 196 is Southern Miss basketball.
Before you say we’re crazy – or that all of this is up for debate, let’s go over the very intricate process of how we came to this conclusion. We took a very statistical approach – with the help of Chat GPT – taking into consideration everything from March Madness wins and finishes, to AP Poll appearances, to conference players of the year. And then, a good friend of ours, Scott Blanchard, took our approach to the MAX.
Click here to visit the FIRST article, which explains how the formula works!
Here’s the breakdown of Southern Miss basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 0
- Elite Eights: 0
- Sweet 16s: 0
- NCAA wins: 0
- Bids: 3
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 15.2
- Bids per season: 0.05
- AP Polls: 19
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 0
- NBA players drafted & played: 2
- Conference Players of the Year: 3
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 3
- Conference tournament titles: 0
- NIT titles: 1
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on Southern Miss basketball
Southern Miss has practically always been a high mid-major program, so you have to give some initial credit for staying above .500 all-time. But even crazier than that, is how they’ve made the NCAA Tournament three times, yet have never won their conference tournament.
In 1990, the Golden Eagles were a 13-seed after going 20-11 and losing to Louisville in the Metro tourney. But it was a difficult enough of a conference for them to earn a bid to March Madness, ultimately falling in the first round.
Luckily, star forward Clarence Weatherspoon would be a junior the next season, guiding Southern Miss to another tournament and a 20-7 record heading in. It ended the same way – a loss to Louisville in the Metro and a round of 64 exit. And unfortunately, Weatherspoon’s senior year would be a dud, with the Golden Eagles finishing under .500. Of course, he would go on to have a solid NBA career, averaging 11.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game and retiring in 2005.
Southern Miss basketball would make the big dance again in 2012, going 25-9 overall after another round of 64 exit. However, they were a 9-seed, the best in any of their three tourney appearances.
While Weatherspoon may be more of a household name, MK Turk is the coach to highlight. He was in town for those years and many, many more, going 300-267 with the program. He was never named conference COY, despite the Golden Eagles reaching as high as ninth in the AP Poll in the 1990-91 season. But he did lead them to an NIT title in 1987.
While Turk was a legend with the program, another legend, Larry Eustachy, once coached them from 2004-12. His tourney appearance led to a move to Colorado State. Eustachy went 523-332 as a coach overall and won 142 games with Southern Miss.
Lately, it has been Jay Ladner at the helm, and while he hasn’t taken them to March Madness, he has had some okay years, including a regular season conference championship in 2023, their first year in the Sun Belt. But unfortunately, the glory days of the program were from the 1980s and into the early 2000s. Since that 2012 tourney bid, the Golden Eagles have been flying low.