There are a couple things Southern Mississippi coach James Green could not have anticipated:

UC at SOUTHERN MISS

• When: 4 p.m. today.   • Where: Reed Green Coliseum (8,095), Hattiesburg, Miss.   • Records: USM 16-6 (6-4 Conference USA), UC 15-7 (5-4).   • TV: Ch.19.   • Radio: WLW-AM (700).   SOUTHERN MISS     Player-Ht-Yr-Avg   Mario Myles-6-5-So.-5.8   Elvin Mims-6-6-Jr.-10.9   Vandarel Jones-6-9-Sr.-12.0   David Wall-6-5-Sr.-14.7   Mel Cauthen-6-0-Sr.-5.1   Coach: James Green (81-60, fifth season; same overall)   CINCINNATI   Player-Ht-Yr-Avg   Immanuel McElroy-6-4-Jr.-5.8   Jamaal Davis-6-9-Jr.-8.0   Donald Little-6-11-So.-6.6   Steve Logan-6-0-Jr.-16.4   Kenny Satterfield-6-2-So.-13.9   Coach: Bob Huggins (291-93, 12th season; 459-165 overall)   BY THE NUMBERS   • 20-0: UC's record vs. C-USA National Division teams in regular season since 1997-98.   • 13-12: UC's series lead over USM.   • 7: Consecutive UC victories over USM.

        1. His team's 10-1 start, including a November victory over then-No.15 Arkansas, the school's first win over a ranked team since January 1991.

        2. His players' struggle with success.

        “We've never won 16 games at this point in the year and had everybody talking about us and saying how good we are,” Green said. “Well, people start to put a target on your back when that happens.

        “We needed to learn how to win after we won.”

        Southern Mississippi (16-6, 6-4 C-USA), which plays host to the University of Cincinnati today, has been to the NCAA Tournament only twice — and not in 10 years.

        Just two weeks ago, the Golden Eagles seemed to have a good shot at a third berth, with a 15-3 record (5-2 Conference USA).

        “We were a team that was hungry, really hadn't proved a lot and felt like we needed to, and I thought our guys were focused and played well through that stretch,” Green said. “The winning gave us confidence.”

        But they have stumbled recently, losing three of their last four games, including to Tulane, the second-lowest rated team in the league, Wednesday night. The Green Wave shot 43 free throws in that game.

        USM has dropped to No.67 in the RPI and has the worst strength of schedule among C-USA teams (114).

        Southern Miss is 1 1/2 games behind National Division leader Memphis. UC (15-7, 5-4) is one game

        behind American Division leader Marquette, which lost Thursday at Louisville and plays host to Saint Louis Sunday.

        Wednesday's game was the first time Green saw his team outworked and outhustled. Because of that, he isn't even thinking about the NCAA Tournament.

        “We had goofy stuff happen in the (Tulane) game,” Green said. “It looked like junior high at times, where guys run into each other, a guy passes the ball to a guy who's not looking. Just mishaps.

        “We're in a learning process. It's just a tough time of the season to go through it. And we've built up expectations. Our fans are probably more excited than ever before, which is good.”

        Southern Miss is 9-1 at home. The Golden Eagles are No.1 in the conference in scoring defense and No.2 in field goal percentage and 3-point percentage defense.

        “They're great defensively,” UC coach Bob Huggins said. “We're working hard on offensive execution this week.”

        USM opponents average just 26.5 points in the first half, and six teams have been held to 20 or fewer.

        Senior center Vandarel Jones is having the best season of his career. He has three double-doubles in his last seven games and is averaging 13.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in Conference USA games.

        “We've been on his back like a pack mule,” Green said. “He's just been a warrior. He's posting strong and scoring around the basket, and not just at point-blank range. He's passing the ball better, and he's been a force on the backboard. Up until recent games he's given us some shot blocking. We've got to get the ball inside. That's our strength.”

        Senior David Wall, the team's leading scorer, has been battling a knee injury since Jan.6 and has missed three of the past nine games. He has not been playing his best, and he is a key for the Golden Eagles.

        Two others to watch: athletic junior Elvin Mims, the Eagles' No.3 scorer, and senior point guard Mel Cauthen, who leads USM in assists and steals.

        “Mel's got to go back to being the quarterback,” Green said. “He's looked to score more.”

        Meanwhile, Green has the NCAA talk on hold.

        “On some nights, we'll be as good or better than a lot of people that will play in the tournament, but for Southern Miss to prove it, we've got to go do it every single night,” he said. “And we haven't done it. That why I say we're not an NCAA team right now.”
       

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