Troy University’s men’s basketball team will host Southern Miss at Trojan Arena on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The Trojans, currently holding an 11-6 overall record and 4-1 in Sun Belt Conference play, return home after a strong road victory over Louisiana. In that game, Troy achieved its best three-point shooting performance of the season, making 17 out of 29 attempts from beyond the arc.
Six players scored in double figures during the win against Louisiana. Thomas Dowd led with 15 points and eight rebounds, joined by Cobi Campbell (12), Cooper Campbell (12), Victor Valdes (12), Jerrell Bellamy (11), and Kerrington Kiel (11). Troy also dominated the boards, outrebounding Louisiana 42-19 and gaining an 18-6 edge in offensive rebounds. This advantage contributed to a significant difference in second-chance points, with Troy outscoring Louisiana 30-2.
Southern Miss enters the matchup with an 11-7 overall record and sits atop the Sun Belt standings at 5-1. The Golden Eagles are on a four-game winning streak, including recent home victories over Texas State and ULM.
Historically, Troy has struggled against Southern Miss with a 4-19 all-time record but is even at 3-3 since Southern Miss joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2022.
The game will take place at Trojan Arena in Troy, Alabama. Fans can watch on ESPN+ or listen via the Troy Sports Media Network.
Troy’s recent success from beyond the arc ties their highest mark since February 24, 2023, when they also made 17 three-pointers in a win over Coastal Carolina. This season, they average 10.5 threes per game—first in the Sun Belt and ranked No. 30 nationally.
Thomas Dowd continues to stand out statistically this season. He ranks sixth nationally in total rebounds with 173 and is sixteenth in rebounds per game at 10.2. Dowd is one of only nine players nationwide averaging at least 15 points and ten rebounds per contest.
For Southern Miss, Tylik Weeks leads offensively with an average of 18 points per game—the highest in the conference—and adds 6.2 rebounds per outing. The Golden Eagles attempt nearly nineteen free throws each game and rank fourth in free throw percentage within the conference at just over seventy-three percent.
Looking ahead, Troy will remain at home for their next matchup against Arkansas State on Saturday afternoon.
Head coach Scott Cross is now in his seventh season leading Troy’s program and has compiled a record of 114 wins to ninety-three losses during his tenure. Over the past four seasons, Troy has won more than twenty games each year along with ten or more Sun Belt victories annually.
Troy leads the conference this season by averaging nearly eighty-six points per game—a mark that places them fortieth nationally—and holds first place for scoring margin at plus nine points per contest.
Thomas Dowd is tied for first place among Sun Belt players for blocks per game through five conference matchups at two-point-four; he recorded a career-high four blocks against Arkansas State earlier this month.
Other contributors include Emmanuel Clarton, Javen Colbert, Evan Griffin, and Hikaru Awata—the latter making his collegiate debut versus Louisiana as a redshirt freshman. Victor Valdes and Thomas Dowd are currently co-leading scorers for Troy with averages of fifteen-point-six points apiece; Dowd also tops rebounding stats while Cooper Campbell follows as third-leading scorer averaging thirteen-point-five points per game.
