Southern Miss basketball gives injury update on Andre Curbelo, Victor Hart before ODU game
Southern Miss basketball begins a six-game homestand on Wednesday and sure could use some reinforcements, with its losing streak now at three games.
Starters Andre Curbelo and Victor Hart sat out both of last week’s games that ended in losses at Arkansas State and Texas State. It marked the seventh consecutive game they have simultaneously missed because of injuries.
Curbelo and Hart are both game-time decisions against Old Dominion (6-17, 2-9 Sun Belt Conference) on Wednesday (7 p.m., ESPN+), according to a team spokesperson.
Coach Jay Ladner also provided an update Monday during his weekly appearance on the Golden Eagle Basketball Hotline radio show, saying, “I think we are getting close on both of them,” and that “both of those guys are on the upswing and we feel like they may be back.”
He added that Hart is closer to returning than Curbelo is, which isn’t a surprise because he was expected to be available last week, but ultimately did not dress for either game.
“He had a good workout this morning,” Ladner said of Hart. “He's still not 100%. He's still favoring the knee a little bit, but he's getting closer and closer.”
Curbelo and Hart both left the Jan. 11 win at ULM with injuries and haven’t played since. Curbelo, according to Ladner, is dealing with “concussion-like symptoms,” and Hart has a hyperextended knee.
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To make matters worse, an illness has also been swirling around the players at Southern Miss (12-11, 6-5) since at least last week. Ladner said after Saturday's loss at Texas State that three players — Austin Crowley, Victor Iwuakor and Cobie Montgomery — all needed IVs before playing at Arkansas State on Jan. 31. Even team broadcaster John Cox admitted to feeling under the weather at the time.
Curbelo, a St. John’s transfer, had to sit out the first 10 games of the season because he hadn’t received an NCAA eligibility waiver as a two-time undergraduate transfer. He made his Southern Miss debut on Dec. 18 at Lamar and in six games is fourth on the team in scoring at 12.0 points per game and first in assists (5.0 per game). Curbelo also posted Southern Miss' first triple-double since 1980 in a 79-73 victory over Georgia State on Jan. 5.
Hart, a senior forward, is Southern Miss’ second-leading scorer at 13.3 points per game, leading rebounder at 6.3 rebounds per game, and tied for first in the Sun Belt with 1.9 steals per game.
The Golden Eagles are 3-4 since Curbelo and Hart suffered their injuries.
Southern Miss also hosts Western Michigan (8-14, 5-5 MAC) on Saturday (1 p.m., ESPN+) in the MAC-SBC Challenge.
Sam Sklar is the Southern Miss beat reporter for The Hattiesburg American. Email him at ssklar@hattiesb.gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
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This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Southern Miss basketball injury report on Andre Curbelo, Victor Hart
