As Victor Iuwakor elevates his game, the Southern Miss basketball rollercoaster climbs again

HATTIESBURG — Eight times this season, Victor Iwuakor has committed an act that might have gotten him benched at his previous teams. That's according to Southern Miss basketball coach Jay Ladner,

Iwuakor has attempted eight 3-pointers this season. He's connected on five of them. In his previous four seasons – two at Oklahoma and two at UNLV – Iwuakor was 1-for-9 from beyond the arc.

The 6-foot-8 forward has a measure of freedom in his first season with the Golden Eagles. It took him time to carve out his role, but now he's a mainstay in the starting lineup.

Southern Miss (10-8, 4-2 Sun Belt) is reaping the rewards in a season that’s had plenty of peaks and valleys.

The Golden Eagles have won four of their last five games since Iwuakor returned to the starting lineup in place of redshirt junior center Tegra Izay.

In Wednesday's 69-66 win over Arkansas State (7-11, 3-3), Iwuakor was the best player on the floor. He swished a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give Southern Miss a 57-56 lead with 7 minutes, 29 seconds remaining in the game, but that was just a small aspect of a dominant – and necessary – performance.

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The Golden Eagles were again without starters Andre Curbelo and Victor Hart for the second game in a row as they continue to nurse injuries.

In response, Iwuakor delivered 10 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high six blocks in 31 minutes.

One of those six blocks – the most by a Golden Eagles player this season – was a game-saver.

Arkansas State, trailing 67-66, needed one free throw to tie the game with less than 10 seconds to play. Taryn Todd’s shot clanked off the rim, Iwuakor secured the rebound, but his toe touched the baseline to give the Red Wolves possession with eight seconds to play. Arkansas State attempted a contested layup to take the lead, but Iwuakor swatted it with four seconds on the clock. He then sank two free throws for the 69-66 lead.

A former four-star prospect, Iwuakor started 17 games in his time at Oklahoma and UNLV. He's never averaged more than 2.9 points per game in a season until now, ranking fifth for USM at 7.2 points per game.

But Iwuakor stood out when he and UNLV beat Southern Miss last season. He scored eight points, grabbed eight rebounds and made four blocks in 23 minutes off the bench, helping him eventually land at Southern Miss.

“He’s an elite defender, he’s an elite on-ball defender, he’s an elite athlete, he’s an elite rebounder and he’s an elite shot-blocker,” Ladner said.

Southern Miss responds again after blowout loss

In the lows of Southern Miss’ season are four losses by 18 points or more.

But in the highs are the immediate games that follow. All of them are wins.

On Nov. 10, Southern Miss lost 72-54 at Akron, then beat Xavier (La.) five days later. On Dec. 13, Southern Miss lost 67-48 at McNeese State, then defeated Lamar on the road, also five days later. The Golden Eagles ended 2023 with a brutal 88-67 loss to winless Georgia Southern, but rallied to beat Georgia State on Jan. 4.

Now on Wednesday, Southern Miss did it again following an 82-56 defeat at Troy last Saturday.

“Next-game mentality,” said Austin Crowley, who scored 25 points, five of which came in the final two minutes. “We know we want to be one of those teams with the byes in the Sun Belt (Tournament) so we can’t really dwell on losses like that. It’s life. There’s gonna be ups and downs.”

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_.

This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: As Victor Iuwakor shines, Southern Miss basketball rollercoaster climbs again