Southern Miss basketball will again not be at full force on Wednesday night.
Starting point guard Andre Curbelo will not play tonight (6 p.m., ESPN+) at Coastal Carolina (5-13, 2-5 Sun Belt Conference) as he continues to recover from what coach Jay Ladner described last week as “concussion-like symptoms,” a team spokesperson said. Victor Hart, another Southern Miss starter, will be a game-time decision due to his knee injury.
Curbelo did not travel with the team to Coastal Carolina, the spokesperson added. Southern Miss also plays at Marshall on Saturday (6 p.m., ESPN+) and will not be returning to Hattiesburg in between the games.
Both Curbelo and Hart have missed the last three Southern Miss games after they left during the 71-58 win at ULM on Jan. 11.
The Golden Eagles (11-8, 5-2) got trounced 82-56 at Troy two days after the injuries, but then returned home to squeak by with a 69-66 win versus Arkansas State and a 64-63 win in a rematch versus Troy. It’s put Southern Miss in a three-way tie for second place in the conference behind Appalachian State.
Guards Cobie Montgomery and Mo Arnold have started the last three games in place of Curbelo and Hart. Arnold grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds in the win against Arkansas State, while Montgomery was second on the team with 13 points on Saturday against Troy.
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UNLV transfer Victor Iwuakor has stepped up too, scoring 21 points, grabbing 18 rebounds and recording nine blocks in the past two games. He also scored the game-winning layup against Troy.
Curbelo has only played in six games this season, but is first on the team in assists per game (6.0) and fourth in scoring at 12.0 points per game. Victor Hart is second on the team averaging 13.3 points per game, leads Southern Miss with 6.3 rebounds per game and is also tied for first in the Sun Belt with 1.9 steals per game.
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: USM basketball: Andre Curbelo injury update vs Coastal Carolina
