Southern Miss men's basketball went toe-to-toe with No. 18 Iowa State for most of the first half at Hilton Coliseum on Friday night, but early foul trouble for starting guards Isaac Taveras and Anthony Igiede opened the door for the Cyclones to pull away for a lopsided win, 83-57.

The loss drops the Golden Eagles to 1-1 on the season after they opened with a win over Tougaloo on Monday night at Reed Green Coliseum. Iowa State also moved to 1-1.

Make no mistake, a 26-point loss is a 26-point loss, and nobody on the Golden Eagles' staff or roster is going to pretend otherwise. But anyone who only glances at the final score is going to miss the good that happened for Southern Miss in Ames. The Golden Eagles trailed just 23-22 against a top-20 team on the road, and it wasn't until the Golden Eagles were playing without their two best guards that things started to unravel.

So what should Southern Miss fans take away from a night like this? Here are five big things we learned from Southern Miss' loss at No. 18 Iowa State.

Measuring Stick: Southern Miss Can Hang With a Ranked Team on the Road

Hilton Coliseum is one of the toughest road environments in college basketball, and Iowa State rarely lets visitors hang around for long. For the better part of the first half, though, Southern Miss did exactly that, matching the Cyclones basket for basket and trailing 23-22 a little more than 10 minutes in.

That's the kind of stretch that should give this group some real confidence heading into the rest of nonconference play, and it's the kind of stretch the Southern Miss coaching staff was hoping to see when it put this game on the schedule.

"Last night's game was a great measuring stick for our basketball team," Southern Miss lead assistant coach Noah Croak told Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI. "There were some clear bright spots, [and we were] overall relatively happy with the outside shooting and having multiple 3-point threats on the floor. Also, in spurts, we had taken some steps defensively ... This game was played to compete against one of the nation's best and help prepare us for conference play, which we think was accomplished."

The Golden Eagles still have a ways to go, but if they can play the way they did for most of that first half on a more consistent basis, they'll win a lot of games once Sun Belt play rolls around.

Whistle Woes: Foul Trouble Flipped the Game

Taveras, the Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year, was called for three fouls in the first 10 minutes of the game, sending the 6-foot-6 senior guard to the bench for the rest of the half. Igiede then picked up his third foul with 6:14 left in the first half, and just like that, Southern Miss was without both of its starting guards against one of the best teams in the country. The game turned drastically at that point, as Iowa State took full advantage.

After Southern Miss pulled within 23-22, the Cyclones outscored the Golden Eagles 23-7 the rest of the way to take a 46-29 lead into halftime. Southern Miss never got closer than that the rest of the night.

A couple of those foul calls were questionable at best, if we're being completely honest, especially considering how physical Iowa State was being allowed to play on the other end. The free-throw disparity tells part of the story, as the Cyclones went 25-for-36 from the line while Southern Miss went just 11-for-22. That's a 14-point difference at the charity stripe alone.

To be fair, though, not all of it falls on the officials. Southern Miss was whistled for 26 fouls as a team, including two technical fouls (on head coach Jay Ladner and freshman point guard Dorion Bowen) and a flagrant (on Taveras), and Taveras eventually fouled out after playing just 18 minutes. Even in limited action, he still made his presence felt with five points, two assists and four steals.

The Golden Eagles actually played Iowa State much closer in the second half, getting outscored 37-28, but the damage from that late first-half run was already done.

"There is still a big emphasis on turnovers and cutting that number down, along with finding ways to play defense without fouling," Croak said.

Southern Miss Can Let It Fly From Deep

If there was one area where Southern Miss clearly won the night, it was from beyond the arc.

The Golden Eagles knocked down 8 of 20 3-point attempts (40 percent), while Iowa State went just 4 of 12. Six different players hit a 3-pointer for Southern Miss, which is exactly the kind of floor spacing Croak pointed to as a bright spot.

Igiede led the way despite his foul trouble, scoring a team-high 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range in 26 minutes. Brandon Weston, the Tennessee State transfer, added nine points on 3-of-7 shooting, while Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt chipped in eight points, going 5-of-6 from the free-throw line. Elliot Tulip and Brewer Carruth each went 1-for-1 from deep off the bench.

With a healthy rotation of shooters that can stretch the floor, Southern Miss is going to be a tough cover for a lot of teams this season, especially when Taveras and Igiede are on the floor together for 30-plus minutes, if it can continue to knock down those 3s.

Self-Inflicted Wounds: Turnovers and the Paint Still Need Work

Iowa State dominated the paint, 42-20, and won the rebounding battle, 38-28. Cyclones forward Tre Singleton was a problem all night long, finishing with a game-high 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting, along with nine rebounds (five offensive) and three blocks.

The Golden Eagles also turned the ball over 18 times, and Iowa State turned those mistakes into 23 points. The Cyclones held an 8-1 edge in fast-break points as well. Add in 11 missed free throws, and that's a lot of points left on the table against a team that doesn't need any extra help.

"Against a top team like Iowa State, it's not a game where you can afford even the smallest of mistakes, or they will make you pay every time," Croak said.

The good news, though, is that those are fixable problems, and the Southern Miss coaching staff knows exactly where the emphasis needs to be in practice this week.

Growing Pains: The Post Players Are Still Developing

Southern Miss' frontcourt is still a work in progress, and that showed against a big, physical Iowa State team.

Maximilian Blank, the 7-footer from Germany, did some good things in 20 minutes, finishing with four points, three rebounds, two assists and three blocks. Beyond Blank, though, Southern Miss' bigs saw limited minutes, with Marcus Overstreet playing three minutes and Fallou Diagne playing four. Talented big-man transfer Cam Wallace also must be better going forward, as he had two points, zero rebounds and five turnovers in 13 minutes of action. Wallace is certainly capable of playing better than that, so it wouldn't be a shock to see him bounce back next game.

Even with the growing pains, Croak said the staff is excited about the potential of their group of bigs.

"We're excited for our post players to continue to develop and emerge with each practice and game that goes by," Croak said.

How quickly that group comes along is going to be one of the bigger storylines to watch over the next month or so, because the Golden Eagles are going to need more production inside before conference play arrives.

Back to Reed Green: A Hungry Jackson State Comes to Town

Southern Miss will return home to Reed Green Coliseum to face Jackson State on Wednesday, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m. CT.

The Tigers are coming off an 87-85 road win at Tulane and will bring a talented backcourt led by reigning SWAC Player of the Year Daeshun Ruffin to Hattiesburg.

"We have a great matchup coming into Reed Green with a hungry Jackson State team that just beat Tulane at Tulane," Croak said. "They have three high-level D1 guards in Ruffin, [Dorian] McMillian and [Mike] Williams. We're excited for the challenge ahead and to get back in front of our fans this Wednesday."

Stay tuned to Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI for more coverage of Southern Miss men's basketball throughout the 2026-27 season. Wednesday's game against Jackson State tips off at 7 p.m. CT from Reed Green Coliseum and will be aired on ESPN+.