Southern Miss Golden Eagles vs. Buffalo Bulls Odds, Preview, Picks and Prediction for Monday, November 3, 2025
Use Code WWWC The Southern Miss Golden Eagles and Buffalo Bulls tip off their season Monday in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge. According to Sports Illustrated, Southern Miss comes in as the No. 224-rated team and Buffalo as the No. 288-rated team.
College basketball involves a lot of research, but our experts have you covered. Check out our NCAAB picks for opening day and beyond.
A lot of changes for Southern Miss
Southern Miss is led by head coach Jay Ladner, who is entering his seventh season leading the Golden Eagles. Ladner’s history with the program runs deep as he is a Hattiesburg, Mississippi, native who played with the program from 1984-88.
Southern Miss played two preseason exhibition games, a 69-64 loss to Houston Christian and an 81-71 win over Jackson State.
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Southern Miss went 11-22 last season and is likely to have another challenging season. The team has only three returning players who saw game action last season, and none of them were highly impactful. In the two exhibition games, Isaac Taveras led the way with 23- and 20-point performances. Taveras averaged 16.7 points per game at the NJCAA level. The 6'6 junior also played for Fresno State in 2023-24, where he averaged 4.8 points per game.
Can the Bulls exceed expectations?
The Buffalo Bulls are entering their third season under head coach George Halcovage. The team went 9-22 last season, which was an improvement after going 4-27 in Halcovage’s first season.
The Bulls are expected to struggle again and were voted to finish 11th out of 12 teams in the MAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
Buffalo faced the Syracuse Orange in its only preseason game and lost 76-66. Ezra McKenna led the way with 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting, and Noah Batchelor added 10 points with a team-best 10 rebounds. McKenna is a 6'10 graduate student who averaged 15.2 points and 10.7 rebounds with Mobile last season. Batchelor is a 6-foot-8 returning guard who averaged 6.8 points per game for the Bulls last season.
Buffalo also returns its top scorer from last season in 6'3 junior Ryan Sabol, who averaged 14.4 points per game.
Southern Miss vs. Buffalo Prediction
Spread Prediction for Southern Miss vs. Buffalo
- Buffalo +1.5 (4 units)
Neither of these teams is expected to be strong this season, but I give the edge to the Bulls. While most mid-majors do not return their top player from last season, the Bulls do, led by Ryan Sabol, and Ezra McKenna may be one of the top newcomer sleepers in the MAC.
The Southern Miss roster is too much of a question mark for me to trust them on the long trip to New York. Take Buffalo.
Total Prediction for Southern Miss vs. Buffalo
- Under 154.5 (4 units)
The total is high in this game because both head coaches love to play at a fast pace, but even with tempo, shots need to be made, and I don’t trust these teams to do that. Southern Miss ranked 327th and Buffalo 340th in adjusted offensive efficiency last season. With this being the first game of the season and both teams dealing with roster turnover, it’s hard to expect a lot of points.
Also, when looking at the three exhibition games these teams played, none went over 152 points. I’ll be on the under.
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