To begin their postseason, the Texas State Bobcats are set to play against the eighth seeded Southern Miss Golden Eagles Friday evening in the fourth round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament at Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Fla.

The Golden Eagles defeated the James Madison Dukes Thursday evening 86-80, whom Texas State lost to by 25 earlier this year. Southern Miss looks to continue moving along in the tournament against a fellow foe who got the last laugh in the season series, having been defeated by the Bobcats 74-67.

Kaden Gumbs had 18 points to lead the Bobcats that game and Texas State scored 47 points in the second half after a brutal 27-point first half start, ultimately defeating the Golden Eagles. But Southern Miss had a sniff of defeating the Bobcats prior to that game, defeating them just nine days before that in an 80-70 overtime victory.

Southern Miss junior forward Tylik Weeks is a player the Bobcats will need to neutralize if they want a chance in this game. In the two outings against Texas State, the forward averaged 24.5 points against the Bobcats. Along with that, Weeks is coming off a 31-point performance against the Dukes in Thursday’s victory.

In a win-or-go-home scenario, Texas State will need to dominate early in the game in order to keep up with an underrated Southern Miss basketball team. The Bobcats will have to repeat its second half performance like they did in the last matchup against the Golden Eagles but for both halves.

The winner of this game will get a shot at Appalachian State in the quarterfinals, which then leads to the winner of that game facing No. 1-seeded Troy.

Tip-off between the Bobcats and Golden Eagles will begin at 5 p.m. on March 6 at the Pensacola Bay Center. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.