HATTIESBURG, MISS. - Charleston Southern competes in a national postseason tournament for the second time in program history on Wednesday when it meets Southern Mississippi in the first round of the NIT. Tipoff inside Reed Green Coliseum is set for 9:15 p.m. eastern time. ESPN3 will air the game live online, while fans in the Charleston area can listen locally on 106.3 WJNI FM.

The Bucs' only other national postseason berth came in 1997, when they won the Big South Tournament and met UCLA in the NCAA Midwest Regional 1st Round, falling 109-75. A victory over Southern Miss would give Charleston Southern its first 20-win season since the 1986-87 campaign.

Listen Live - Watch Live - Live Stats

Charleston Southern Head Coach Barclay Radebaugh looks to guide the Bucs to their first-ever national postseason win and continue the upward trajectory he has taken the program on during his tenure. With a win, CSU would increase its win total for a fifth consecutive season. The Bucs have gone from 10 wins in 2008-2009 during that stretch, all the way to 19 in 2011-12 and 19 more this year.

CSU (19-12, 12-4 Big South), the No. 8 seed in its respective NIT bracket, will match up with a talented Southern Miss (25-9, 12-4 Conference USA) squad which earned a No. 1 seed a year after advancing to the NCAA Tournament. The winner advances to the NIT 2nd Round for a meeting with No. 5 seed Louisiana Tech, who upended Florida State, 71-66, in Tallahassee on Tuesday night.

Both the Bucs and Golden Eagles came up one win shy of reaching the NCAA Tournament in their last contests. CSU enters off a nine-day layoff following an 87-76 loss to Liberty in the Big South Tournament Championship on March 10. Southern Miss, meanwhile, dropped a heart-breaking 91-79 double overtime final to Memphis in the Conference USA final this past Sunday and then missed out on an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

CSU and Southern Miss both possess potent offensive attacks, with the two sides ranking 37th and 30th nationally in scoring offense. The Golden Eagles have been particularly efficient as well, as they place 10th in overall field goal percentage and 17th in three-point field goal proficiency. The three-ball has been a constant for the Bucs as well, with their 9.1 made threes per game ranking third nationally. CSU's 283 made three-pointers are the most in a single-season in program history.

Matching Southern Miss' athleticism and intensity will be crucial if the Bucs are to hand the Golden Eagles their second home loss in the last two seasons. The Golden Eagles do not possess a particularly tall frontline, but still post a +6.1 rebounding margin, a figure good for 21st best in the country. First-year head coach Donnie Tyndall's squad also likes to push the tempo, and will utilize a press which has helped them to the third most steals in the country.

From a personnel standpoint, slowing down Southern Miss guard Dwayne Davis figures to be a top priority for CSU Head Coach Barclay Radebaugh and his Bucs. Davis leads the Golden Eagles with a 16.4 points a night clip and shoots nearly 50 percent from the floor and 44 from three-point range. The 6-5 senior has been on a tear of late, averaging 22.9 points over Southern Miss' last 11 games.

On the interior, CSU will be challenged to keep Southern Miss' Jonathan Mills off the glass. Mills paces a very good Golden Eagles' rebounding team with 7.8 boards a night, and has pulled down 118 of his 265 on the offensive side. He tallied 15 points and 17 rebounds in Southern Miss' loss to Memphis in Sunday's Conference USA title bout.

The Bucs and Golden Eagles took on three common opponents this year in Liberty, Arizona and Wichita State. CSU split with the Flames and dropped hard-fought road matchups at Arizona and Wichita State. Southern Miss defeated Liberty, 74-56, on November 21, and fell at Arizona and Wichita State. The Golden Eagles led Wichita State by 11 points at halftime before dropping a 59-51 decision on December 22.