Southern Utah's men's basketball team begins the heart of its league schedule by playing five conference games - over a quarter of the team's 18 conference match-ups - beginning Wednesday at South Dakota. The team plays the five games over a stretch of 11 days, with the first three on the road.

The Thunderbirds travel to Vermillion, S.D., for Wednesday night's match-up with South Dakota, then they travel to Kansas City, Mo., to take on UMKC on Friday. Because of high travel costs the team will not return home after the UMKC game, but will spend the weekend in Kansas City before traveling to Ft. Wayne, Ind., for a game at IPFW on Tuesday, Jan. 3. On Jan. 4 the team will return home, where it will host South Dakota State and North Dakota State on Jan. 5 and Jan. 7.

The Thunderbirds (5-6/0-1 Summit League) are coming off a 62-51 home win over UC Davis that snapped a four-game losing streak. SUU played well during the skid, losing three of the four games by eight points or less, and three of the four on the road, including losses at Summit League and Big Sky pre-season favorites Oral Roberts and Weber State. The Oral Roberts game is the Thunderbirds' only conference match-up to this point in the season.

South Dakota (5-6, 0-2 Summit League) has won three of its last four, with the lone loss coming at home to Canisius, a team it beat on the road for the first of the three wins. Most recently the Coyotes claimed a 103-63 win against Peru State on Dec. 21. USD opened Summit League play with losses at Oakland (101-83) and IPFW (92-87) in early December.

UMKC (7-7, 1-1 Summit League) hosts Oral Roberts Wednesday night. The Kangaroos will be looking to stop a two-game slide against the Golden Eagles before hosting SUU on Friday. UMKC had won three in a row before traveling to Michigan State and New Mexico last week, where they lost both contests. UMKC opened league play with a win at IPFW (81-66) and a loss to Oakland (86-73).

The Games: Wednesday, SUU (5-6/0-1) at South Dakota (5-6/0-2), 7:00 p.m. (CST) in the Dakota Dome (10,000), Vermillion, S.D. Saturday, SUU at UMKC (7-7, 1-1 pending the outcome of Wednesday's game vs. Oral Roberts), 7:05 p.m. (CST) in Swinney Recreation Center (1,504), Kansas City, Mo.

Radio: All Southern Utah men's basketball games are broadcast live by KSUU (91.1 FM) as well as on the internet at www.suu.edu/ksuu. Art Challis is in his 39th season as the Thunderbirds' basketball play-by-play voice. Dr. Challis is joined on home and selected road broadcasts by former SUU standout Dean O'Driscoll.

The Series: Wednesday's game will be the first between the Thunderbirds and Coyotes in men's basketball. Friday's contest will be the 33rd meeting between SUU and UMKC. It's a rivalry that began back in 1994, then took a three-year hiatus before resuming in 1998 when SUU joined the then-Mid-Continent Conference. The Thunderbirds hold a 17-15 edge in the series with the Kangaroos, and the home team has usually come out on top. UMKC is 13-3 in its home games while SUU is 13-2 vs. the 'Roos in games played in Cedar City and the teams have split two neutral-site games. UMKC has won three straight against the Thunderbirds and the last two in Kansas City, however. 

Practice Schedule: When at home the practice schedule calls for the team to work out at 3:00 p.m. daily. Contact SUU Director of Athletic Media Relations Neil Gardner for more information.

Media Availability: Players and coaches are available for interviews on Tuesdays prior to practice, between 2:30-3:00 p.m., with occasional adjustments due to scheduling conflicts. To contact a player or coach on another day or time contact Neil Gardner at gardner@suu.edu or 435-586-7753.

Video Highlights: Video highlights of SUU's Summit League home games will be available to accredited media outlets via SUU's FTP site. For information on the schedule and obtaining those highlights contact SUU Director of Athletic Media Relations Neil Gardner.

Affiliations: Southern Utah is in its 15th and final season in The Summit League. All but two of SUU's sports compete in The Summit, with football a member of the Great West Conference and gymnastics an affiliate member of the Western Athletic Conference. Most of SUU's programs will move into the Big Sky Conference in 2012. South Dakota is in its first season in The Summit League and UMKC is also a member of The Summit League.

Videostreaming/Live Stats at www.suutbirds.com: All of Southern Utah's 2011-12 men's basketball home games will be video-streamed on the SUU athletic website at www.suutbirds.com. Live stats for all home games and most road games will also be available. Video streams are on a pay basis but there is no cost for live stats.

Thunderbird Club Luncheons: The Thunderbird Club's weekly no-host luncheon is held Mondays at noon in the Tradition Room in the home of President Michael Benson. The public is invited to attend the luncheons where Southern Utah's in-season coaches talk about their upcoming contests and review the past week's action.

Next Up: SUU will take a six-day break from games following Thursday's match-up with UC Davis. The team returns to the road and Summit League play next week, with a three-game road swing to South Dakota (Dec. 28), UMKC (Dec. 30) and IPFW (Jan. 3).

The Coaches: 

Head Coach Roger Reid (Weber State '68) is in his fifth season on the Southern Utah bench.

Reid takes a career Division I mark of 197-162 - including a 45-86 record at SUU - into the game. His record includes six years as head coach at Brigham Young. He is 1-1 vs. UC Davis.

Coach Reid's career has spanned virtually every level of the coaching strata, including the high school, junior college, and NCAA Division I levels as well as in the NBA and international ranks. He is probably best known for his success at Brigham Young University, where he led the Cougars to five NCAA tournament berths and three Western Athletic Conference championships. He has also coached the Phoenix Suns of the NBA and the Hangzhou Horses of the Chinese Basketball Association. Reid coached Snow College to a conference title and a No. 18 national ranking in his final season on the bench there.

Reid is assisted by Ron Carling (BYU '70), a 40-year coaching veteran who is also entering his fifth season with the program; Johnny Brown (New Mexico '86), an 18-year veteran of the coaching ranks who is in his fifth year in Cedar City; and assistant Kenya Crandell (Nebraska-Kearney '96) who is entering his 15th season as a collegiate coach and his fourth year at SUU.

Captains: This year's captains are SUU's three seniors: Ray Jones, Jr., Matt Massey, and Ramell Taylor.

Thunderbird Notes:

• Since hitting just 13-of-26 free throws against Southern Virginia the Thunderbirds haven't been below 70 percent from the line, a span of five games. SUU hit 10-of-11 free throws at Troy, for a season-high 90.9 percent conversion rate. Prior to the Troy game the best effort was 13-of-15 at Oral Roberts (.867). The Thunderbirds tied their season-high with 23 made free throws vs. UC Davis last week.
• SUU combined to block a season-high four shots vs. UC Davis, two by Ramell Taylor.
• UC Davis had opponent-lows in made field goals (17), rebounds (21) and steals (two), while the Aggies' 22 turnovers tied the high for an SUU opponent this season.
• Heading into the week Ray Jones, Jr., ranked 29th in the nation in assists, with an average of 5.9 per game.
• As a team the Thunderbirds rank 18th in the nation and atop The Summit League with an average of 16.6 dimes per game. The team's 47.9 field goal percentage ranks 36th in the nation and is second in The League (The NCAA rankings were last updated on Dec. 18).
• Ramell Taylor scored 21 points to lead the team at Troy. The total was a season-high for Taylor and one off his career-high. He had 17 points to lead the team against UC Davis as well, when he also had a team-high seven rebounds.
• Matt Massey also had a season-high in points at Troy, with 20, while Jackson Stevenett scored 16 points. It marked just the second time this season the 'Birds have had three players with 15 or more points in the same game. Against Bryant Massey scored 16 and Jones had 18 while Damon Heuir finished with a team season-high 33.
• Four T-Birds sport double-figure scoring averages: Taylor at 12.2 ppg, Stevenett at 11.5, Massey at 11.2 and Heuir at 11.0.
• Taylor leads the team in rebounding, with 5.1 per game, while Stevenett averages 4.8 and Jones pulls down 4.5.
• The Thunderbirds have out-rebounded their opponents by a 32.2-29.5 average. SUU has 176 assists, an average of 16.3 a game and 52 more than the opponents combined.

Scouting the Coyotes:

South Dakota averages 72.2 points per game while giving up an average of 73.0. The Coyotes have hit 45.8 percent of their field goal attempts (.333 threes) while opponents have shot at a .427 clip (.339 threes). USD has converted 69.8 percent of its free throw attempts and has been out-rebounded by an average of 39.1-to-33.5 per game. The Coyotes and their opponents have each hit 75 3-pointers.

Three Coyotes carry double-figure scoring averages, guards Charlie Westbrook (6-4, 186, Sr) and Louie Krogman (6-1, 185, Sr) and center Trevor Gruis (6-10, 235, So). Westbrook averages 16.5 points while Krogman, the team's assists leader with 3.6 per game, scores at a 15.2 ppg clip, and Gruis averages 11.8 points and 5.3 rebounds, second-best on the team. Ricardo Andreotti (C, 6-8, 221, Sr) leads the team in rebounding with 5.6 per game.

South Dakota is 3-1 at home this season, with the loss coming against Canisius in overtime.

Scouting the Kangaroos

UMKC averages 66.6 points per game while giving up an average of 70.9. The 'Roos have hit 42.8 percent of their field goal attempts (.361 threes) while opponents have shot at a .461 clip (.326 threes). UMKC has converted 68.6 percent of its free throw attempts and has been out-rebounded by an average of 37.4-to-31.2 per game.

Two 'Roos carry double-figure scoring averages, guard Reggie Chamberlain (6-0, 170, Sr), who averages 17.3 ppg, and forward Trinity Hall (6-7, 205, Sr) who checks in at 11.3 ppg. Forward Staton Thomas (6-6, 220, Jr) averages a team-high 4.6 rebounds per game and co-leads the squad in assists, along with Estan  Tyler (6-1, 175, Fr), with 2.4 per game.

UMKC is 3-1 at home this season, with the loss coming against Northwest Missouri State in the opener.