Southern Utah's men's basketball team heads back up I-15 for its second and final in-state match-up of the 2011-12 season this weekend as the Thunderbirds take on Weber State in Ogden, Utah, on Saturday evening.

Saturday's game will mark the final non-conference game between the two men's basketball programs, as SUU is poised to join WSU next season in the Big Sky Conference.

The Thunderbirds (4-4/0-1 Summit League) will be looking to stop a two-game losing streak after back-to-back narrow losses, at home to Troy (80-76) on Nov. 26, and on the road at Oral Roberts (61-55) last Saturday in both teams' Summit League opener. The Thunderbirds will also be shooting for their first road win of the season.

Weber State takes a 5-1 mark into a game at Brigham Young on Wednesday. The Wildcats are coming off a 91-89 double-overtime win at home over San Jose State last Saturday. WSU is 3-0 at home this season, with wins over Northern New Mexico (109-50) and Utah State (73-63) in addition to Saturday's victory against SJSU.

The Game: Saturday, SUU (4-4) at Weber State (5-1 pending the outcome of Wednesday's game at BYU), 7:00 p.m. (MST) in the Dee Events Center (12,000).

Radio: All Southern Utah men's basketball games will be 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: Saturday's game will be the 28th between the Thunderbirds and Wildcats. Weber State holds a 21-6 edge in the series, including a 15-2 mark in home games against the T-Birds. WSU has won four straight in the series, including a 77-71 win last season in Cedar City and an 84-66 home win early in the 2009-10 season in the last game played in Ogden. SUU's last win was a 75-63 triumph in Cedar City during the 2006-07 season. The 'Birds' last win in Ogden came back in the 2004-05 season when they claimed a 62-56 victory.

Practice Schedule: 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 2:00-3:00 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. Weber State is a member of the Big Sky Conference.

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: Next week SUU travels cross-country to Troy, Ala., for a Dec. 17, re-match with Troy University. Troy took an 80-76 win in Cedar City on Nov. 26.

The Coaches: 

Head Coach Roger Reid (Weber State '68) is in his fifth season on the Southern Utah bench. He is 5-6 all-time against his alma mater, including an 0-3 mark against the Wildcats at SUU.

Reid takes a career Division I mark of 196-160 - including a 44-84 record at SUU - into the game. His record includes six years as head coach at Brigham Young.

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:

• Ray Jones, Jr., ranks 18th in the nation in assists, with an average of 6.3 per game. He dished out eight dimes at Oral Roberts, over half the team's 15 assists and two shy of his career-high. He leads the team in both assists and rebounding (5.3 rpg).
• As a team SUU is 17th in the nation with an average of 16.6 assists per game and the team's 47.8 field goal percentage ranks 41st.
• Wade Collie got the first start of his SUU career at Oral Roberts and wound up playing all 40 minutes in the contest. He finished the game with a career-high 12 points to go with five rebounds (which co-led the team), four assists and a team-best two steals.
• Jackson Stevenett scored a game-high 20 points at ORU. The output was his season-high and just four shy of his career-best. Stevenett hit 7-of-13 shots and 6-of-6 free throws in the contest, the team's best individual effort from the line this season.
• Matt Massey added 11 points at ORU. He has scored in double figures in seven of the team's eight games.
• As a team SUU hit 13-of-15 free throws at ORU for a season-high 86.7 percent conversion rate.
• The Thunderbirds were without their top 3-point shooter, Damon Heuir, at ORU and wound up 0-for-8 from beyond the arc. It was the second time this season the team went without a 3-pointer (SUU was 0-5 from long range vs. MSU-Billings). Heuir was serving a one-game suspension vs. ORU after violating a team policy.
• SUU has 133 assists through eight games, an average of 16.6 a game and 55 more than the eight opponents combined.
• Through the first eight games the Thunderbirds have out-rebounded their opponents by a 32.9-30.1 average.
• The Thunderbirds have four players with double-figure scoring averages. Heuir leads the way at 11.9 ppg, with Ramell Taylor at 11.5 and Massey at 11.1 and Stevenett at 11.0. 
• SUU is 4-1 when winning the rebounding battle and 0-3 when losing it. The only game the Thunderbirds have lost when coming out on top in rebounds was against Troy, when SUU out-rebounded the Trojans 40-28 but still came out on the wrong end of the decision.

Scouting the Wildcats:

Weber State was the pre-season pick to win the 2011-12 Big Sky championship. The Wildcats were a unanimous pick by the conference's coaches and an overwhelming favorite in the media poll as well. 

WSU guard Damian Lillard (6-3, 195, Jr) leads the nation in scoring and has the country's highest single-game total this season. Lillard went off for 41 points vs. San Jose State last week, the nation's single-game high in 2011-12, to push his average to 28.2 ppg. Coach Randy Rahe picked up his 100th career win against SJSU.

Including Lillard, three Wildcats carry double-figure scoring averages. Scott Bamforth (6-2, 190, Jr) averages 15.3 points per game while Kyle Tresnak (6-10, 255, So) checks in at 10.0 ppg. Kyle Bullinger (6-6, 215, Sr) pulls down a team-high 9.0 rebounds per game while Lillard is third on the squad with 5.5 rpg and averages a team-best 3.0 assists. Frank Otis (6-6, 220, Jr) pulls down 5.7 caroms per game.

As a team, WSU has averaged 82.0 points per game on .441 shooting (.399 threes) while holding opponents to 70.3 points on .401 shooting (.315 threes). The Wildcats have knocked down 76.8 percent of their free throws and have out-rebounded opponents by an average of 40.5-34.5.

WSU's 82 points per game is the 16th-highest total in the country, the 'Cats' 9.2 3-pointers per game rank 14th and their 76.8 free throw percentage is 13th.