CEDAR CITY, Utah - The wait is over for the Thunderbird men's basketball team, as they'll hit the hardwood in regular season action this Friday against the Beavers of Oregon State before taking on the Broncos of Boise State on Sunday.
Last Time Out
The Thunderbirds had one exhibition competition leading into the their regular season opener, knocking off the Cavaliers of Concordia in Cedar City.
Redshirt senior James McGee had a major impact for the Thunderbirds, leading the team with a double-double performance. McGee knocked down six three-pointers en route to scoring 23 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.
In his first contest as a Thunderbird, transfer Brandon Better dropped in 20 for the Thunderbirds on 4-of-5 shooting from behind the three-point line. He finished 8-of-8 from the free throw line as well.
Christian Musoko also had 20 for the Thunderbirds, finishing with 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting. He also pulled down six rebounds to go along with several thunderous dunks that excited the T-Bird fans in attendance.
Words From Coach Simon
On what he's anticipating to see from Oregon State on Friday…..
"Oregon State obviously as a Pac-12 team has high caliber talent and certainly as they've gotten some guys back from injury, from a size, speed, strength and athleticism standpoint they're toward the top of who we'll play this year," SUU head coach Todd Simon said. "They'll be ready to go and motivated for their home opener, and I think they have a lot to prove and they certainly play very hard."
On what the team is aiming to improve on before Friday…..
"As we continue to get more guys healthy, we've got to continue to get those guys reps to know what our schemes are and make things become more second nature," he said. "We've got to get our reps up, we've got to get the understanding of the reps down for the guys who have missed practice, and we've got to get ready for what Oregon State's going to do. With so many new faces and so many missed practices, our talking to each other will be a very big key."
Opponent Preview: Oregon State Beavers
Out of the Pac-12 Conference, the Oregon State Beavers are looking to have a big season under head coach Wayne Tinkle.
The former head coach of the Montana Grizzlies, Tinkle started at Oregon State in 2014 and has a 41-54 record in his three seasons at the helm.
Last season the Beavers finished 5-27 in the regular season, and had a 1-17 record in the Pac-12 Conference. OSU's win in the Pac-12 came against the University of Utah. Their season came to an end at the hands of the California Golden Bears in the Pac-12 Tournament.
The Beavers had one exhibition competition leading into the season, knocking off Pacific 91-69. OSU was led by Stephen Thompson Jr., who scored 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field.
Opponent Preview: Boise State Broncos
Coming off an impressive season, the Boise State Broncos are looking to continue making noise in the Mountain West Conference and around the NCAA.
Last season the Broncos had a 20-12 record, and a 12-5 mark in the Mountain West Conference. BSU also went 12-5 at home.
The Broncos season went all the way to the NIT (National Invitation Tournament) where they made it to the second round after knocking off the University of Utah in the opening round. Their season came to a close when they fell to the Fighting Illini of Illinois 71-56.
Head coach Leon Rice is in his eighth season with the Broncos, where he has led the team to the NCAA Tournament two times. These were Boise State's first two at-large berths to the big dance in the history of the program.
The Broncos had an exhibition contest against the College of Idaho last week, winning that one 74-69.
The Broncos will square off against Eastern Oregon on November 10 before hosting the Thunderbirds on the following Sunday.
Tip Time
Friday's contest against Oregon State will tip off at 8 p.m. Mountain Time and Sunday's contest with Boise State will be a 2 p.m. MT tip.
Where To Watch / Listen / Follow Along
Friday's game will be available on the Pac-12 Network and can be streamed online at www.pac-12.com with a network provider. Sunday's game will be available on the Mountain West Network, which can be accessed on www.broncosports.com.
All games will be available over the airwaves locally on KSUB 590 AM with Colton Gordon on the call for this weekend's proceedings.
Links to live stats for all games can be accessed from www.suutbirds.com.
Follow Us
Follow the Thunderbirds all season @SUUBasketball on Twitter and Instagram and by liking the Southern Utah Basketball page on Facebook.
Read all about the Thunderbirds on www.suutbirds.com.
Ticket Information
Season tickets for the 2017-18 SUU men's basketball campaign can be purchased at tbirdtickets.com or at the America First Event Center Ticket Office.
