CEDAR CITY, Utah -- The Thunderbird men's basketball team will head back out on the road this week to face off against Long Beach State and Central Michigan as they enter their final legs of non-conference play.  

Last Time Out

The Thunderbirds moved to 4-1 following their last contest against San Diego Christian, where they came out on top 111-64.

Jacob Calloway led the scoring effort for the T-Birds, finishing with a career high 20 points.

Kenton Eskridge came off the bench early for SUU and started the game five-of-five from the field. He ultimately finished with 16 points.

Brandon Better dropped in 15 points, while Maizen Fausett had a double-double performance with 12 points and 14 rebounds in just 18 minutes.  

National Rankings

Compared to all other NCAA Division I teams, the Thunderbirds currently sit second in the entire NCAA in turnover margin (8.2) and fourth in the country in terms of steals per game (10.6).

SUU currently sits in a tie for 24th in the NCAA for scoring offense (86.0 ppg), and 18th in scoring margin (19.6).

Opponent Preview: Long Beach State (2-7)

Long Beach State will play host to the Thunderbirds coming off a loss to San Diego, 74-70. The Beach has played several big name programs this season, including UCLA, Arizona State, Mississippi State, Oregon State and USC.

Through eight games Deishaun Booker has been the leading scorer for LBSU, averaging 14.9 points per game. He also leads the team in assists with 31. Temidayo Yussuf is the team's second leading scorer, dropping in 10.8 ppg.

Dan Monson is the winningest head coach in LBSU history, piling up 185 wins in his first 11 seasons as the head coach of The Beach.  

When SUU and LBSU squared off in 2017, the Thunderbirds came out on top in Cedar City 94-89. The Thunderbirds were led by Brandon Better, who dropped in 26 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field, and finished seven-for-seven from the free throw line.

Opponent Preview: Central Michigan (6-2)

The Chippewas of Central Michigan will take on Youngstown State before returning home to host the Thunderbirds on Saturday.

Larry Austin is Central Michigan's leading scorer though eight starts this season, averaging 19.0 ppg. Kevin McKay is right up there with Austin, averaging 17.3 ppg and Shawn Roundtree is right there at 14 ppg.

The T-Birds and Chippewas have had one common opponent this season in San Jose State. The T-Birds knocked off the Spartans by seven, while Central Michigan beat them by two.

Keno Davis has been the head coach of Central Michigan since 2012.

When Southern Utah and Central Michigan squared off in 2017 in Cedar City the Thunderbirds were able to emerge victorious 86-80. Better led the team with 17, while Ivan Madunic and T-Bird alum James McGee both dropped in 16 points.

Words From The T-Birds

Todd Simon on the depth the team showed against San Diego Christian….

"We just have so many guys that you feel bad," SUU head coach Todd Simon said. "In some of these games we've got guys that in very recent history would have been starter-calibur guys that aren't getting in games. But we're going to need everybody. This thing is a marathon and the fact we got everyone reps and minutes was very good."

Todd Simon on the upcoming road trip…

"We can play so many different styles," he said. "We can play slow, we can play fast, we can zone you, we can press you, we can do a million different things with ball screen coverages, we can spread you out, we have a lot of packages. … We've got to carry this momentum into the next month, level up a little bit and take care of the details."

Kenton Eskridge on facing two tough opponents away from Cedar City…

"I feel like we just need to stay together," he said. "On the road it's just us versus everybody else, with that being said all we have to do is stay together, be smart, stand by our principles and we'll be alright."  

Where To Watch / Listen / Follow Along

Links to available live streams, live stats and radio broadcasts will be available on www.suutbirds.com prior to tipoff of both contests.

Wednesday's contest will be broadcast on BigWest.TV and Saturday's will be aired on ESPN3.

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.

Tickets

Season tickets and individual game tickets for the 2018-19 Season are available at www.tbirdtickets.com or at the America First Event Center Ticket Office.