CEDAR CITY, Utah -- The Thunderbird men's basketball team is gearing up to host the Wolverines of Utah Valley University on Saturday. Tip is set for 2 p.m. MT inside the America First Event Center.  

Last Time Out 

Last weekend the Thunderbirds split a pair of contests between home and the road, knocking off West Coast Baptist before falling to LMU.

When the T-Birds faced off against WCBC, they did so in record breaking fashion winning 126-40. The 86-point victory is the largest in the history of the program, and the Thunderbirds hit 17 three-pointers which is also a school record. The previous highs were a 68-point margin and 16 triples.   

Stat Leaders

Through seven games played and two starts, John Knight III is the leading scorer for the Thunderbirds so far this season averaging 12.6 points per game. Cameron Oluyitan has the same amount of total points with 88, with just a slightly lower average because he's appeared in eight contests. 

Harrison Butler continues to be the team's top rebounder, pulling in an average of 8.3 rebounds per game. 

Oluyitan leads the team in both assists and steals with 19 and 14 respectively. 

Opponent Preview: Utah Valley Wolverines (4-6, 0-0 WAC)  

Riding a three-game losing streak, the Wolverines of Utah Valley University will make the trek to Cedar City this weekend for a contest with the Thunderbirds. 

In their last game, the Wolverines fell to the Weber State Wildcats 72-67. On November 18 they made some noise by taking then ranked No. 9 Kentucky to the wire.  

Utah Valley is led in scoring by TJ Washington, who averages 15.8 ppg. Isaiah White is currently averaging a double-double for UVU, with 14 ppg and 10 rpg.  

Mark Madsen is in his first season as head coach of Utah Valley. Assistant coach Todd Okeson is a former member of the Thunderbird coaching staff, spending from 2012-16 in Cedar City. 

The Wolverines hold a 2-4 advantage in the history of the series between the two schools. SUU won the most recent matchup in 2015 by a score of 68-54. 

Words From Coach Simon

On having a week at home...

"Our biggest priority is to get healthy," SUU head coach Todd Simon said. "We've been struggling with a lot of guys missing games, so it was a good week for us to get some treatment, sleep in their own beds, and try to get healthy for December."

On the outlook of the team through eight games…

"With the six road games that we had, we put them through quite a gauntlet," he said. "To be able to knock off Nebraska, beat a good Charleston Southern team that just beat Missouri at Missouri, those are some good wins. And we competed strong with some very good teams on the road, which is always difficult in college basketball. And a lot of guys played. We had six different starting lineups, so to have different guys get experience like that is going to help us in league play." 

On Utah Valley… 

"They're a good team," he said. "Obviously they took Kentucky down to the wire, and they went to UAB and NDSU to get wins, so they're a very dangerous team coming off a great season. We're going to have to be ready for them."

On playing in-state non-conference games...

"It means a little bit more when it's an in-state team," he said. "You like these in-state rivalries. It gets the fan bases involved. Hopefully there's a lot of people there, and we get a good group from UVU to come down and make it a fun environment."

Promotions

Saturday's contest against UVU will be a blackout, where all fans are encouraged to wear black along with the team. 

Saturday's game will have 500 free Zions T-Bird Towels courtesy of Zions Bank for fans. There will also be 200 Blackout Shirts for the student section. 

There will be $1 hot chocolate available at concession stands as well. 

How To Watch / Listen / Follow Along

Saturday's game with Utah Valley will be livestreamed online on both PlutoTV and www.WatchBigSky.com. 

The game can be heard on local airwaves and online on KSUB 590 AM with legendary Thunderbird broadcaster Art Challis on the call. 

Live stats can be found online at www.tbirdstats.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 2019-20 season, as well as single game tickets, are available for purchase at the America First Event Center Ticket Office and online at www.tbirdtickets.com.