CEDAR CITY, Utah -- The Thunderbird men's basketball team are back home this week inside the America First Event Center to face off against the Eastern Washington Eagles (Thursday, February 21) and the Idaho Vandals (Saturday, February 23).
Last Time Out
The T-Birds spent their last weekend on the road, falling in contests to the Sacramento State Hornets and the Portland State Vikings.
Brandon Better led SUU's scoring effort against the Hornets, finishing with 19 points. Freshman Harrison Butler finished with a double-double against the Vikings, scoring 16 points and securing 10 rebounds.
Opponent Preview: Eastern Washington (10-15, 8-6 Big Sky)
The Eagles of Eastern Washington picked up victories in their last two contests, upsetting Northern Colorado 88-78 and knocking off Idaho 82-57.
Mason Peatling leads the Eagles in scoring with 15.9 points per contest, and he's closely followed by Jacob Davison who is averaging 15.2 ppg. Jesse Hunt is the third Eagle averaging double figures with 14.2 points per game, and leading the team in rebounding with 8.4 per contest.
EWU is 1-12 on the road this season.
Last Time vs. The Eagles
When the Thunderbirds and Eagles faced off in Cheney the game went right down to the wire, but swung EWU's way late 82-79.
Better had a career-high for the Thunderbirds, scoring 35 points. His previous career-high before that contest was 27 points, which he scored during the 2018 Big Sky Conference Tournament.
Opponent Preview: Idaho (4-21, 1-13 Big Sky)
Sitting at the bottom of the Big Sky Conference, the Idaho Vandals will travel to Flagstaff, Arizona, to face Northern Arizona before making their way to Cedar City.
The Vandals are 1-13 in Big Sky Conference play, and have dropped 11 straight contests.
Trevon Allen and Cameron Tyson are both averaging over 13 points per game for the Vandals.
Idaho is 1-9 on the road this season.
Last Time vs. The Vandals
On the road in Moscow, the T-Birds were able to pick up a victory over the Vandals 75-64.
A double-double from Andre Adams of 23 points and 14 rebounds set the tone for the Thunderbirds. Butler and Dre Marin both finished with 14 points, and Cameron Oluyitan had 12 for SUU.
Big Sky At A Glance
With three weeks left of regular season action the Montana Grizzlies sit on top of the Big Sky Conference with a record of 12-2. The Griz have won nine straight contests and have the highest winning percentage in the league.
Northern Colorado sits second with an 11-4 mark, followed by Weber State at 10-5.
The Eagles of EWU (8-6) sit directly in front of SUU (7-8) in the standings in the No. 5 spot.
The top-five teams in the field receive a first round BYE in Boise for the Big Sky Conference Championship Tournament.
Words From Todd Simon
On his focus this week...
"We've got to find a way to get some stops," SUU head coach Todd Simon said. "We can't trade baskets, that's not who we are or who we want to be. And it's not on the offensive end, we've got to find a way to get better defensively. That's got to be our number one focus for us."
On Eastern Washington…
"That's a tough team, they're a team that can get going and we've got to be able to stop them," he said. "We've been much better at home for whatever reason, so hopefully that trend will continue on Thursday."
On Idaho…
"They're a team this is up and coming and have plenty of talent that can score and get some shots," he said. "We're going to have to be ready for that and make them miss shots. If we can do that, if we can contest and keep guys in front of us, we have a chance to win."
Promotions
On Thursday the 'Pie My Professor' will take place at half time, and SUU gloves will be thrown out to lucky Thunderbird fans. On Saturday, West Side Studio of Performing Arts will have a dance performance and duffle bags will be thrown out to fans inside the AFEC.
Where To Watch / Listen / Follow Along
Tip off is set for 6:30 PM on Thursday against the Eagles and 2:00 PM on Saturday against the Vandals.
Live streams for all of Southern Utah's home contests and Big Sky Conference matchups will be available on the PlutoTV App and WatchBigSky.com.
A link to livestats will be available at www.suutbirds.com prior to tipoff.
KSUB 590 AM is you home for Thunderbird men's basketball home games all season long, with Legendary broadcaster Art Challis on the call.
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
Individual game tickets for the 2018-19 Season are available at www.tbirdtickets.com or at the America First Event Center Ticket Office.
