CEDAR CITY, Utah -- The Southern Utah University men's basketball team will return to the court this week, as they're set to continue Big Sky Conference play against the Sacramento State Hornets. The T-Birds will host the Hornets on Thursday at 7 p.m. MT, and again on Saturday at 12 p.m. MT.

Last Time Out

After Southern Utah's home series against Northern Colorado was canceled, they quickly added non-conference contests against Benedictine University at Mesa and San Diego Christian College. 

The Thunderbirds knocked off Benedictine 110-53, and San Diego Christian 109-50. 

Marquis Moore led the scoring effort for the Thunderbirds against the Redhawks, as he dropped in a season-high 18 points for SUU. 

Against San Diego Christian College, senior Dre Marin scored a career-high 21 points for the Thunderbirds, shooting 7-of-9 from the field. 

Nationally Ranked Offense

Southern Utah's offense has been firing on all cylinders this season, and it's showing nationally as the T-Birds sit sixth in the NCAA (as of February 13) in terms of scoring offense at 85.6 points per game as a team. 

The No. 1 ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs lead the NCAA with 93.0 ppg. The T-Birds are ranked directly ahead of Weber State, who is averaging 83.9 ppg so far this season as well. 

Home Sweet Home

The Thunderbirds have been very good at protecting their home court as of late, as they are currently 11-0 this season inside the America First Event Center. 

Over the past four seasons, the Thunderbirds are 40-14 on their home floor, winning just under 75 percent of the games they play inside the AFEC. 

In The Rankings 

In the latest edition of the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll, the Thunderbirds found themselves ranked No. 13 amongst mid-major programs. This is a big jump from where they stood last week, as they came in ranked No. 17. 

This past week the Thunderbirds bumped up five spots in the NCAA NET Rankings as well, from 182nd to 177th. They are third in the Big Sky, behind only Weber State (122nd) and Eastern Washington (123rd). 

Senior Day Spotlight 

On Saturday, the Thunderbirds will be honoring their three seniors for their contributions to the program, as John Knight III, Ivan Madunic and Dre Marin will be honored with Senior Day. 

Knight III joined the Thunderbirds before the 2019-20 campaign, and had an immediate impact on the success of the Thunderbirds. Last season he averaged 12.6 ppg to finish the year as the team's second leading scorer. He also led the team in assists with 92. This season, he is third on the team in scoring, but leads the team in assists, steals and blocks. 

Madunic was the first player Todd Simon officially signed when he became head coach of the Thunderbirds, and has been a staple in the lineup ever since. Madunic is third all-time in Southern History in blocks with 91, and is only two games behind Marin with 108 games played for Southern Utah in his career, to put him 10th in the program's Division I history. He's played 1,744 minutes through his career, and has scored 406 points along with pulling down 405 rebounds. 

When it's all said and done, Marin will leave a strong legacy at Southern Utah, with impressive numbers all over the record book. He has more starts than any other player in SUU's Division I history, he's second in minutes played and is only 28 points away from reaching the 1,000-point barrier. He's also seventh in assists, seventh in made threes and 13th in steals in SUU's Division I history. And if Marin appears in eight more contests this season, he will have played in more Division I games than any other player in Southern Utah's history.     

Opponent Preview: Sacramento State Hornets (7-6, 4-4 Big Sky)    

Traveling to Cedar City with a 7-6 overall record, and a 4-4 record in the Big Sky Conference, the Hornets of Sacramento State are coming off a non-conference weekend where they split with California Baptist. 

In their most recent Big Sky series, the Hornets were swept at Eastern Washington by the Eagles. 

Senior Ethan Esposito is the leading scorer for the Hornets, averaging 17.9 points per game this season for the Hornets. Sacramento State has four players that average in double figures, with Bryce Fowler (12.9), Christian Terrell (11.9) and William FitzPatrick (10.8) all posing a threat offensively. 

Hornet head coach Brian Katz is in his 13th season with the program, and is the winningest coach in the program's Division I history. 

The Thunderbirds and Hornets have matched up 30 times as Division I foes, and the T-Birds hold a slight advantage in overall victories at 16-14. In the last two seasons, the T-Birds and Hornets have split, with the home team winning each of the previous four contests. 

Big Sky At A Glance 

With a 9-2 record in the Big Sky Conference, the Eagles of Eastern Washington sit on top of the league standings with three weeks remaining in the regular season. With their 6-2 mark, the Thunderbirds sit in second. 

In a tie for third is Weber State and Idaho State, both with a 7-3 record in the Big Sky. Weber State holds the slight edge with their overall record at 12-5, compared to ISU's 11-7. 

Montana State is the fifth team in the Big Sky with a winning league record at 6-4. 

The Vandals of Idaho will enter this weekend still seeking their first victory of the year. 

Where To Watch / Listen / Follow Along 

All of Southern Utah's home basketball games, and contests against Big Sky Conference foes, will stream live on PlutoTV Channel 1,055 and www.WatchBigSky.com. 

SUU's home contests can be heard over the airwaves on KSUB 107.7 FM and 590 AM in Cedar City, and KDXU News Radio 890 AM and 94.9 FM in St. George. Chris Holmes has recently been announced as the new radio voice for the Thunderbirds, taking on play-by-play duties moving forward.

A link to live stats will be available on www.tbirdstats.com prior to tipoff. 

Keep up to date on Southern Utah's Schedule Page for all the most recent updates and links.   

Follow the Thunderbirds all season @SUUBasketball on Twitter and Instagram and by liking the Southern Utah Basketball page on Facebook.