CEDAR CITY, Utah -- Even though they won't know their quarterfinal opponent until Wednesday, the Southern Utah Thunderbird men's basketball team is hard at work preparing for the Big Sky Conference Championship Tournament at Idaho Central Arena in Boise, Idaho.
Southern Utah, who claimed the No. 1 overall seed with their Big Sky Regular Season Championship, awaits the winner of the first round matchup between No. 8 Northern Colorado and No. 9 Sacramento State. SUU will tip off against either opponent at 11:00 a.m. MT on Thursday, March 11.
Big Sky Champions
Controlling their own destiny, the Thunderbirds secured the 2020-21 Big Sky Regular Season Championship last Saturday in Portland, as they knocked off the Portland State Vikings 73-54 at Viking Pavilion.
As a program the Thunderbirds hadn't won a regular season title since the 2000-01 season, when they were members of the Mid-Continental Conference. They were co-champions of the regular season that year. They hadn't been a lone regular season champion since 1994-95.
The contest was never really in doubt, as the Thunderbirds led 41-25 at the break and held on to the lead through the final buzzer.
SUU jumped ahead 5-0 out of the gate, and quickly turned that into a 17-5 advantage. PSU was able to cut the lead to five a few times as the opening half wore on, but the momentum swung Southern Utah's way late and they took a 16-point advantage into the second half.
In the second half, SUU pushed their lead to as many as 24 as they ran away with the contest.
All-Conference Honors
The Big Sky Conference announced their 2020-21 All-Conference teams on Monday, and four Thunderbirds were honored amongst the various groups of individuals honored for their regular season successes.
This is only the second time in the history of the program that the Thunderbirds have put multiple student-athletes on the Big Sky All-Conference teams.
Last season, former T-Bird Cameron Oluyitan was named an Honorable Mention after being on the Third Team the year before. Randy Onwuasor was named Second Team All-Big Sky in 2016-17. In Southern Utah's first season in the Big Sky, both Jackson Stevenett and Damon Heuir both were named to the All-Big Sky Second Team. Since that point, it's been either one or none for the T-Birds.
Illinois transfer Tevian Jones was named First Team All-Conference following a massive first season with the program. This makes Jones the first-ever Thunderbird to earn First Team honors.
Jones finished the season as the Big Sky's fourth-highest leading scorer, averaging 17.1 points per game through the course of the year.
The junior clocked 600 minutes on the season, scoring a team-high 377 points. He also had 91 rebounds, 27 assists and 15 steals.
He also finished fourth in the Big Sky in terms of free throw percentage, shooting 86 percent from the line on the year.
Both John Knight III and Maizen Fausett were named Second Team All-Big Sky after impressive campaigns.
Knight III led SUU in minutes played during the regular season with 647, and was the team's second-leading scorer, averaging 13.6 ppg. He finished the regular season as the 11th leading scorer in the Big Sky, along with finishing first in field goal percentage (.577), second in assists (4.3 apg), sixth in steals (1.5 spg) and 12th in blocks (0.7 bpg).
Fausett finished the regular season as the 14th highest scorer in the Big Sky, averaging 13.2 ppg this year. His rebounding numbers, however, is what really pushed him over the top, as he was sixth in the Big Sky during the course of the year in rebounding with 7.0 boards per contest. He also had a team-high 55 offensive rebounds, averaging 2.6 offensive boards a game.
Thunderbird senior Dre Marin was named Big Sky Honorable Mention, putting a strong cap on four seasons competing in the Big Sky Conference.
The four-year starter finished 19th this season in scoring amongst the rest of the league, averaging 12.0 ppg. He was 14th in the league in steals with 1.1 spg, sitting second on the team with 25 total. He was also second on the team in assists with 65 total for an average of 3.0 apg.
Coach of the Year
The Big Sky Conference announced on Tuesday morning that Thunderbird head coach Todd Simon has been named Coach of the Year for the 2020-21 season following Southern Utah's Regular Season Championship.
The Thunderbirds have set a high bar this season, knocking off a number of previous milestones. SUU finished the regular season with a .864 winning percentage, which was the best in the program's Division I history.
They finished their Big Sky Conference schedule with a .857 winning percentage, with the previous high for the program in the league being .450.
Along with the overall accolades, the Thunderbirds finished the season 14-0 at home. This is only the second time in the program's Division I history that they finished the regular season flawless at home, and marked the most victories at home in a single season in the program's DI tenure.
Player of the Week
For the fourth time this season, the Thunderbird men's basketball program has claimed a Player of the Week award, as Knight III was given the nod after his performance against Portland State that helped the Thunderbirds claim the 2020-21 Big Sky Regular Season Championship.
Knight III set a career-high on Thursday evening against Portland State, finishing the game with 26 points. He matched that same total on Saturday as the Thunderbirds claimed the Big Sky title, finishing the weekend with 52 total points.
He also had 11 rebounds on the weekend, along with nine assists, four steals and a block.
Knight III led SUU in minutes played during the regular season with 647, and was the team's second-leading scorer, averaging 13.6 ppg. He finished the regular season as the 11th leading scorer in the Big Sky, along with finishing first in field goal percentage (.577), second in assists (4.3 apg), sixth in steals (1.5 spg) and 12th in blocks (0.7 bpg).
He joins Fausett, Jones and Marin as other Thunderbirds to claim the Big Sky Player of the Week nod this season.
Chasing History
The Thunderbirds are seeking only their second-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament when they hit the court on Boise on Thursday.
The only team from Southern Utah to ever qualify for March Madness was the 2000-01 edition of the T-Birds, who squared off against Boston College and narrowly pulled the upset, ultimately falling 68-65.
Going Streaking
Southern Utah will be entering Big Sky play winners of nine consecutive games, matching the longest winning streak in the program's Division I history.
That record was set earlier this season, meaning the Thunderbirds have had two separate winning streaks this season of nine victories.
National Statistic Standings (March 7, 2021)
Southern Utah currently sits No. 6 in the entire NCAA in scoring, averaging 84.2 ppg as a team. They're ranked behind only Gonzaga (92.9), Baylor (85.3), Iowa (85.0), Colgate (85.0) and Bryant (84.7). They're also seventh in scoring margin, scoring 92.9 ppg and only allowing 69.3 ppg, along with being tied for seventh nationally for winning percentage at 86.4 percent. They're neck-and-neck with Michigan.
SUU is ranked 17th nationally in defensive rebounds per game and 31st in field goal percentage.
In The Rankings
After clinching the Regular season Championship, the Thunderbirds moved up to No. 8 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid Major Top 25, reaching the highest ranking of the season and in school history.
SUU also moved up to 119th in the NCAA NET Rankings, moving ahead of Eastern Washington for the second highest ranking in the Big Sky behind only Weber State.
Opponent Preview: TBD
Southern Utah awaits the winner of the first round matchup between No. 8 Northern Colorado and No. 9 Sacramento State.
The Thunderbirds faced off against Sacramento State twice during the season, knocking them off 88-69 in the first matchup and 77-57 in the second.
SUU's series this year against Northern Colorado was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.
Last season the Bears secured the regular season sweep of the T-Birds, and their matchup in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Conference Tournament was not played after the NCAA was shut down.
Where To Watch / Follow Along
All Big Sky Conference Tournament games are streaming live on the PlutoTV App and www.WatchBigSky.com.
The PlutoTV Channel for the Big Sky Tournament is Ch. 1050.
A link to livestats can be found on www.tbirdstats.com prior to tipoff.
Follow the Thunderbirds all season @SUUBasketball on Twitter and Instagram and by liking the Southern Utah Basketball page on Facebook.
