CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah University men's basketball team will take the floor on their home court tomorrow with the opportunity to reach the semifinals of The Basketball Classic. The Portland Pilots stand in the Thunderbirds' way of picking up their 23rd win of the season and continuing an incredible run through the postseason tournament.

Game Info

Southern Utah vs Portland

Date: March 26, 2022

Tip-Off: 4 PM MT

Location: Cedar City, Utah

Venue: America First Event Center

Stream: ESPN+

Watch | Live Stats | Game Notes

Preview

After beating perennial MAC powerhouse Kent State in the first round of The Basketball Classic, the T-Birds (22-11, 14-6) traveled to El Paso, Texas this past Tuesday and dominated the UTEP Miners to reach the quarterfinals. Now, the T-Birds turn their attention to the Pilots, hoping to continue their offensive excellence in The Basketball Classic and advance to the final four of the tournament.

Defeating Portland (19-14, 11-4) will not be an easy task, as the Pilots Head Coach Shantay Legans leads an extremely talented Portland squad that is seeking their 20th victory of the season tomorrow afternoon.

The Pilots boast one of the strongest offenses in the West Coast Conference. Portland has averaged 74.5 points per game this season, which ranks fourth overall in the WCC.

The Pilot offense is led by a familiar face in Eastern Washington transfer Tyler Robertson. Robertson is one of three players averaging at least 14 points a game and leads the Pilots in scoring (14.9) and rebounding (6.3) this season while shooting 88.2 percent from the free-throw line. Moses Wood (14.5) and Chris Austin (14.2) are equally as dangerous as Robertson, as the trio all rank in the top seven of the West Coast Conference in scoring and account for over half of Portland's points this year.

Portland also does a solid job of rebounding the ball, particularly on the defensive side of the court. The Pilots are pulling down an average of 36.6 boards per contest and rank 2nd in the WCC by grabbing an average of 28.2 defensive rebounds each time out.

The Pilots have not been as successful on defense this season, as they have given up 72 points per game and allowed teams to shoot almost 42 percent from the floor, on average. 

The T-Birds, led by Hugh Durham and Skip Prosser Man of the Year Awards finalist, Todd Simon, have been unstoppable on offense in The Basketball Classic thus far, shooting a remarkable 56.1 percent from the floor (60/107), including a split of 42.3 percent (22/52) from three over their first two contests.

Fifth-year senior Dre Marin has led the way for SUU, averaging 22 points per game in the TBC and knocking down an unbelievable 12/17 shots from behind the arc throughout the first two rounds.

Marin has had plenty of help though, as numerous T-Birds have stepped up throughout the postseason.

John Knight III, Harrison Butler, and Jason Spurgin have all reached double figures in scoring in the first two rounds, while Maizen Fausett and Nick Fleming have also played key roles in both of Southern Utah's postseason victories.

The T-Birds have not only impressed on offense; they have continued their dominance on the boards and stepped up their defense in The Basketball Classic. SUU has outrebounded each of their first two opponents by a combined margin of +14 while turning up their defensive intensity throughout the postseason. SUU held an explosive Kent State offense to 44 percent shooting in the first round and then locked down UTEP in the second round, forcing the Miners to just 37.5 percent from the field.

The T-Birds will seek to hit the offensive glass and score second-chance points against Portland while slowing down the West Coast Conference's highest-scoring trio this season.

Last Time Out

Nick Fleming exploded for 15 points in the first half, finishing the game with a career-high 18 point performance, and Southern Utah knocked down 10-23 shots from behind the arc to beat UTEP, 82-69.

Dre Marin chipped in 17 points of his own, and Jason Spurgin (13), John Knight III (12), and Harrison Butler (11), along with Fleming gave Southern Utah five different double-digit scorers.

The Thunderbirds put on a masterful offensive performance, shooting 58.2 percent from the field for the game and dishing out 17 assists on 32 made shots. 

Simultaneously, the T-Birds held UTEP to just 37.5 percent from the floor and 32.1 percent from three, as SUU led by as many as 16 and cruised in the second half on their way to a 13-point victory.

The win was Southern Utah's third all-time postseason victory and 22nd win of the season.

Notable Stats:

• Southern Utah Head Coach Todd Simon was named as a finalist for the Hugh Durham Award, which recognizes the best mid-major coach in the nation.

• SUU is the only Big Sky team that is still competing this season. 

• Southern Utah is 1-2 all-time against Portland.

• Dre Marin is shooting a blazing 70.6 percent from behind the arc in The Basketball Classic.

• John Knight III has scored in double figures in eight consecutive contests.

• Southern Utah is 21-5 when out-rebounding their opponents this season.

• The Thunderbirds are 12-3 on their home court this season.

A win tomorrow afternoon would advance Southern Utah to the final four of The Basketball Classic, where they would face Fresno State next week and continue what has been a phenomenal postseason run for the Thunderbirds.

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