CEDAR CITY, Utah. The Southern Utah men's basketball team, winners of six of its last eight games, will split this week at home and away.
First up, the Thunderbirds welcome Tarleton State to the America First Event Center on Thursday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. MT. Then, the T-Birds return to the road to face Utah Valley in Orem on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. MT.
GAME INFO
Southern Utah vs. Tarleton State
Date: Thursday, Feb. 9
Tipoff: 7 p.m. MT
Southern Utah vs. Utah Valley
Date: Saturday, Feb. 11
Tipoff: 6 p.m. MT
WAC Standings
The Western Athletic Conference looks at overall standings a bit differently than other conferences as non-conference strength of schedule is factored into where the league will seed its teams heading into the conference championship at the end of the regular season.
So, even though SUU is second in the conference in the loss column with three conference losses, the 'Birds are seeded third behind Sam Houston's four losses..
This week, SUU faces seventh-seeded Tarleton State and top-seeded Utah Valley.
2022-23 WAC MBB Resume Seeding System (as of Jan. 29)
Rank Team W L CW CL WACPts
1. Utah Valley 18 6 9 2 4.77
2. Sam Houston 17 6 7 4 3.98
3. Southern Utah 16 8 8 3 2.57
4. Seattle U 16 8 7 4 2.44
5. Grand Canyon 15 8 6 4 2.16
6. Stephen F. Austin 15 8 7 4 1.08
7. Tarleton 12 11 5 5 -0.48
8. Abilene Christian 13 11 5 6 -1.58
9. California Baptist 13 11 5 6 -1.84
10. Utah Tech 11 13 3 8 -1.94
11. UTRGV 12 12 3 8 -2.17
12. NM State 9 14 2 9 -2.81
13. UT Arlington 8 15 3 7 -4.60
PREVIEW
SOUTHERN UTAH (16-8, 8-3 WAC)
National Rankings!
Southern Utah ranks amongst the elite in the country in several statistical categories.
Points Per Game - Team
1, Gonzaga, 85.7
2, Oral Roberts, 85.2
3, Toledo, 84.9
4, Southern Utah, 84.8
5, Cornell, 84.8
Rebounds Per Game - Team
1, Alabama, 44.87
21, Southern Utah, 39.29
Defensive Rebounds Per Game - Team
1, Alabama, 31.87
14, Southern Utah, 28.17
Fast Break Points - Team
1, TCU, 20.70
27, Southern Utah, 13.75
Scoring Margin - Team
1, Houston, 20
22, Southern Utah, 11
NCAA Men's Basketball NET Rankings
The NET Rankings include more components than just winning percentage. They take into account game results, strength of schedule, game location, scoring margin, net offensive, and defensive efficiency, and the quality of wins and losses.
WAC NET Rankings
Current, Team, Previous, SUU Win/Loss
60, Sam Houston, 50, W
80, Utah Valley, 81, W
110, Southern Utah, 101
117, Grand Canyon, 114
126, Stephen F. Austin, 125, W
131, Seattle, 124, L
171, California Baptist, 152, W
181, Utah Tech, 196, L
183, New Mexico State, 198, WW
187, Tarleton State, 170, L
189, Abilene Christian, 213
248, UTRGV, 262, W
270, UT Arlington, 291
T-Bird Tidbits
Southern Utah, currently the fourth-highest scoring offense in the nation, maintains a margin of victory of 11.3 points per game. Overall, SUU scores 84.8 points per contest, while opponents score just 73.5 points per event.
The T-Birds shoot 47.8 percent from the field, 34.3 percent from three-point range, and 71.0 percent from the free-throw line.
Additionally, Southern Utah averages 39.3 rebounds, 13.6 assists, 7.9 steals, and 3.4 blocks per game.
Individual Leaders
Five Thunderbirds average double-figure scoring with senior Tevian Jones on top with 18.8 points a contest.
Senior forward Maizen Fausett (12.0), senior guard Harrison Butler (11.3), sophomore guard Drake Allen (10.3) and sophomore center Jason Spurgin (10.2) also score in double digits.
Butler (6.8) and Fausett (6.5) lead the way in rebounds with Spurgin a close third with 5.8 boards a game.
Allen paces the team with 3.4 assists a game, while Spurgin averages 1.6 blocks a contest.
Career-Scoring Charts
Senior forward Maizen Fausett is just the fourth player for Southern Utah ever to accomplish join the 1,400-point club as he closes in on former teammate Dre Marin's 1,434 career points for third all-time on the record charts.
Senior guard Harrison Butler chipped in seven points along with 11 rebounds against Utah Tech as his career tally increased to 1,331 at SUU.
Senior guard Tevian Jones turned in 10 points against Utah Tech. Jones increased his SUU career tally to 1,245 points to go along with 1,343 total as an NCAA Division I player along with some time spent in an Illinois uniform.
Points
1,710; Davor Marcelic (1989-1992)
1,568; Jeff Monaco (1997-2001)
1,434; Dre Marin (2017-2022)
1,407; Maizen Fausett (ACTIVE)
1,331; Harrison Butler (ACTIVE)
1,300; James McGee (2014-2018)
1,297; Richard Barton (1989-1993)
1,273; Jackson Stevenett (2010-2013)
1,245; Tevian Jones (ACTIVE)
1,223; John Knight III (2019-2022)
1,205; Davis Baker (2007-2010)
Non-Conference Success!
Southern Utah had an amazing non-conference slate, ranking in the top 10 in the nation in multiple categories as well as posting a school-record sixth-straight winning non-conference schedule.
For more on that, let's hear from head coach Todd Simon!
LAST TIME OUT
ST. GEORGE, Utah. The Southern Utah men's basketball team turned in a scorching second stanza, but it was not enough to overcome a quiet first frame in an 86-79 loss to Utah Tech on Saturday, Feb. 4.
SUU's record moved to 16-8 and 8-3 in the Western Athletic Conference, while Utah Tech improved its record to 11-13 and 3-8 in WAC play.
First Half
Utah Tech opened the game quickly, taking a 9-3 lead at the 17:23 mark. Tevian Jones kicked off scoring for the T-Birds with a trifecta during the stretch. The Thunderbirds countered with a 7-3 burst of their own during the following 1:45 of play to cut the Utah Tech lead to 12-10 with 15:38 on the clock. Jones added another triple during this stretch of play.
The Trailblazers, however, pushed their lead to 14-10 with 15:04 on the clock heading into the first media timeout. That keyed a 12-0 run for Utah Tech as it extended its lead to 24-10 with 12:26 to play.
Drake Allen ended the scoreless streak for SUU with a deep trifecta with 12:01 on the clock to cut the lead to 24-13. The teams then traded buckets with Utah Tech holding a 28-15 advantage with 11:07 to go heading into the next media timeout.
Jason Spurgin provided a quick 4-0 run for the 'Birds during the next 30 seconds thanks to a pair of free throws and a layup to cut the lead to 28-19 with 9:35 to go. Utah Tech responded with an 8-0 stretch to improve its advantage to 36-19 with 7:46 prior to heading into another media timeout.
Utah Tech added to its lead with five more points during the next 47 seconds of play, taking a 41-19 advantage at 4:44. Dee Barnes ended the Trailblazer run with a pair of free throws to pull the 'Birds to within 41-21 with 4:23.
After another Utah Tech jumper in response put the squad up 43-21, Barnes drilled a three-pointer with 3:06 on the clock to shave the gap to 43-24. UTU picked up a layup with 2:30 to go to take a 45-24 lead heading into another timeout.
The teams traded shots the rest of the way before Jones drew a foul on a three-point shot to close the half. Jones made two of three free throws to head into halftime, 47-30.
Second Half
Utah Tech started the second stanza like it did in the first half with a 5-0 run to take a 52-30 lead with 18:49. Maizen Fausett took a great Cameron Healy assist to the hole with a layup to cut the gap to 52-32 before converting the old-fashioned three-point play with 18:29 left to move to within 52-33.
Healy kept the run going with a smooth trey at 17:40 to shave the gap to 52-36. Healy went back-to-back with another trifecta at the 17:01 mark as the 'Birds cut the advantage down to 52-39, inducing a Utah Tech timeout to try to cool off the 9-0 SUU run.
Healy then canned a third and fourth straight three-pointer in the next few minutes of play as the SUU run moved to 15-0 as SUU pulled to within 52-45 with 15:01 on the clock. This induced yet another Utah Tech timeout in an attempt to slow down the Healy Express.
The Trailblazers pushed the lead back up to 54-45 with 14:39 to play before Fausett replied with a layup to cut the gap back to 54-47 with 14:29 on the clock. After another play clock issue delay, Fausett took a Jason Spurgin assist into the paint to shave the deficit to 54-49 with 14:01 to play.
After a UTU score, Spurgin hammered home a dunk off a Healy assist to pull to within 56-51 at the 13:15 mark. Utah Tech responded with a 5-0 burst to extend the lead back to 10 points, 61-51, with 12:24 to go.
Coming out of a media timeout, SUU drained another trifecta as Fausett pulled the 'Birds to within 61-54 at the 11:32 mark. Tevian Jones converted a pair from the charity stripe with 10:59 on the clock as the T-Birds moved to within 61-56.
The Trailblazers responded to the SUU threat with a swift 6-0 burst as the lead went back up to 67-56 with 9:30 before Harrison Butler drilled a three-pointer to cut the deficit back to 67-59 at the 9:11 mark. Fausett drove into the lane again with a layup at 8:26 on the clock to pull the T-Birds to within 67-61.
The teams then traded made free throws with SUU within six points, 69-63 with 7:37 on the clock. UTU then picked up another pair of free throws before Allen drove the lane with a layup to move to within 71-65 with 7:12 to go.
Fausett responded to a Utah Tech trey with a pair of made free throws as the 'Birds pulled to within 74-67 with 6:39 to play. Other than a layup from Utah Tech, the teams both went cold the next few minutes with UTU leading, 76-67, at the 4:25 mark.
Allen split a pair of free throws out of the final media timeout with SUU pushing to 76-68 at the 3:58 mark. Spurgin then split two of his own free throws to shave the deficit to 76-69 with 3:52 to go. Spurgin went to the line again, this time sinking both shots to cut the gap to 76-71 with 3:17 on the clock.
Utah Tech countered with a 4-0 to bring the advantage back up to 80-71 with 2:24 to go. Allen kept the 'Birds in the game with a clutch trifecta as SUU cut the lead to 80-74 with 2:16 to play.
The teams battled down the stretch with the Trailblazers having just enough to close out the game for an 86-79 victory.
OPPONENTS
TARLETON STATE TEXANS (12-11, 5-5 WAC)
Tarleton State currently owns a 12-11 record with a 5-5 mark in conference play.
TSU scores 71.2 points per game, while holding opponents to 67.7 points a contest for an average margin of victory of 3.5 points.
A pair of Texans score in double digits with Freddy Hicks (14.9) and Lue Williams (12.0) leading the way.
Hicks (5.6) leads the way in rebounds, while Shakur Daniel (2.9) and Hicks (2.7) are the top assist members of the team.
UTAH VALLEY WOLVERINES (18-6, 9-2 WAC)
Utah Valley owns an 18-6 record with a 9-2 effort in conference play.
Utah Valley scores 76.5 points per contest while opponents score 68.1 points a game for an average margin of victory of 8.4 points.
Justin Harmon (14.0), Le'Tre Darthard (13.2), Trey Woodbury (13.2) and Aziz Bandaogo (11.7) all score in double figures.
Bandaogo also averages a double-double with 10.8 rebounds per contest. Woodbury leads the team in assists with 4.3 helpers per game, while Bandaogo also averages 2.8 blocks per contest.
HISTORY
Southern Utah is 0-1 against Tarleton State after taking a 68-65 loss earlier this season in the first meeting between the teams. SUU currently owns a five-game winning streak against Utah Valley including an explosive 79-67 victory on Jan. 26 in the America First Event Center just two weeks ago. Overall, SUU is 6-4 against the Wolverines.
FOLLOW US
Stay up to date during the 2022-23 Southern Utah Men's Basketball season by following @SUUBasketball on Twitter and Instagram and by liking the Southern Utah Basketball page on Facebook.
TICKETS
Head on over to our online ticket store to purchase season, package and single-game tickets!
