DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. The Southern Utah men's basketball team is headed to a historic second straight postseason tournament as the Thunderbirds accepted a bid to the College Basketball Invitational in Daytona Beach, Fla., March 18-22.
Southern Utah drew the fourth seed in the 16-team event and will face No. 13 North Alabama on March 18 at 11 a.m. MT. The game will take place on FloHoops.
This marks just the third time in school history the Thunderbirds have played in the postseason. Southern Utah made the NCAA Tournament in 2001 after winning the Mid-Continent Conference. Last season, Simon took the Thunderbirds to the semifinals of The Basketball Classic.
GAME INFO
First Round
No. 4 Southern Utah vs. No. 13 North Alabama
Date: Saturday, March 18
Tipoff: 11 a.m. MT
Broadcast: FloHoops
Second Round
Date: Monday, March 20
Tipoff: 12 noon MT
Broadcast: FloHoops
Semifinals
Date: Tuesday, March 21
Tipoff: 5 p.m. MT
Broadcast: ESPN2
Championship Game
Date: Wednesday, March 22
Tipoff: 3 p.m. MT
Broadcast: ESPN2
COACH SIMON SAYS:
"We are honored to accept a bid to the CBI. This team has had a remarkable season and the postseason invite just adds to their list of accomplishments. We are excited to make a run for a post-season championship."
BRACKET
PREVIEW
SOUTHERN UTAH (22-12, 12-6 WAC)
POSTSEASON HISTORY
Postseason Coaching Records
Todd Simon owns the record for most postseason victories in school history as he is the only coach to win a game following the conference tournament with his 2-1 mark in The Basketball Classic last year. Bill Evans, who coached SUU to its lone NCAA entry, witnessed the Thunderbirds fall by just three points to Boston College.
Coach, Record
Todd Simon, 2-1
Bill Evans, 0-1
BILL EVANS (0-1)
2000-01
Conference: Mid-Continent
Regular Season: 2nd, 13-3
Conference Tournament
March 4, Southern Utah 66, Western Illinois 53, Quarterfinal
March 5, Southern Utah 73, Oral Roberts, 62, Semifinal
March 6, Southern Utah 62, Valparaiso 59, Final
NCAA Tournament
Boston College 68, Southern Utah 65
TODD SIMON (2-1)
2021-22
Conference: Big Sky
Regular Season: 2nd, 14-6
Conference Tournament
March 10, Portland State 77, Southern Utah 65, Quarterfinal
The Basketball Classic:
March 16, Southern Utah 83, Kent State 79, First Round
March 22, Southern Utah 82, UTEP 69, Second Round
March 26, Southern Utah 77, Portland 66, Quarterfinal
March 28, Fresno State 67, Southern Utah 48, Semifinal
2022-23
Conference: Western Athletic
Regular Season: 3rd, 12-6
Conference Tournament
March 9, Southern Utah 76, Utah Tech 75, Quarterfinal
March 10, Southern Utah 89, Utah Valley 88, Semifinal
March 11, Grand Canyon 84, Southern Utah 66, Final
College Basketball Invitational
March 18 vs. North Alabama
FINAL CONFERENCE STANDINGS
In its inaugural season in the Western Athletics Conference, the Southern Utah men's basketball team finished third in the regular season and second in the conference tournament after making the championship game.
2022-23 WAC Standings
SCHOOL WAC WIN % GP RECORD WIN %
Utah Valley 15-3 0.833 33 25-8 0.758
Sam Houston 14-4 0.778 32 25-7 0.781
Southern Utah 12-6 0.667 34 22-12 0.647
Grand Canyon 11-7 0.611 35 24-11 0.686
Seattle U 11-7 0.611 32 20-12 0.625
Stephen F. Austin 11-7 0.611 32 19-13 0.594
Tarleton 9-9 0.5 33 17-16 0.515
California Baptist 8-10 0.444 33 17-16 0.515
Abilene Christian 7-11 0.389 30 13-17 0.433
UTRGV 6-12 0.333 32 15-17 0.469
UT Arlington 6-12 0.333 32 11-21 0.344
Utah Tech 5-13 0.278 33 14-19 0.424
NM State 2-16 0.111 24 9-15 0.375
20-Win Seasons
Southern Utah head coach Todd Simon now owns a trio of 20-win seasons at the helm of the Thunderbirds. Along with the 22-12 mark this season, SUU went 20-4 in 2020-21 and 23-12 a year ago. The effort matched the school record set by Stan Jack for the most 20-win seasons (3) as head coach at Southern Utah. Additionally, both accomplished the feat in back-to-back-to-back seasons.
SUU 20-Win Seasons
Year, Coach, Record
1976-77, Stan Jack, 21-7
1977-78, Stan Jack, 20-8
1978-79, Stan Jack, 20-6
1986-87, Bob Schermerhorn, 21-6
1991-92, Neil Roberts/Bill Evans, 20-8
2000-01, Bill Evans, 25-6
2020-21, Todd Simon, 20-4
2021-22, Todd Simon, 23-12
2022-23, Todd Simon, 22-12
Conference Success
With a 12-6 record in the Western Athletic Conference this year, Southern Utah put together three consecutive 10+ win conference seasons under head coach Todd Simon.
Bill Evans is the only previous head coach to accomplish double-digit conference success with back-to-back 10+ win seasons while playing as part of the Mid-Continent Conference in 1999-00 and 2000-01.
10+ Win Conference Seasons Under Todd Simon
12-6, 2022-23 (Western Athletic Conference)
14-6, 2021-22 (Big Sky)
12-2, 2020-21 (Big Sky)
Previous 10+ Win Conference Seasons
13-3, 2000-01 (Mid-Continent, NCAA Tournament Appearance)
10-6, 1999-00 (Mid-Continent)
The Simon Touch
The Midas Touch is defined as someone who turns everything they touch into gold. The Simon Touch is defined as someone who turns programs into sustained winners. Todd Simon is closing in on a 45-year-old Southern Utah Coaching record. The most wins through the first seven seasons at the helm.
Stan Jack, who compiled a 145-90 record during the course of nine seasons for the Thunderbirds from 1971-1980, won 120 games during his first seven campaigns at the helm of Southern Utah.
Simon stands just two wins behind tying that effort.
In fact, Simon's success is even more remarkable when compared to the journey of other coaches that have been with the program.
After starting with the least wins by a new coach at SUU as part of a full program rebuild, Simon has progressively moved up the charts into being one of the most successful ever to don the title of head coach for the Southern Utah men's basketball team (the most successful if you only consider the NCAA Division I era!).
Wins In First Season
Neil Roberts, 16 wins, 1987-88
Bill Evans, 14 wins, 1992-93
Tom McCracken, 14 wins, 1980-81
Bob Schermerhorn, 13 wins, 1983-84
Stan Jack, 11 wins, 1971-72
Roger Reed, 11 wins, 2007-08
Nick Robinson, 11 wins, 2012-13
Boyd Adams, 8 wins, 1963-64
Todd Simon, 6 wins, 2016-17
Wins Through First 2 Seasons
Tom McCracken, 32 wins, 1980-82
Bill Evans, 30 wins, 1992-94
Bob Schermerhorn, 30 wins, 1983-85
Stan Jack, 27 wins, 1971-73
Neil Roberts, 26 wins, 1987-89
Roger Reed, 22 wins, 2007-09
Boyd Adams, 20 wins, 1963-65
Todd Simon, 19 wins, 2017-18
Nick Robinson, 13 wins, 2012-14
Wins Through First 3 Seasons
Tom McCracken, 51 wins, 1980-83
Bill Evans, 47 wins, 1992-95
Bob Schermerhorn, 46 wins, 1983-86
Stan Jack, 45 wins, 1971-74
Neil Roberts, 40 wins, 1987-90
Todd Simon, 36 wins, 2016-19
Boyd Adams, 30 wins, 1963-66
Roger Reed, 29 wins, 2007-10
Nick Robinson, 23 wins, 2012-15
Wins Through First 4 Seasons
Bob Schermerhorn, 67 wins, 1983-87
Bill Evans, 62 wins, 1992-96
Stan Jack, 60 wins, 1971-75
Neil Roberts, 56 wins, 1987-91
Todd Simon, 53 wins, 2016-20
Roger Reed, 40 wins, 2007-11
Boyd Adams, 39 wins, 1963-67
Nick Robinson, 29 wins, 2012-16
Wins Through First 5 Seasons
Stan Jack, 79 wins, 1971-76
Todd Simon, 73 wins, 2016-21
Bill Evans, 71 wins, 1992-97
Neil Roberts, 70 wins, 1987-92
Roger Reed, 54 wins, 2007-12
Boyd Adams, 49 wins, 1963-68
Wins Through First 6 Seasons
Stan Jack, 100 wins, 1971-77
Todd Simon, 96 wins, 2016-22
Bill Evans, 78 wins, 1992-98
Boyd Adams, 65 wins, 1963-69
Wins Through First 7 Seasons
Stan Jack, 120 wins, 1971-78
Todd Simon, 118 wins, 2016-Present
Bill Evans, 91 wins, 1992-99
Boyd Adams, 76 wins, 1963-70
T-Bird Tidbits
Southern Utah boasts a margin of victory of 8.2 points per game. Overall, SUU scores 82.5 points per contest, while opponents score 74.3 points per event.
The T-Birds shoot 46.6 percent from the field, 34.7 percent from three-point range, and 73.0 percent from the free-throw line.
Additionally, Southern Utah averages 37.9 rebounds, 13.0 assists, 7.4 steals, and 3.3 blocks per game.
Individual Leaders
Five Thunderbirds average double-figure scoring with senior Tevian Jones on top with 17.6 points a contest.
Senior forward Maizen Fausett (12.3), senior guard Harrison Butler (11.4), sophomore guard Drake Allen (10.9), and sophomore center Jason Spurgin (10.0) all score in double figures.
Butler (6.7) and Fausett (6.5) lead the way in rebounds with Spurgin a close third with 5.5 boards a game.
Allen paces the team with 3.6 assists a game, while Spurgin averages 1.6 blocks a contest.
Career-Scoring Charts
Senior forward Maizen Fausett, just the third member of the 1500-point club in school history, stands 29 points behind Jeff Monaco for second all-time
Senior guard Harrison Butler is fourth all-time with 1,445 points, while senior guard Tevian Jones is just three points shy of becoming the sixth member of SUU's 1400-point club. Jones is also six points short of joining the 1500-point club in his career with some time at Illinois.
Points
1,710; Davor Marcelic (1989-1992)
1,568; Jeff Monaco (1997-2001)
1,539; Maizen Fausett (ACTIVE)
1,445; Harrison Butler (ACTIVE)
1,434; Dre Marin (2017-2022)
1,397; Tevian Jones (ACTIVE) (1,494 overall)
1,300; James McGee (2014-2018)
1,297; Richard Barton (1989-1993)
1,273; Jackson Stevenett (2010-2013)
1,223; John Knight III (2019-2022)
1,205; Davis Baker (2007-2010)
1500/900 Club
Senior forward Maizen Fausett is part of an exclusive club of one at Southern Utah - the 1500-point/900-rebound club. The school record holder with 938 rebounds is the only Thunderbird to eclipse both 1500 points and 900 records. Senior guard Harrison Butler is the closest with 1,445 points and a second-ranked 877 rebounds in his career.
Spurgin Stats Tracker
Sophomore center Jason Spurgin has had one of the strongest seasons for any center in school history. His 56 blocks this year stand fourth in school history, while his shooting percentage of .606 is ranked third in school history.
has just the sixth 40-plus block season in Thunderbird history as he currently has 49 to his credit. He also currently stands third in SUU's single-season field goal percentage charts with a 60.5-percent clip from the field thanks to a 118-195 effort thus far.
Additionally, his .616 shooting percentage for his career puts him atop the leaderboard. In fact, he's the only person to score more than 60 percent from the field as he currently leads Andre Adams (.598, 2018-20) for the mark.
Finally, the sophomore also ranks fourth all-time in school history with 88 career blocks. He's just two blocks shy of becoming just the fourth member of the 90-block club.
Single Season Records
Blocks
64 Matt Hodgson (2009-2010)
60 Jayson Cheesman (2012-2013)
60 Sean Allen (1994-1995)
56 Jason Spurgin (2022-2023)
53 Sean Allen (1993-1994)
FG % 150 Attempts min.
0.624 John Clifford (2008-2009)
0.613 Casey Oliverson (2014-2015)
0.605 Jason Spurgin (2022-2023)
0.603 Scott Brown (1978-1979)
Career Records
FG % (375 Attempts min.)
0.616 Jason Spurgin (ACTIVE)
0.598 Andre Adams (2018-2020)
0.568 Dana Achtzehn (1990-1992)
0.567 Casey Oliverson (2013-2016)
0.567 Geoff Payne (2007-2008)
Blocks
113 Sean Allen (1993-1995)
99 Matt Hodgson (2009-2011)
98 Ivan Madunic (2016-2021)
88 Jason Spurgin (ACTIVE)
87 Kenyatta Clyde (1997-1999)
84 Jayson Cheesman (2012-2014)
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!
OPPONENT
NORTH ALABAMA LIONS (18-14, 10-8 ASUN)
North Alabama posted its best record in its five-year NCAA Division I era with 18 wins. Most recently, the Lions fell to Eastern Kentucky, 73-48, in the ASUN Conference quarterfinals.
UNA scores 74.9 points per game while allowing 74.4 points per contest.
Daniel Ortiz (14.9), Jacari Lane (12.9), and KJ Johnson (12.6) lead the way in scoring, while Damian Forrest has the most rebounds with 6.6 per game. Lane (3.3) and Johnson (3.2) are on top of the assist charts,
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