CEDAR CITY, UTAH -- The SUU Men's Basketball team secured the No. 8 seed in the Western Athletic Conference and will be the home team in Burns Arena on Tuesday, March 11, against Utah Tech—the game will tipoff at 2:30 p.m.

Head Coach Rob Jeter said

"It's obviously tough that we are going to have to play in their gym, but we have beat them there before, and we can do it again. We just gotta win one game, and we will be in Vegas."

Game Details

Who: Southern Utah (12-18, 4-12 WAC) vs Utah Tech (6-25, 2-14 WAC)

Where: St. George, Utah. Burns Arena.

When: Tuesday, March 11, at 2:30 p.m.

Watch: ESPN+

Live Stats: HERE

Tickets: HERE

Matchup History

• SUU won both meetings this year, winning 76-74 at home and 82-75 in Burns Arena. It was the first time SUU had ever won a game in Burns Arena, and now they will look to do it twice in one year.

The Thunderbirds

Despite being riddled with injuries all season long, the Thunderbirds have continued to find a way to battle down the stretch and now have an opportunity to win a postseason game for the first time since the 2022-23 season.

Dominique Ford rained down an SUU career-high the last time these two teams met up, scoring 29 points on 9-16 from the field, while Jamir Simpson scored 24 points also on 9-16 from the field. These two will have to dominate the game offensively if the Thunderbirds want to win in St. George.

Lorenzo Abellar has done a nice job stepping up after the injury to Tavi Jackson. He scored six points, dished seven assists and had four rebounds in the win at Utah Tech. 

Jeffrey (JT) Langston Jr was the hero in the first meeting, getting an offensive rebound and laying the ball in with just seconds remaining.

Brock Felder tied the SUU all-time single season blocks record with 64 last time out against Seattle U, in which he recorded five blocked shots. He will look to make the record all his own with just one block needed on Tuesday.

The Thunderbirds will need to win the defensive matchup, and slow down Utah Tech's Noa Gonsalves and Beon Riley.

Scout The Trailblazers

Noa Gonsalves is one of the best three-point shooters in the conference and made multiple three's in both games against SUU this season. 

Beon Riley is the team's leading rebounder and second-leading scorer. He averages nearly 14 points per game and eight rebounds. Against Southern Utah this season, he combined for 31 points and 12 rebounds in the two games. 

The Trailblazers won their first two conference games of the year but have since lost 14 in a row. However, they have battled all season long, including forcing overtime against the No. 1 seed Utah Valley just two weeks ago.

Utah Tech is 2-9 on the year in games decided by five points or less.

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