CEDAR CITY, UTAH -- The SUU Men's Basketball team is looking to right the ship with three straight games inside the comforts of the America First Event Center. The T-Birds start by hosting Tarleton State on Thursday night.

Head Coach Rob Jeter said

"Like I always say, it is good to be back at home. Hopefully we can give the fans something to cheer for and be proud of. We are getting closer everyday, we just need to put together a full 40-minutes of disciplined basketball."

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Game Information

Who: Southern Utah (4-13, 0-4) vs Tarleton State (11-6, 2-2)

When: Thursday, January 15, at 6:30 p.m.

Where: The America First Event Center in Cedar City, Utah

Watch: ESPN+

Live Stats: HERE

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Matchup History

• The Thunderbirds are 2-4 all-time against the Texans and have dropped the last three contests in a row.

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The Thunderbirds

Southern Utah is struggling to find its first win in WAC play, currently on an L7 streak, but the last time out was the T-Birds' best chance at getting a win, and it was against Cal Baptist, the WAC Preseason Favorite. A 55-58 defensive battle that saw the Thunderbirds miss a shot at the buzzer to tie the game bodes well for SUU.

The Thunderbirds are still fourth in the conference in points per game with 75.29, but are last in the conference in opponents' PPG, allowing teams to score over 80.

An area where Southern Utah has excelled this season is sharing the ball. The T-Birds are ranked fourth in the conference with 14.12 assists per game and are third in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.04.

Elijah Duval and Jaiden Feroah are still top-12 in the conference in points per game, averaging 12.6 and 12.1, respectively. Feroah and Isaiah Cottrell are both top-10 in rebounds per game, at 6.18 and 5.82, respectively.

Dylan Jones and Tanner Hayhurst have continued to shoot the deep ball at an extremely high level. Both players are 29 makes on the season, Jones at 33% and Hayhurst at 47%.

Jalen (Roc) Lee is another player who has really come on since starting WAC play. Lee is 6-9 from three in the last three ball games and is averaging just under 10 points per game in that stretch.

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The Texans

TSU has conference wins over UT Arlington and California Baptist, but is coming off an 84-80 loss to ACU.

The Texans average the second-highest PPG in the league at 80.18. They also shoot the ball really well, boasting 47/35/77 percent shooting splits.

The thing the Texans do best is force turnovers. TSU forces 19.35 turnovers per game and 11.41 steals per game. Both of which lead the WAC.

Tarleton State is led by transfer guard Dior Johnson, who is second in the entire country in points per game, averaging 23.8. Johnson hasn't started a game this season, but has attempted the most shots on the team and makes a lot of them. He is shooting 57/57/84 percent splits. He has attempted 122 free throws this year.

Cam McDowell and Freddy Hicks are second and third on the team in scoring, both averaging double-figures for the Texans.

Jordan Mizell leads the teams with 40 assists on the year, but there are five different players with at least 20 assists on the season.

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TICKETS

Tickets are on sale now at tbirdtickets.com! Go get yours today!

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FOLLOW US

Stay up to date during the 2025-26 Southern Utah Men's Basketball season by following @SUUBasketball on Twitter and Instagram and by liking the Southern Utah Basketball page on Facebook.

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DONATE

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