By: Parker Haynie- Assistant Director of Communications
CEDAR CITY, UTAH -- The SUU Men's Basketball team is coming off its first conference win of the year. A high-scoring overtime thriller against Tarleton State last time out leads into SUU's second of three consecutive home games against the Wildcats of Abilene Christian.
Head Coach Rob Jeter said
"We gotta continue to build on successes. We have been getting better every game, and we have to continue to do that. The support from our fans was awesome last game, and we need that same energy again."
Game Details
Who: Southern Utah (5-13, 1-4 WAC) vs Abilene Christian (10-8, 2-3 WAC)
When: Saturday, January 17, at 6:30 p.m.
Where: The America First Event Center in Cedar City, Utah.
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: HERE
Matchup History
- SUU is 2-3 all-time against the Wildcats. The Thunderbirds won the first two matchups, but have since dropped three in a row.
The Thunderbirds
After a 17-point performance last time out, SUU is now being led by Jaiden Feroah in points per game, who is averaging 12.4 on 53/39/91 percent shooting splits.
Dylan Jones also cracked into double-digits per game after his 22 points against TSU. He is now averaging 10.2 per game and is up to 35 made deep balls on the year.
An area where Southern Utah has continued to excel this season is sharing the ball. The T-Birds are ranked fourth in the conference with 16.1 assists per game and are third in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.04.
Tanner Hayhurst continues to prove he is one of the best three-point shooters in the country, with 31 makes on just 66 attempts.
Jalen (Roc) Lee has been phenomenal in conference play. He scored double figures again against TSU on an efficient 4-9 and also grabbed seven rebounds.
Elijah Duval has been struggling to score the ball lately, but has really improved as a point guard for this Thunderbirds team. He scored just nine points against Tarleton State, but made the two free throws that ultimately won SUU the ball game. He also had zero turnovers against the best turnover-creating team in the conference.
The Wildcats
ACU is currently 10-8 overall and just 2-3 in league play. Most recently, the Wildcats are coming off a 58-74 loss to CBU at home. ACU is now on a two-game losing skid.
The Wildcats average 72.5 points per game but allow opponents to score 71.6. They also allow teams to shoot 47% from the floor and 37% from three.
ACU is another team that plays extremely aggressively on defense. They force 15 turnovers per game and average just under 10 steals per contest.
Bradyn Hubbard leads the way for ACU. Averaging 16 points per game to go along with five rebounds, both of which lead the team. He's also dished 39 assists and has 30 steals on the year.
Rich Smith is their second-leading scorer at 10.5 points per game. Smith is a great passer and very long defensively. He has 83 assists through 17 games this year, to go along with 31 steals and five blocks.
TICKETS
Tickets are on sale now at tbirdtickets.com! Go get yours today!
FOLLOW US
Stay up to date during the 2025-26Â 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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