CEDAR CITY, Utah - Southern Utah men's basketball closes its two-game North Carolina trip at Wake Forest at 2 p.m. MT (4 p.m. ET) on Saturday, Nov. 14, at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The Thunderbirds (3-1) have scored 433 points through four games, the most through a season's first four since at least 2000-01. Saturday is SUU's first meeting with an ACC opponent this season and the second game of a six-game stretch away from Cedar City.
The Matchup
Southern Utah (3-1) at Wake Forest (2-1) Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026 | 2 p.m. MT (4 p.m. ET) Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum | Winston-Salem, N.C. Watch: ACC Network Extra (ESPN+) | Live stats: suutbirds.com
Last Time Out
Southern Utah opened its road schedule at High Point on Thursday and went toe-to-toe with a Panthers team that went 31-5 last season and won an NCAA Tournament game. The Thunderbirds led for 14:16 of the first half, built an eight-point lead at 22-14 and were ahead 28-27 with 3:21 left before the break.
Jaiden Feroah pulled down a season-high 10 rebounds and added eight points, two blocks and two assists. Cale Barclay and Anthony Breland scored 10 points apiece, Chase Degraffenried added eight, his most as a Thunderbird, and Rashaad Davis handed out six assists for the second straight game. SUU made twice as many 3-pointers as High Point (6-3) and held the Panthers to 1 of 12 from deep in the first half.
Fast Start
Southern Utah's 433 points through four games are the most through a season's first four games since at least 2000-01. The previous high was 415 in 2022-23.
The Thunderbirds average 108.3 points and 27.0 assists per game. They are shooting 56.6 percent (167 of 295) from the field and have outrebounded their opponents 200-117. Opponents are 22 of 105 (21.0 percent) from 3-point range.
The Thunderbirds tied the school scoring record with 143 points against Bethesda on Nov. 7, matching the 143 against Westminster on Feb. 17, 1970. They also scored 134 against West Coast Baptist in the Nov. 2 opener.
Spreading It Around
Six Thunderbirds have scored 33 or more points through four games. Breland leads the team with 57 points (14.3 per game) and is 10 of 21 (47.6 percent) from 3-point range. Jajuan Nicholls averages 11.3 points and is 19 of 25 (76.0 percent) from the field. DeZhon Hall (38 points), Barclay (36), Feroah (35) and Dylan Sanders (33) round out the group.
Davis leads SUU with 19 assists, including six in each of his last two games. Barclay has 15 assists and one turnover in 61 minutes.
Feroah Owns The Glass
Feroah's 10 rebounds at High Point were his eighth double-digit rebounding game as a Thunderbird. The graduate forward from Draper, Utah, leads SUU with 24 rebounds and six blocks this season.
Perfect Protsenko
Mikhail Protsenko, a 7-foot-1 freshman from Belgorod, Russia, has not missed a shot this season. He is 13 of 13 from the field, including 2 of 2 at High Point.
Degraffenried Delivers
Degraffenried leads the Thunderbirds with seven steals. The Salem Hills High School product is 6 of 12 from 3-point range and 6 of 6 at the free throw line, and his eight points at High Point were his most as a Thunderbird.
National Leaders
Southern Utah ranks among the nation's best in several NCAA Division I team categories through games of Nov. 12. The Thunderbirds are No. 1 among 361 teams in three categories:
- Assists: 27.0 per game
- Bench points: 64.0 per game
- Scoring margin: plus-43.5
SUU is also third nationally in scoring offense, fourth in rebound margin and 3-point percentage defense (21.0), sixth in field goal percentage (56.6), seventh in rebounds per game (50.0) and ninth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.51). The Thunderbirds rank 11th in effective field goal percentage (.634) and defensive rebounds per game (33.3).
Individually, Cale Barclay is fourth in Division I in assist-to-turnover ratio (15.00). Rashaad Davis' 19 assists rank 53rd nationally, Jaiden Feroah's six blocks rank 56th, and Anthony Breland's 10 3-pointers rank 83rd.
Big Sky Stat Rankings
Southern Utah (3-1) leads the Big Sky standings by record, ahead of Idaho (2-1) and Northern Colorado (2-1). In the conference's overall statistics through Thursday, the Thunderbirds lead the league in 11 of 15 team categories:
- Scoring offense: 108.3 points per game
- Scoring margin: plus-43.5
- Field goal percentage: .566
- Field goal percentage defense: .368
- Rebounding margin: plus-20.8
- Offensive rebounds: 16.8 per game
- Defensive rebounds: 33.3 per game
- Assists: 27.0 per game
- Assist-to-turnover ratio: 2.51
- Turnover margin: plus-4.5
- Steals: 10.3 per game
SUU is second in scoring defense (64.8) and blocked shots (5.3 per game), and its opponents' 21.0 percent shooting from 3-point range is the lowest allowed by any Big Sky team.
Individually, Barclay is second in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (15.0), and Feroah is second in blocks (1.5 per game) and eighth in rebounding (6.0). Breland is third in 3-point percentage (.476), fifth in field goal percentage (.553) and eighth in scoring (14.3). Davis is fifth in assists (4.8), Hall is seventh in free throw percentage (.867), and Degraffenried is seventh in steals (1.8).
Jeter is in his fourth season at Southern Utah and his first in the Big Sky Conference. He is 35-63 at SUU.
Jeter led Milwaukee from 2005 to 2016 and left as the program's winningest Division I coach (185-170). He took the Panthers to two NCAA Tournaments, including a first-round win over sixth-seeded Oklahoma in 2006.
Record And Milestone Watch
Feroah has 58 career blocks at Southern Utah. He needs 10 more to pass Cal Hanks (67) for No. 10 on the school's career list.
Roster Notes
All 15 Thunderbirds have played in all four games. Five have started all four: Sanders, Jajuan Nicholls, Barclay, Degraffenried and Feroah.
Three Thunderbirds are Utah natives: Feroah (Corner Canyon High School, Draper), Barclay (Herriman High School) and Degraffenried (Salem Hills High School).
On The Road
Saturday is the second of six straight games away from Cedar City. After Wake Forest, the Thunderbirds visit Texas on Nov. 19 and play three games at the FIU Multi-Team Event in Miami (Nov. 23-25).
Big Sky Familiarity
Wake Forest forward Ring Nyeri, a 6-foot-9 junior from Peoria, Ariz., played at Big Sky member Northern Colorado in 2025-26 and averaged 8.5 points and 6.3 rebounds. He began his career at Kansas City.
Scouting Wake Forest
Wake Forest is 2-1 under Steve Forbes, who is in his seventh season. The Demon Deacons beat Maryland Eastern Shore 83-62 in their opener on Nov. 2, lost 74-51 at Vanderbilt on Nov. 5 and beat Charleston Southern 82-64 at home on Tuesday.
Wake Forest averages 72.0 points and allows 66.7. The Demon Deacons shoot 43.3 percent (77 of 178) from the field and hold opponents to 40.7 percent (72 of 177).
Kevair Kennedy, a 6-foot-2 sophomore guard who transferred from Merrimack, leads Wake Forest at 16.3 points per game. He scored 20 at Vanderbilt and had 14 points, nine rebounds and eight assists against Maryland Eastern Shore.
Freshman twins Gavin and Gallagher Placide of Denver have made an immediate impact. Gavin, a 6-foot-11 forward, averages 14.7 points and 7.7 rebounds and has six blocks, including 20 points in the opener. Gallagher, a 6-foot-9 forward, averages 9.0 points and had 12 points and eight rebounds against Charleston Southern.
Jamari McDowell (Kansas) and Justin Ray (Monmouth) are among a large transfer class that also includes Xander Pintelon (Florida Atlantic), Antonio Dorn (Virginia Tech) and Justin Abson (Georgia). Isaac Carr, a sophomore guard, is back from last season's team and scored 15 off the bench against Charleston Southern.
Wake Forest went 18-17 (7-11 ACC) last season and reached the second round of the NIT.
Series History
Southern Utah and Wake Forest have not met since at least the 2000-01 season.
Up Next
Southern Utah visits Texas at 6 p.m. MT on Thursday, Nov. 19, then plays Arkansas State (Nov. 23), FIU (Nov. 24) and Long Beach State (Nov. 25) at the FIU Multi-Team Event in Miami. Big Sky play opens at home against Idaho State on Thursday, Dec. 3.
TICKETS
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