The Southern Utah University men’s basketball team will go up against two Western Athletic Conference opponents this week. Southern Utah will start by playing the Utah Tech University Trailblazers on Thursday, Feb. 8, at 7 p.m. The following matchup will be on Saturday, Feb. 10, at 6 p.m. against the No. 1-seeded Grand Canyon University Lopes. Both games are available on ESPN+.
Southern Utah Thunderbirds
After two losses last week, Southern Utah has an overall record of 9-15 and is ninth in the WAC at 4-9. Offensively, they have had a great season, placing third in scoring and sixth in field goal percentage in the conference.
Struggles for SUU have come on the defensive side of the ball. They place tenth in the WAC in allowed points and ninth in rebounds. They continue to have issues limiting second-chance opportunities, which were crucial in the outcome of last week’s games. The one thing that SUU does very well on the defensive side, however, is defending the three-point shot, where they rank third in the WAC.
Leading the scoring effort is guard Dominique Ford, who averages 16.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game. Forward Parsa Fallah is another great contributor, averaging 12.9 points and 6.0 rebounds.
Seattle University Redhawks
Seattle University has an overall record of 14-10 and is fifth in the WAC at 7-6. Their offense has been solid this season, placing them in fourth and fifth place in key stats. The few outliers are three-pointers made, where they sit at second, and assist/turnover ratio, where they sit at third.
The Redhawks defend the basket very well. They place fourth in allowed scoring and rebounds and second in field goal percentage. On top of that, they are the best three-point defending team in the conference. This shows how well the defense affects the accuracy of their opponents’ shots because Seattle U places tenth in the WAC in blocked shots. The defense does unfortunately struggle in forcing turnovers, sitting at seventh in steals.
There are many large contributors on this team with five players averaging double-digit scoring. Guard Cameron Tyson leads the scoring with 17 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Behind him is guard Alex Schumacher, who averages 14.4 points, 4.8 assists and 1.2 steals. Guard Kobe Williamson acts as their defensive anchor, averaging 6.2 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks per game. He also contributes on the offensive end with 10.1 points.
Utah Valley Wolverines
Utah Valley has an overall record of 10-14 and sits eighth in the WAC at 5-8. There have been a lot of issues for this team on the offensive side of the ball. The Wolverines are last in scoring and three-point percentage in the WAC and ninth in total field goal percentage and free throw percentage. Passing the ball is the bright spot of the offense. They place second in assists and first in assist/turnover ratio in the conference.
The Wolverines have not had a bad season defensively but do not stand out in any major stat except blocks, where they sit in third place in the WAC. They place fifth in both allowed points and field goal percentage, sixth in allowed threes and seventh in rebounds.
Leading the scoring is guard Caleb Stone-Carrawell, who averages 12 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. Guard Drake Allen is the main ball distributor. He averages 11 points, 4.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Center Trevin Dorius does a great job guarding the paint with 7.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game.
Author: Jacob McQueary
Photographer: Anden Garfield
Editor: Anden Garfield
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