Following a short home stint that gave them their second win, the Southern Utah University men’s basketball team heads to Pittsburgh to play in the Urban-Bennett Invitational against Robert Morris University and Stetson University on Friday, Nov. 28 and Saturday, Nov. 29.
Both games will be played at noon and streamed live on ESPN+.
Southern Utah
SUU has a 2-5 record on the year. Their two victories, both coming at home against members of the National Christian College Athletic Association, were won by an average of 46.5 points. They’ve been outscored by an average of 28 points in their losses.
The T-Birds have excelled in a few areas despite their negative record and specifically outperform teams in the paint. They notch more rebounds, blocks and trips to the free-throw line, and shoot 54.7% inside the three-point line compared to 52.4% from opponents.
However, the T-Birds have experienced a major roadblock when it comes to three-point shooting. SUU is shooting 28.8% from three and allowing opponents to shoot 41.2% from three, resulting in Southern Utah allowing one of the highest opponent point per game averages in all of Division One.
SUU also records a lot of turnovers. They commit three more per game than opponents, who also average 2.5 more steals per game than the T-Birds. This means SUU records almost as many turnovers as assists despite out-assisting their competitors.
Facing two teams with similar stats, strengths and weaknesses, SUU will have to pull out all the stops in order to avoid returning home from Pittsburgh empty-handed.
Robert Morris
After reaching the NCAA Tournament last season, the Colonials have a 3-3 record on the year. They’re currently on a two-game losing streak, dropping a 71-70 game in overtime to Monmouth University and a 75-61 game against the 5-1 St. Bonaventure University.
Robert Morris’ recent winning streak began with an overtime win against Drake University, who’s reached the NCAA Tournament each of the past three years. RMU then outscored their next two opponents by 70 combined points.
Robert Morris has been dominant in rebounding, notching nearly nine more per game than opponents. Their two tallest starters, Nikolaos Chitikoudis and DeSean Goode, are the biggest contributors to this. The players lead the team in scoring, shoot over 50% from the field and have a strong defensive presence on both ends of the floor.
The Colonials’ biggest shortcomings have been blocks, where SUU does well, and three-point shooting where SUU also struggles. With the T-Birds looking for their first win streak of the year, they’ll have to outplay Robert Morris in the paint and get the three to fall.
Stetson
The Hatters are 3-4 on the year and went 2-1 in their most recent homestand. Even with a 106-77 win against the University of Fort Lauderdale, Stetson averages seven fewer points per game than opponents.
Despite having the lowest field goal percentage of these three teams, Stetson is the best three-point shooter of the bunch with a 36.1% clip. Like SUU and Robert Morris, Stetson allows their opponents to shoot better from three albeit by a smaller margin.
The last similarity Stetson shares is turnover struggles. They commit 2.4 more per game than opponents, who rack up four more steals per game than the Hatters. Stetson and SUU have both averaged 4.1 turnovers per game, so their matchup will be about who can take advantage of mistakes best.
Stetson’s top scorer and rebounder, Jamie Phillips Jr., is also high on their shooting and assisting leaderboards. The sophomore guard has eclipsed 20 points in three of Stetson’s seven games.
SUU has never faced Robert Morris or Stetson before. This will be the SUU men’s basketball team’s first-ever trip to Pennsylvania.
Author: Payson Davis
Photographer: SUU Athletics
Editor: Jack Paul
