In the third leg of their final road trip before conference games begin, the Southern Utah University men’s basketball will head to Flagstaff, Arizona to face Northern Arizona University on Thursday, Dec. 18 at 5 p.m.
This game will also be streamed live on ESPN+.
Southern Utah
SUU holds a 4-8 record on the year and has dropped their last two games. They have just one win on the road so far this season, and their other three wins were all blowouts of 35 or more points against members of the National Christian College Athletic Association.
Southern Utah’s main hiccup on offense continues to be the three-point shot. Their field goal percentage has been above 40% in all but three games, but their three-point percentage has been below 30% in six games.
The team also allows opponents to shoot better from the field, three-point range and the free-throw line. This is a crucial statistic seeing as how Northern Arizona shoots just as well from the field as SUU but makes threes more efficiently and holds opponents to lower shooting averages.
Southern Utah will also have to be mindful of turnovers, as they average 2.3 more per game than opponents and allow far more points from turnovers than they score. This has been one area the Lumberjacks have thrived in and one that has the potential to decide this game along with shooting.
Northern Arizona
NAU started the year strong, but now sits at 4-6 and has lost four games in a row. All of their wins have come at home and five of their games have been decided by a point differential of less than 10.
While the Lumberjacks excel in areas where SUU falls behind like shooting and turnovers, they also struggle in areas where the T-Birds have been strong like rebounding and assists. Southern Utah will have to play to their strengths in order to take the victory in this game.
Northern Arizona is led by forward Zack Davidson. Despite attempting just four threes all season, the redshirt sophomore leads his team with 16 points per game and an astounding 63.9% field goal percentage while also ranking top three on the Lumberjacks in rebounds.
NAU’s other notable players include Ryan Abelman, who leads his team in rebounds and steals while ranking second in points and assists. Starting guard Isaiah Shaw leads his team in three-point percentage and blocks while ranking third in points.
SUU holds a 19-17 record against NAU all-time. While Southern Utah lost the two most recent games, they won 11 of the previous 14 matchups dating back to 2016.
Author: Payson Davis
Photographer: SUU Athletics
Editor: Jack Paul