In the process of carrying out polar-opposite seasons, the Southern Utah University men’s and women’s basketball teams will take on California Baptist University on Saturday, Jan. 10. The women’s team will host CBU in Cedar City at 2 p.m., while the men’s team will face them in Riverside, California at 6 p.m.
Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Women’s matchup
The women’s basketball team has shown its talent early, boasting a 12-4 record and a 3-0 standing in the Western Athletic Conference. They’ve also won all seven of their home games and three matches in a row.
They’re facing another team on a hot streak in the Lancers. CBU’s women’s team is 10-7 with four straight wins to start conference play after losing seven of their previous eight games.
While SUU has been led by junior forward Ava Uhrich as of late, CBU’s top scorer is freshman guard Lauren Olsen. She ranks second on the team in steals, third in assists and fourth in rebounds.
Uhrich herself has had a string of impressive performances that recently included her sixth double-double of the season. She’s been closing in on the team leads in points and assists while ranking first in rebounds.
SUU’s women’s team is 5-4 all-time against California Baptist. The teams have won three each since a break in matchups from 1988 to 2023.
Men’s matchup
The men’s basketball team has had the opposite season to its counterpart, with records of 4-12 overall and 0-3 in the WAC. They’ve dropped six games in a row and still have just one win against an NCAA opponent or against a team on the road.
While their last game saw much improvement from beyond the arc, shooting has been one of the major obstacles for the SUU offense this year. They’ve shot 32.1% from the three-point line while allowing opponents to go 39% from deep.
These struggles should hopefully be dampened against CBU’s men’s team, which has shot worse from three-point range than the Thunderbirds this season. The Lancers are 11-6 on the year but 1-3 in their conference, and have knocked down 31.3% of threes.
CBU has out-rebounded opponents this season, but averages half the blocks that opponents do. This is promising for a Southern Utah roster whose paint presence has needed a confidence-boosting spark in recent games.
SUU’s men’s team is 4-4 against California Baptist all-time. SUU won the most recent match, which was a home game for the Lancers.
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Author: Payson Davis
Photographer: SUU Athletics
Editor: Brooklyn Beard
