Southern Utah (11-3, 6-2) vs. Idaho State (8-7, 5-3)
Holt Arena, Pocatello, Idaho; Thursday, 9 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Two junior guards will be on display as Tevian Jones and Southern Utah will take on Robert Ford III and Idaho State. Jones has scored 22 percent of the team’s points this season and is averaging 19.2 over his last five games. Ford is averaging 10.2 points over the last five games.
LEADING THE CHARGE: The Thunderbirds are led by juniors Jones and Maizen Fausett. Jones has averaged 18.4 points while Fausett has recorded 14.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. The Bengals have been led by Ford and Tarik Cool. Ford has averaged 12.1 points and 7.3 rebounds while Cool has put up 14.4 points per game.
RAMPING IT UP: The Bengals have scored 64.1 points per game against Big Sky opponents so far, an improvement from the 55 per game they recorded in non-conference play.TERRIFIC TEVIAN: Jones has connected on 36.1 percent of the 108 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 17 of 40 over his last five games. He’s also made 83.6 percent of his foul shots this season.
UNDEFEATED WHEN: The Bengals are 6-0 when they score at least 71 points and 2-7 when they fall shy of that total. The Thunderbirds are 8-0 when they hold opponents to 74 points or fewer and 3-3 when opponents exceed 74 points.
ASSIST-TO-FG RATIO: The Bengals have recently created buckets via assists more often than the Thunderbirds. Idaho State has an assist on 28 of 58 field goals (48.3 percent) over its past three matchups while Southern Utah has assists on 32 of 76 field goals (42.1 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: The Southern Utah offense has scored 82.2 points per game, the 21st-highest figure in Division I. Idaho State has only averaged 68.1 points per game, which ranks 228th nationally.
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