Idaho (0-8, 0-5) vs. Southern Utah (8-1, 3-0)
America First Event Center, Cedar City, Utah; Saturday, 1 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Southern Utah looks for its eighth straight win in the head-to-head series over Idaho. In its last seven wins against the Vandals, Southern Utah has won by an average of 15 points. Idaho’s last win in the series came on March 3, 2018, a 78-76 victory.
SUPER SENIORS: Idaho has benefited heavily from its seniors. Damen Thacker, Scott Blakney, Gabe Quinnett and Ja’Vary Christmas have combined to account for 60 percent of the team’s scoring this year and 68 percent of all Vandals points over the team’s last five games.
DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENTS: The Thunderbirds have given up only 72.3 points per game to conference opponents so far, an improvement from the 78 per game they gave up in non-conference play.DOMINANT DAMEN: Thacker has connected on 37.9 percent of the 29 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 6 of 17 over his last three games. He’s also converted 88.9 percent of his free throws this season.
TWO STREAKS: Idaho has dropped its last six road games, scoring 59.5 points and allowing 75.2 points during those contests. Southern Utah has won its last seven home games, scoring an average of 85.4 points while giving up 66.1.
ASSIST-TO-FG RATIO: The Vandals have recently converted buckets via assists more often than the Thunderbirds. Southern Utah has 47 assists on 97 field goals (48.5 percent) across its past three matchups while Idaho has assists on 48 of 81 field goals (59.3 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: The Southern Utah offense has scored 84.7 points per game this season, ranking the Thunderbirds 22nd nationally. The Idaho defense has allowed 76.5 points per game to opponents (ranked 216th).
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