Southern Utah (17-3, 10-2) vs. Portland State (9-10, 6-6)
The Viking Pavilion, Portland, Oregon; Thursday, 10:05 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Southern Utah looks for its sixth straight conference win against Portland State. Southern Utah’s last Big Sky loss came against the Weber State Wildcats 91-67 on Jan. 21. Portland State is coming off a 73-65 win over Northern Colorado on Saturday.
SQUAD LEADERS: James Scott has averaged 13.1 points and 4.8 rebounds to lead the way for the Vikings. Khalid Thomas is also a top contributor, producing 11 points and five rebounds per game. The Thunderbirds have been led by Tevian Jones, who is averaging 17.2 points and 4.2 rebounds.
CLAMPING DOWN: The Vikings have given up just 64.5 points per game to Big Sky opponents so far, an improvement from the 74 per game they gave up to non-conference competition.TERRIFIC TEVIAN: Jones has connected on 34.7 percent of the 144 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 10 of 31 over his last five games. He’s also made 85.1 percent of his foul shots this season.
WINNING WHEN: Portland State is a perfect 5-0 when it holds an opponent to 60 points or fewer. The Vikings are 4-10 when opponents score more than 60 points.
STREAK STATS: Portland State has won its last three home games, scoring an average of 81.3 points while giving up 62.
DID YOU KNOW: Southern Utah is ranked third among Division I teams with an average of 85.6 points per game. The Thunderbirds have averaged 91.1 per game over their seven-game winning streak.
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