The Southern Utah Thunderbirds will be at Hornet Gym to play the Sacramento State Hornets in a Big Sky matchup. The game starts at 10:05 pm ET on Thursday, Mar. 3.
The Hornets got blown out by North Dakota 97-71 in their last game. Justin Strings finished with 26 points to lead the team. The Thunderbirds, meanwhile, are coming off a 69-59 win over Northern Arizona in their last outing. Trey Kennedy stood out for Southern Utah, accumulating 14 points, three rebounds, and two assists.
Over the last five games, Strings has been playing at a high level for the Hornets. During that stretch, he has averaged 20.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.8 blocks, and 2.8 three-pointers.
The Hornets come into this game 11-16 Straight Up (SU) and 12-11 Against The Spread (ATS). Over their last 10 games, they have only managed a record of 3-7 ATS. Sacramento State has averaged 65.0 points per game over the last 10 games, lower than its season average of 72.0. The Hornets will be looking to pick it up in this one after recent defensive struggles. The Hornets have given up an average of 80.2 points to opponents in their last 10 games, well over their defense’s season average of 73.3 PPG.
On the other side, the Thunderbirds have records of 7-18 ATS and 6-21 SU.
These conference foes will be facing off in their first head-to-head contest of the season. When they last met the Thunderbirds were winners, but Sacramento State still leads the head-to-head record, 6-4 SU, over their most recent matchups. The teams are even ATS, with a 3-3 record. When it comes to field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers, Sacramento State held the edge in all three of these categories twice in the last five meetings. Southern Utah did so one time.
Predictions: SU Winner – Sac, ATS Winner – Sac
Notes
Sacramento State scores 79.5 points per home game (ranked 82nd). Southern Utah ranks a poor 243rd in points allowed on the road, allowing 82.7 points.
The Southern Utah Thunderbirds average 69.5 possessions per game and 1.007 points per possession. The Sacramento State Hornets earn fewer possessions with 68.8, but they score more points with 1.046.
Sacramento State has an average effective field goal percentage of 50.3%. Southern Utah is an abysmal 2-19 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, Sacramento State attempts 19.0 three pointers and Southern Utah attempts 19.0. In games where they have 20 or more three point attempts, both have losing records. The Sacramento State Hornets are 6-10 while the Southern Utah Thunderbirds are 2-11.
Sacramento State, the 82nd-ranked team in blocked shots, records an average of 4.2 per game. Southern Utah does worse, ranked 238th with 2.9.
Sacramento State has forced an average turnover percentage of 17.9% this season. Southern Utah has an underachieving 3-14 record when its TO% is 17.9% or higher.
