A defensive battle can be expected from the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (5-21) and Southern Utah Thunderbirds (5-21) when two of the nation’s top scoring defenses battle it out at Walkup Skydome. Action gets underway at 4:00 pm ET on Saturday, Feb. 27.
The Lumberjacks lost a tough one against Weber State 77-74 the last time they played. Ako Kaluna had a good game in defeat for Northern Arizona, recording 22 points and 10 rebounds to earn his second double-double of the season. The Thunderbirds are coming off an ugly 89-71 loss to Idaho State in their last game. James McGee had a team-high 18 points.
Kris Yanku has taken his game to another level as of late for the Lumberjacks, averaging 17.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.0 steal, and 1.2 three-pointers over the last five games.
This is the second game of the year between these two teams, with the Lumberjacks winning the first matchup 73-63. Marcus DeBerry was a top performer in the victory with 18 points, four rebounds, one steal, one block, and four three-pointers.
The Lumberjacks look to improve upon their records of 5-21 Straight Up (SU) and 7-14 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 2-8 ATS over their last 10 games.
Across the court, the Thunderbirds have 5-21 SU and 6-18 ATS records.
Northern Arizona won the last meeting this season between these two teams, bumping its SU record to 7-2 over Southern Utah in their most recent meetings. However, Southern Utah holds the advantage ATS with a record of 4-3. Northern Arizona held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers twice in the last five games, while Southern Utah wasn’t able to do so in that span.
Predictions: SU Winner – NoAri, ATS Winner – NoAri
Notes
“Northern Arizona is 3-18 SU in its last 21 games “.
“The total has gone OVER in 4 of Northern Arizona’s last 5 games “.
“Northern Arizona is 2-8 SU in its last 10 games at home”.
“The total has gone OVER in 4 of Northern Arizona’s last 6 games at home”.
“Northern Arizona is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Southern Utah”.
“The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Northern Arizona’s last 5 games when playing Southern Utah”.
“Northern Arizona is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Southern Utah”.
“Southern Utah is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Northern Arizona”.
In its last game, Southern Utah lost by a margin of 18 points. Northern Arizona is 1-10 in games decided by a margin of 18 points or more. Southern Utah has a 2-9 record in blowouts.
Northern Arizona has an average field goal percentage of 40.4%. Southern Utah is an abysmal 3-21 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks and the Southern Utah Thunderbirds both rank higher in average effective field goal percentage when compared to their field goal percentages. Northern Arizona is 323rd and 298th in the nation for FG% and eFG% respectively, while Southern Utah is 201st and 194th in these categories.
On average, Northern Arizona makes 6.2 steals per game. Southern Utah is a subpar 1-10 when it gives up at least 6 steals.
