The Southern Utah Thunderbirds (5-19) welcome the Weber State Wildcats (18-7), the Big Sky’s best team, to Centrum Arena. The game gets underway at 9:00 pm ET on Thursday, Feb. 18.
The Thunderbirds are hoping for a better outcome after their 80-73 loss to Montana State the last time they played. Race Parsons had a good outing for Southern Utah, putting up 13 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. The Wildcats, meanwhile, are coming off an 87-78 win over Portland State in their last game. Jeremy Senglin led the game in scoring with 24 points on 7-for-14 shooting.
The ineffective offense of Southern Utah (280th in the nation with an offensive efficiency of 100.2) will square off against the stingy defense of Weber State (27th in the nation with a defensive efficiency of 95.4). The Wildcats figure to have the advantage on that end of the court. Moreover, the Wildcats rank ninth in eFG% at 56.1%, whereas the suspect field-goal defense of the Thunderbirds places 349th with opponents connecting at a clip of 56.8%.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Wildcats won the first game 77-50. Joel Bolomboy played a huge role in the victory by recording a double-double with 12 points and 16 rebounds.
The Thunderbirds come into this game 5-19 Straight Up (SU) and 5-17 Against The Spread (ATS). Southern Utah’s defense has put it all together in the past 10 games. Its average points allowed per game dropped to 64.5 during that span, compared to its 81.3 season average.
On the other side, the Wildcats have records of 12-10-1 ATS and 18-7 SU. Weber State has been particularly bad ATS over its past 10 matchups, going 2-8. The Wildcats will be looking to pick it up in this one after recent offensive struggles. In their most recent 10 games, their scoring has dropped to 67.2 PPG, compared to 69.5 for the duration of the season. The Wildcats are shooting lights out so far, with a .486 field-goal percentage that ranks 17th in Division I. The Weber State defense as a whole has been firing on all cylinders so far, ranking 42nd in Division I with only 66.1 points allowed per game. Weber State’s three-point defense is one of the top in the country, with opponents making only 5.0 shots from the three-point line per game. The Wildcats have established a reputation of cleaning up the defensive glass with 29.6 defensive rebounds per game, making them one of the top teams in the nation.
Weber State beat Southern Utah in their most recent meeting this season, bringing its SU record in their most recent games to 8-2. With a 5-4 record, the Wildcats also have the advantage ATS. When it comes to field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers, Weber State held the edge in all three of these categories twice in the last five meetings. Southern Utah never did so in those games.
Predictions: SU Winner – Web, ATS Winner – Web
Notes
Southern Utah averages 69.5 points per game, placing the team just 199th in the nation. Weber State ranks 42nd in points allowed, giving up 66.1 points per game.
Weber State scores 73.8 points per away game (ranked 77th). Southern Utah ranks a poor 235th in points allowed at home, allowing 77.5 points.
Ranked 41st, the Weber State Wildcats have an offensive rating of 113.2. The Southern Utah Thunderbirds rank 351st with a defensive rating of just 117.6.
Weber State has the 17th-ranked average field goal percentage at 48.6%. Southern Utah has not won a game this season when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage (0-13).
The Southern Utah Thunderbirds and the Weber State Wildcats both rank higher in average effective field goal percentage when compared to their field goal percentages. Southern Utah is 207th and 198th in the nation for FG% and eFG% respectively, while Weber State is 17th and ninth in these categories.
Weber State, the 54th-ranked team in rebounding, registers an average of 39.2 rebounds per game. Southern Utah does worse, ranked 341st with 30.4.
The Weber State Wildcats average 4.9 steals per game. When giving up 4 or more steals, the Southern Utah Thunderbirds have an abysmal record (3-17) this season.
