MOSCOW, Idaho-Monday, Southern Utah men’s basketball (11-7, 4-3 in Big Sky Conference play), currently fourth in the conference standings, seeks to stay in title contention by visiting the Idaho Vandals (5-13, 1-6 in Big Sky play) at the Cowan Spectrum.
The Thunderbirds, after losing 81-78 in overtime against Eastern Washington at Cheney, Wash. Saturday, fell to fourth place behind both the Eagles and Northern Colorado.
Nevertheless, this is still the most successful season to date in the four-season tenure of SUU head coach Todd Simon (47-70, .402 at SUU).
The Thunderbirds presently score 74.6 points per game, ranking them 100th nationally in scoring offense.
Redshirt senior guard/forward Cameron Oluyitan leads the Thunderbirds in scoring (13.8 points per game) and steals (25).
Other SUU student-athletes scoring in double figures include junior guard John Knight III (13.5 points per game, a team-best 42 assists) and redshirt senior forward Dwayne Morgan (11.6 points per game).
Sophomore guard Harrison Butler leads the Thunderbirds on the glass with 7.1 rebounds per game and Senegalese national, redshirt senior center Daouda (David) N’Diaye has a team-best 20 blocked shots on the season.
SUU surrenders 64.1 points per game as the Thunderbirds rank 56th nationally in scoring defense.
The Vandals are coached by Zac Claus, who is 5-13 (.278) in his first season at the helm of the Idaho program.
The Vandals score 66.9 points per game as Idaho ranks 290th nationally in scoring offense.
Senior guard Trevon Allen (20 points per game) is the Vandals’ leading scorer. The only other Idaho student-athlete to score in double figures on-average this season is sophomore guard BJ Simmons (10.7 points per game).
Graudate student forward Quinton Forrest leads the Vandals in rebounding (6.4 boards per game) and steals (21).
Idaho’s leader in assists is Canadian national, redshirt junior guard Marquell Fraser with 33 on the season.
The Vandals’ leader in blocked shots is junior forward Babacar Thiombane, who has 10 swats on the season.
Idaho surrenders 70.2 points per game as the Vandals rank 206th nationally in scoring defense.
The series between the Vandals and Thunderbirds is tied 11-11 all-time.
