CEDAR CITY, Utah (AP)-Eastern Washington (19-8, 12-4) vs. Southern Utah (14-13, 7-9)
America First Event Center, Cedar City, Utah; Thursday, 7 p.m. MST
BOTTOM LINE: Eastern Washington looks to extend Southern Utah’s conference losing streak to five games. Southern Utah’s last Big Sky win came against the Portland State Vikings 85-57 on Feb. 8. Eastern Washington beat Northern Arizona by 10 at home in its last outing.
FEARLESS FRESHMEN: Eastern Washington’s Mason Peatling, Ellis Magnuson and Casson Rouse have collectively scored 36 percent of the team’s points this season, including 43 percent of all Eagles scoring over the last five games.
FACILITATING THE OFFENSE: Peatling has either made or assisted on 52 percent of all Eastern Washington field goals over the last three games. Peatling has accounted for 29 field goals and 17 assists in those games.
UNDEFEATED WHEN: The Thunderbirds are 6-0 when they record nine or more steals and 8-13 when they fall shy of that mark. The Eagles are 13-0 when the team blocks at least four shots and 6-8 when they fall short of that total.
ASSIST DISTRIBUTION: The Eagles have recently created buckets via assists more often than the Thunderbirds. Southern Utah has 23 assists on 75 field goals (30.7 percent) across its past three matchups while Eastern Washington has assists on 57 of 88 field goals (64.8 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: Eastern Washington is ranked sixth among Division I teams with an average of 81.3 points per game.
