Featured Image Courtesy of Southern Utah Athletics
STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Southern Utah begins a two-game road trip to Texas with a tilt against the Tarleton State Texans. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams. The Texans have only been a Division I program since 2020. While the Thunderbirds will not have to face a dynamic scoring duo as they faced against UT-Rio Grande Valley in their last outing, they will still have their hands full in a tough road game. Tarleton has yet to lose at Wisdom Gym this season.
Last Time Out
SUU capped off a 2-0 start to WAC play with an overtime win over UTRGV. The Thunderbirds overcame a combined 56 points from Will Johnston and Justin Johnson to come away with the 94-88 victory. Tarleton split its games beating UT-Arlington and losing to Abilene Christian. All starters for SUU had at least 11 points in Saturday’s win and will look to deliver a similar effort in a crucial game against the Texans.
Know Your Opponent
Freddy Hicks is Tarleton’s leading scorer averaging 17.9 points per game this season. However, he has been out since a loss to Baylor on December 6th. That leaves Lue Williams and Jakorie Smith as the only Texans averaging in double figures. Smith had 6 points in the win over UT-Arlington and did not play in the loss to Abilene. Williams had 21 in the win over the Mavericks but was held to 10 in the loss to the Wildcats.
Dominating Offense
The Thunderbird offense returned to second in the national rankings in scoring this week. Tevian Jones has been a crucial part of this unit and was named WAC player of the week. Jones had 41 points combined in wins over New Mexico State and UTRGV. Overwhelming the Texan defense with this impressive offense will be key to SUU coming away with the win in this one.