2018–19 Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Southern Utah Thunderbirds basketball team represented Southern Utah University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Thunderbirds were led by third-year head coach Todd Simon and played their home games at the America First Events Center in Cedar City, Utah as members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 17–17, 9–11 in Big Sky play to finish in seventh place. They defeated Idaho State and Northern Colorado to advance to the semifinals of the Big Sky Tournament where they lost to Eastern Washington. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they defeated Drake in the first round before losing in the second round to Cal State Bakersfield.

2018–19 Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball
CIT, Second round
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
2018–19 record17–17 (9–11 Big Sky)
Head coachTodd Simon (3rd season)
Assistant coaches
  • John Wardenburg
  • Chris Pompey
  • Trent Angelucci
Home arenaAmerica First Events Center
2018–19 Big Sky men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Montana164 .800  269  .743
Northern Colorado155 .750  2111  .656
Eastern Washington128 .600  1618  .471
Weber State119 .550  1815  .545
Portland State119 .550  1616  .500
Montana State119 .550  1517  .469
Southern Utah911 .450  1717  .500
Northern Arizona812 .400  1021  .323
Sacramento State812 .400  1516  .484
Idaho State713 .350  1119  .367
Idaho218 .100  527  .156
Big Sky Tournament winner

Previous season

The Thunderbirds finished the 2017–18 season 13–19, 5–13 in Big Sky play to finish in tenth place. In the Big Sky Tournament they defeated Idaho State and Idaho to advance to the semifinals where they lost to Eastern Washington.

Offseason

Departures

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownReason for departure
Jamil Jackson1G/F6'6"190SophomoreMinneapolis, MNTransferred to IUPUI
Jordan Lyons5G/F6'7"200FreshmanBrampton, ONTransferred to Vincennes
Jadon Cohee12G6'4"205RS JuniorLangley, BCGraduate transferred to British Columbia
Taelin Webb13G5'11"195RS JuniorFresno, CAWalk-on; left the team due to personal reasons
James McGee14G6'2"200RS SeniorSan Clemente, CAGraduated
Jamal Aytes15F6'6"240RS SeniorSan Diego, CAGraduated
Christian Musoko34F/C6'8"245SeniorKinshasa, CongoGraduated
Joel Swallow44F6'9"230RS SophomoreHowell, UTWalk-on; didn't return

Incoming transfers

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious School
Jason Richardson3G6'2"210RS JuniorHawthorne, CAJunior college transferred from Fullerton College
Jakolby Long13G6'5"207JuniorMustang, OKTransferred from Iowa State. Under NCAA transfer rules, Long will have to sit out for the 2018–19 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.
Daouda Ndiaye14C7'0"215SeniorDakar, SenegalTransferred from Illinois State. Under NCAA transfer rules, Ndiaye will have to sit out for the 2018–19 season. Will have one year of remaining eligibility.

2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Harrison Butler
#58 SF
Santa Ana, CA Mater Dei High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Oct 30, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 78
Josh Cornish
SG
Baltimore, MD Dulaney High School 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Mar 27, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Maizen Fausett
SG
Saratoga Springs, UT Westlake High School 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) N/A Sep 21, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2018-10-05.

    Roster

    2018–19 Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball team
    PlayersCoaches
    Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
    G 0 Dato Aphkhazava 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)178 lb (81 kg) FrNone Batumi, Georgia
    G 1 Kenton Eskridge 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)195 lb (88 kg) FrMt. Zion Prep Atlanta, GA
    G 2 Brandon Better 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)185 lb (84 kg) SrCrossland HS
    Moberly Area CC
    Suitland, MD
    G 3 Jason Richardson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)205 lb (93 kg) RS JrJunípero Serra HS
    Fullerton College
    Gardena, CA
    G 4 Dre Marin 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)170 lb (77 kg) SoApollo HS Glendale, AZ
    G 5 Dillon Glendenning (W) 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)150 lb (68 kg) FrFindlay Prep Dallas, TX
    F 10 Jacob Calloway 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)215 lb (98 kg) JrOn Point Academy Juneau, AK
    F 12 Maizen Fausett 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)225 lb (102 kg) FrWestlake HS Saratoga Springs, UT
    G 13 Jakolby Long  6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)208 lb (94 kg) JrMustang HS
    Iowa State
    Mustang, OK
    C 14 Daouda Ndiaye  7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)215 lb (98 kg) SrWindermere Prep
    Illinois State
    Dakar, Senegal
    G 15 Harrison Butler 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)220 lb (100 kg) FrMater Dei HS Santa Ana, CA
    G 21 Josh Cornish 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)165 lb (75 kg) FrDulaney HS Cockeysville, MD
    F/C 22 Ivan Madunic 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)225 lb (102 kg) JrNone Split, Croatia
    G/F 23 Cameron Oluyitan 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)195 lb (88 kg) RS JrClements HS
    Boise State
    Houston, TX
    F 25 Dwayne Morgan 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)225 lb (102 kg) RS SrSt. Frances Academy
    UNLV
    Baltimore, MD
    G/F 30 Elijah Graves (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)215 lb (98 kg) SrLiberty HS Las Vegas, NV
    F 32 Andre Adams 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)230 lb (104 kg) RS JrIMG Academy
    Arizona State
    Avondale, AZ
    G 33 Matthew Johnson (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)210 lb (95 kg) SrCoronado HS Las Vegas, NV
    Head coach
    Assistant coach(es)

    Legend
    • (C) Team captain
    • (S) Suspended
    • (I) Ineligible
    • (W) Walk-on

    Roster

    Schedule and results

    Date
    time, TV
    Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
    city, state
    Exhibition
    Oct 30, 2018*
    6:30 pm
    Life Pacific W 96–53 
    America First Events Center (2,356)
    Cedar City, UT
    Non-conference regular season
    Nov 6, 2018*
    6:30 pm
    West Coast Baptist W 109–63  1–0
    America First Events Center (1,572)
    Cedar City, UT
    Nov 10, 2018*
    7:00 pm
    at San Jose State W 66–59  2–0
    Event Center Arena (371)
    San Jose, CA
    Nov 18, 2018*
    2:00 pm
    at Seattle W 73–70  3–0
    Redhawk Center (999)
    Seattle, WA
    Nov 23, 2018*
    8:00 pm, MWN
    at UNLV L 71–76  3–1
    Thomas & Mack Center (7,567)
    Paradise, NV
    Nov 29, 2018*
    6:30 pm, Pluto TV
    San Diego Christian W 111–64  4–1
    America First Events Center (2,363)
    Cedar City, UT
    Dec 5, 2018*
    8:00 pm
    at Long Beach State L 71–82  4–2
    Walter Pyramid (1,876)
    Long Beach, CA
    Dec 8, 2018*
    2:30 pm, ESPN3
    at Central Michigan L 86–95  4–3
    McGuirk Arena (1,832)
    Mount Pleasant, MI
    Dec 15, 2018*
    7:00 pm, Pluto TV
    Pepperdine W 78–69 OT 5–3
    America First Events Center (1,772)
    Cedar City, UT
    Dec 21, 2018*
    9:00 pm, P12N
    at USC L 49–91  5–4
    Galen Center (3,125)
    Los Angeles, CA
    Big Sky regular season
    Dec 29, 2018
    2:00 pm, Pluto TV
    Montana State L 62–92  5–5
    (0–1)
    America First Events Center (1,802)
    Cedar City, UT
    Dec 31, 2018
    6:30 pm, Pluto TV
    Montana L 76–89  5–6
    (0–2)
    America First Events Center (1,451)
    Cedar City, UT
    Jan 3, 2019
    7:05 pm
    at Idaho State L 68–88  5–7
    (0–3)
    Holt Arena (1,461)
    Pocatello, ID
    Jan 5, 2019
    7:00 pm
    at Weber State
    Old Oquirrh Bucket
    W 90–82 OT 6–7
    (1–3)
    Dee Events Center (6,751)
    Ogden, UT
    Jan 12, 2019
    2:00 pm, Pluto TV
    Northern Arizona W 84–82  7–7
    (2–3)
    America First Events Center (1,856)
    Cedar City, UT
    Jan 17, 2019
    6:00 pm, Pluto TV
    Portland State W 83–69  8–7
    (3–3)
    America First Events Center (2,307)
    Cedar City, UT
    Jan 19, 2019
    2:00 pm, Pluto TV
    Sacramento State W 76–71  9–7
    (4–3)
    America First Events Center (1,672)
    Cedar City, UT
    Jan 24, 2019
    7:00 pm
    at Northern Colorado L 68–79  9–8
    (4–4)
    Bank of Colorado Arena (1,368)
    Greeley, CO
    Jan 28, 2019
    2:00 pm
    at Northern Arizona L 77–80 OT 9–9
    (4–5)
    Walkup Skydome (705)
    Flagstaff, AZ
    Feb 2, 2019
    3:05 pm
    at Eastern Washington L 79–82  9–10
    (4–6)
    Reese Court (1,244)
    Cheney, WA
    Feb 4, 2019
    8:00 pm
    at Idaho W 75–64  10–10
    (5–6)
    Cowan Spectrum (634)
    Moscow, ID
    Feb 7, 2019
    6:30 pm, Pluto TV
    Weber State
    Old Oquirrh Bucket
    W 65–53  11–10
    (6–6)
    America First Events Center (3,069)
    Cedar City, UT
    Feb 9, 2019
    2:00 pm, Pluto TV
    Idaho State W 78–72  12–10
    (7–6)
    America First Events Center (1,871)
    Cedar City, UT
    Feb 14, 2019
    8:05 pm
    at Sacramento State L 73–84  12–11
    (7–7)
    Hornets Nest (615)
    Sacramento, CA
    Feb 16, 2019
    8:05 pm
    at Portland State L 69–78  12–12
    (7–8)
    Viking Pavilion (1,130)
    Portland, OR
    Feb 21, 2019
    6:30 pm, Pluto TV
    Eastern Washington W 76–62  13–12
    (8–8)
    America First Events Center (1,578)
    Cedar City, UT
    Feb 23, 2019
    2:00 pm, Pluto TV
    Idaho W 85–76  14–12
    (9–8)
    America First Events Center (1,604)
    Cedar City, UT
    Mar 2, 2019
    7:00 pm
    at Montana L 54–70  14–13
    (9–9)
    Dahlberg Arena (4,383)
    Missoula, MT
    Mar 4, 2019
    7:00 pm
    at Montana State L 83–90  14–14
    (9–10)
    Brick Breeden Fieldhouse 
    Bozeman, MT
    Mar 7, 2019
    6:30 pm, Pluto TV
    Northern Colorado L 53–70  14–15
    (9–11)
    America First Events Center (2,172)
    Cedar City, UT
    Big Sky Tournament
    Mar 13, 2019
    1:00 pm, Pluto TV
    (7) vs. (10) Idaho State
    First round
    W 94–80  15–15
    CenturyLink Arena 
    Boise, ID
    Mar 14, 2019
    6:30 pm, Eleven
    (7) vs. (2) Northern Colorado
    Quarterfinals
    W 83–63  16–15
    CenturyLink Arena 
    Boise, ID
    Mar 15, 2019
    9:00 pm, Eleven
    (7) vs. (3) Eastern Washington
    Semifinals
    W 77–61  16–16
    CenturyLink Arena (2,900)
    Boise, ID
    CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament
    Mar 22, 2019*
    6:30 pm, watchcit.com
    Drake
    First round
    W 80–73 OT 17–16
    America First Events Center (2,714)
    Cedar City, UT
    Mar 25, 2019*
    6:30 pm, watchcit.com
    Cal State Bakersfield
    Second round
    L 67–70  17–17
    America First Events Center (3,027)
    Cedar City, UT
    *Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
    All times are in Mountain Time.
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    References

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