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 | |
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CIT, Second round | |
Conference | Big Sky Conference |
2018–19 record | 17–17 (9–11 Big Sky) |
Head coach | Todd Simon (3rd season) |
Assistant coaches |
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Home arena | America First Events Center |
2018–19 Big Sky men's basketball standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Montana † | 16 | – | 4 | .800 | 26 | – | 9 | .743 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Northern Colorado | 15 | – | 5 | .750 | 21 | – | 11 | .656 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Eastern Washington | 12 | – | 8 | .600 | 16 | – | 18 | .471 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weber State | 11 | – | 9 | .550 | 18 | – | 15 | .545 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Portland State | 11 | – | 9 | .550 | 16 | – | 16 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Montana State | 11 | – | 9 | .550 | 15 | – | 17 | .469 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Southern Utah | 9 | – | 11 | .450 | 17 | – | 17 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Northern Arizona | 8 | – | 12 | .400 | 10 | – | 21 | .323 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sacramento State | 8 | – | 12 | .400 | 15 | – | 16 | .484 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Idaho State | 7 | – | 13 | .350 | 11 | – | 19 | .367 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Idaho | 2 | – | 18 | .100 | 5 | – | 27 | .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
Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
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Jamil Jackson | 1 | G/F | 6'6" | 190 | Sophomore | Minneapolis, MN | Transferred to IUPUI |
Jordan Lyons | 5 | G/F | 6'7" | 200 | Freshman | Brampton, ON | Transferred to Vincennes |
Jadon Cohee | 12 | G | 6'4" | 205 | RS Junior | Langley, BC | Graduate transferred to British Columbia |
Taelin Webb | 13 | G | 5'11" | 195 | RS Junior | Fresno, CA | Walk-on; left the team due to personal reasons |
James McGee | 14 | G | 6'2" | 200 | RS Senior | San Clemente, CA | Graduated |
Jamal Aytes | 15 | F | 6'6" | 240 | RS Senior | San Diego, CA | Graduated |
Christian Musoko | 34 | F/C | 6'8" | 245 | Senior | Kinshasa, Congo | Graduated |
Joel Swallow | 44 | F | 6'9" | 230 | RS Sophomore | Howell, UT | Walk-on; didn't return |
Incoming transfers
Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jason Richardson | 3 | G | 6'2" | 210 | RS Junior | Hawthorne, CA | Junior college transferred from Fullerton College |
Jakolby Long | 13 | G | 6'5" | 207 | Junior | Mustang, OK | Transferred 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 Ndiaye | 14 | C | 7'0" | 215 | Senior | Dakar, Senegal | Transferred 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
Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
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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: | ||||||
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: | ||||||
Sources:
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Roster
2018–19 Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule and results
Date time, TV |
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state | ||||||
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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. |