Southern Utah looks to sweep Montana State

by The Associated Press
| March 4, 2020 7:45 AM

Southern Utah (15-14, 8-10) vs. Montana State (15-14, 9-9)

Max Worthington Arena, Bozeman, Montana; Thursday, 9 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Southern Utah goes for the season sweep over Montana State after winning the previous matchup in Cedar City. The teams last played on Jan. 4, when the Thunderbirds shot 32.7 percent from the field while holding Montana State's shooters to just 27.1 percent on their way to a 59-53 victory.

VETERAN PRESENCE: Senior leadership could play a big role in the outcome of this game. Harald Frey, Devin Kirby and Ladan Ricketts have collectively scored 39 percent of Montana State's points this season. For Southern Utah, Cameron Oluyitan, John Knight III, Andre Adams and Dwayne Morgan have combined to account for 55 percent of all Southern Utah scoring, including 64 percent of the team's points over its last five games.CLUTCH CAMERON: Oluyitan has connected on 37.1 percent of the 140 3-pointers he's attempted and has gone 6 for 17 over his last three games. He's also converted 84.7 percent of his foul shots this season.

SLIPPING AT 71: Montana State is 0-10 this year when it allows 71 points or more and 15-4 when holding opponents to fewer than 71.

WINNING WHEN: Southern Utah is a perfect 6-0 when the team records nine or more steals. The Thunderbirds are 9-14 when they steal the ball fewer than nine times.

TENACIOUS THUNDERBIRDS: Southern Utah has held opposing teams to 39.3 percent shooting, the lowest percentage among all Big Sky teams.

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This was generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com