2020–21 Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball team

2020–21 Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball
Big Sky regular season champions
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Record20–4 (12–2 Big Sky)
Head coach
Associate head coachJohn Wardenburg
Assistant coaches
Home arenaAmerica First Event Center
Seasons
2020–21 Big Sky men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Southern Utah 12 – 2   .857 20 – 4   .833
Weber State 12 – 3   .800 17 – 6   .739
Eastern Washington† 12 – 3   .800 16 – 8   .667
Montana State 8 – 6   .571 13 – 10   .565
Idaho State 8 – 6   .571 13 – 11   .542
Montana 7 – 9   .438 15 – 13   .536
Northern Colorado 6 – 8   .429 11 – 11   .500
Portland State 6 – 8   .429 9 – 13   .409
Sacramento State 5 – 9   .357 8 – 12   .400
Northern Arizona 4 – 10   .286 6 – 16   .273
Idaho 1 – 17   .056 1 – 21   .045
† Conference tournament winner

The 2020–21 Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball team represented Southern Utah University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Thunderbirds, led by 5th-year head coach Todd Simon, played their home games at the America First Event Center in Cedar City, Utah as members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 20-4, 12-2 in Big Sky Play to finish as regular season champions. They defeated Northern Colorado in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky tournament before losing in the semifinals to Montana State.

Previous season

The Thunderbirds finished the 2019–20 season 17–15, 9–11 in Big Sky play to finish in seventh place. They received the #7 seed in the Big Sky tournament, were they defeated the #10 seed Idaho in the first round 75–69.[1] They were scheduled to face off against the #2 seed Northern Colorado in the quarterfinals, but the remainder of the tournament was cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[2]

Roster

2020–21 Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Damani McEntire 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Hargrave Military Academy Indianapolis, Indiana
G 1 Nick Fleming 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Jr Highland Community College Atlanta, Georgia
G 2 Aanen Moody 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 165 lb (75 kg) RS Jr North Dakota Dickinson, North Dakota
G 3 John Knight III 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Utah State Jackson, Mississippi
G 4 Dre Marin 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Apollo High School Glendale, Arizona
G 5 Tevian Jones 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Illinois Chandler, Arizona
F 12 Maizen Fausett 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Westlake High School Saratoga Springs, Utah
G 13 Darnell Latham Jr. 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Sr Lincoln College Chicago, Illinois
C 14 Jason Spurgin 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr Toowoomba Grammar School Toowoomba, Australia
G 15 Harrison Butler 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Mater Dei High School Santa Ana, California
G 21 Kingsley Box 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 181 lb (82 kg) Fr Flinders College Melbourne, Australia
F/C 22 Ivan Madunic 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Sr DME Academy Split, Croatia
F 23 Courtese Cooper 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Jr LSU Elgin, Illinois
G 25 Dee Barnes 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Mount St. Mary's Great Mills, Maryland
G/F 30 Marquis Moore 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Detroit Mercy Los Angeles, California
G 33 Martel Williams 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Middlebrooks Academy Las Vegas, Nevada
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: December 9, 2020

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
November 25, 2020*
5:00 pm 		at Loyola Marymount L 83–85  0–1
 Gersten Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
November 28, 2020*
1:00 pm, Pluto TV 		Saint Katherine W 95–47  1–1
 America First Event Center 
Cedar City, UT
December 3, 2020
7:00 pm, Pluto TV 		Montana W 64–63  2–1
(1–0) 		America First Event Center 
Cedar City, UT
December 5, 2020
12:00 pm, Pluto TV 		Montana W 75–74  3–1
(2–0) 		America First Event Center 
Cedar City, UT
December 9, 2020*
6:00 pm 		at Utah Valley W 81–71  4–1
 UCCU Center 
Orem, UT
December 17, 2020*
7:00 pm, Pluto TV 		Dixie State W 85–78  5–1
 America First Event Center 
Cedar City, UT
December 18, 2020*
7:00 pm, Pluto TV 		Bethesda W 98–64  6–1
 America First Event Center 
Cedar City, UT
December 21, 2020*
12:00 pm, Pluto TV 		Bethesda W 96–57  7–1
 America First Event Center 
Cedar City, UT
January 7, 2021
7:00 pm, Pluto TV 		Idaho W 85–80  8–1
(3–0) 		America First Event Center 
Cedar City, UT
January 9, 2021
12:00 pm, Pluto TV 		Idaho W 83–67  9–1
(4–0) 		America First Event Center 
Cedar City, UT
January 14, 2021
7:00 pm, Pluto TV 		at Eastern Washington L 63–75  9–2
(4–1) 		Reese Court 
Cheney, WA
January 16, 2021
1:00 pm, Pluto TV 		at Eastern Washington W 99–94  10–2
(5–1) 		Reese Court 
Cheney, WA
January 21, 2021
7:00 pm, Pluto TV 		at Weber State L 67–91  10–3
(5–2) 		Dee Events Center 
Ogden, UT
January 23, 2021
12:00 pm, Pluto TV 		Weber State W 77–72  11–3
(6–2) 		America First Event Center (689)
Cedar City, UT
February 4, 2021
7:00 pm, Pluto TV 		Northern Colorado Canceled America First Event Center 
Cedar City, UT
February 6, 2021
12:00 pm, Pluto TV 		Northern Colorado Canceled America First Event Center 
Cedar City, UT
February 6, 2021*
12:00 pm, Pluto TV 		Benedictine Mesa W 110–58  12–3
 America First Event Center (456)
Cedar City, UT
February 9, 2021*
2:00 pm, Pluto TV 		San Diego Christian W 109–50  13–3
 America First Event Center (200)
Cedar City, UT
February 18, 2021
7:00 pm, Pluto TV 		Sacramento State W 88–69  14–3
(7–2) 		America First Event Center (946)
Cedar City, UT
February 20, 2021
12:00 pm, Pluto TV 		Sacramento State W 77–57  15–3
(8–2) 		America First Event Center (665)
Cedar City, UT
February 24, 2021
7:00 pm, Pluto TV 		Northern Arizona W 85–80  16–3
(9–2) 		America First Event Center (944)
Cedar City, UT
February 26, 2021
12:00 pm, Pluto TV 		at Northern Arizona W 92–62  17–3
(10–2) 		Rolle Activity Center (0)
Flagstaff, AZ
March 4, 2021
8:00 pm, Pluto TV 		at Portland State W 68–58  18–3
(11–2) 		Viking Pavilion (0)
Portland, OR
March 6, 2021
1:00 pm, Pluto TV 		at Portland State W 73–54  19–3
(12–2) 		Viking Pavilion (0)
Portland, OR
Big Sky tournament
March 11, 2021
11:00 am, Eleven 		(1) vs. (8) Northern Colorado
Quarterfinals 		W 91–83  20–3
 Idaho Central Arena 
Boise, ID
March 12, 2021
5:00 pm, Eleven 		(1) vs. (5) Montana State
Semifinals 		L 77–80  20–4
 Idaho Central Arena 
Boise, ID
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Mountain.

Source[3]

References

  1. ^ "Thunderbirds Survive Vandal Surge, Advance To Second Round". Southern Utah University Athletics. March 11, 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  2. ^ "BIG SKY CONFERENCE CANCELS REMAINDER OF 2020 BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS". Big Sky Conference. March 12, 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  3. ^ "2020-21 Men's Basketball Schedule". Southern Utah University Athletics. Retrieved December 9, 2020.