2023–24 Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball team

2023–24 Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
Record10–21 (5–15 WAC)
Head coach
Associate head coachDonald Williams
Assistant coaches
  • Allan Hanson
  • Shaun Gutting
Home arenaAmerica First Event Center
Seasons
2023–24 WAC men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Grand Canyon † 17 – 3   .850 30 – 5   .857
Tarleton* 16 – 4   .800 25 – 10   .714
UT Arlington 13 – 7   .650 20 – 14   .588
Seattle 11 – 9   .550 23 – 14   .622
Utah Valley 11 – 9   .550 16 – 16   .500
Stephen F. Austin 10 – 10   .500 18 – 15   .545
Abilene Christian 10 – 10   .500 16 – 18   .471
California Baptist 8 – 12   .400 16 – 17   .485
Utah Tech* 7 – 13   .350 11 – 20   .355
Southern Utah 5 – 15   .250 10 – 21   .323
UT Rio Grande Valley 2 – 18   .100 6 – 25   .194
* Ineligible for the NCAA tournament due to transition from Division II
† 2024 WAC tournament winner

The 2023–24 Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball team represented Southern Utah University in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by first-year head coach Rob Jeter and played their games at America First Event Center as members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). They finished the season 10–21, 5–15 in WAC play, to finish in tenth place, and thus they did not qualify to play in the WAC tournament.

Previous season

The Thunderbirds finished the 2022–23 season 24–13, 12–6 in WAC play, to finish in third place.[1] In the WAC tournament, the team won their first two games against Utah Tech and Utah Valley before falling to Grand Canyon in the championship. The Thunderbirds were invited to appear in the College Basketball Invitational where they defeated North Alabama and Rice to advance to the semifinals. They were defeated by Eastern Kentucky to end their season.

On March 15, head coach Todd Simon accepted the same position at Bowling Green; assistant coach Flynn Clayman served as interim head coach during the College Basketball Invitational.[2][3] On April 7, it was announced that Western Illinois head coach Rob Jeter would be named the school's next head coach.[4]

Roster

2023–24 Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Donavhan Cain 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
—
 Fr Link Prep Beloit, WI
SG 1 Dominique Ford 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 196 lb (89 kg) Jr Idaho Las Vegas, NV
SG 2 Harrison Reede 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
—
 Fr Phhoenix Prep Aberdeen, SD
G/F 3 Jamir Simpson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Wisconsin–Parkside Lima, OH
PG 4 Braden Housley 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Fr Skyridge High School Lehi, UT
PF 5 Chazz Hutchison 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Sr UC Irvine Mission Viejo, CA
F 12 Mason Johnson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
—
 Jr Milwaukee Area Technical College Milwaukee, WI
PG 13 Tainui Taiaroa 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
—
 Fr ABC Prep Las Cruces, NM
F 14 Jamari Sibley 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr UTEP Milwaukee, WI
G 15 Peter Jr. Dadson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
—
 So Hillcrest Prep Sydney, Australia
PG 16 Prophet Johnson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
—
 So Bellevue College Dayton, OH
PG 21 Robert Jeter 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Western Illinois Madison, WI
PF 22 Parsa Fallah 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) So Kouchin Amol Amol, Iran
SG 23 Duncan Reid 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
—
 Fr Skyridge High School Highland, UT
F 24 Nestor Dyachok 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
—
 So Casper College Moscow, Russia
SG 25 Zion Young 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Sr Oakland Chicago, IL
PF 33 Brock Felder 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
—
 Fr Parowan High School Parowan, UT
PG 55 Hayden Ledbetter 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)
—
 So Casper College Memphis, TN
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: December 8, 2023

Schedule and Results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 23, 2023*
6:30 p.m. 		Westminster W 98–66  –
   – –    – –    – –  America First Event Center 
Cedar City, UT
Regular season
November 6, 2023*
8:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Cal State Bakersfield L 72–73  0–1
  22 – Housley   8 – Johnson   3 – tied  Icardo Center (1,067)
Bakersfield, CA
November 9, 2023*
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		Life Pacific W 108–73  1–1
  22 – Johnson   8 – Fallah   4 – Fallah  America First Event Center (1,461)
Cedar City, UT
November 14, 2023*
7:00 p.m., MW Network 		at Utah State L 84–93  1–2
  24 – Johnson   5 – tied   4 – Ford  Smith Spectrum (7,112)
Logan, UT
November 21, 2023*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Louisiana Tech
Louisiana Tech MTE & C-USA/WAC Alliance 		L 53–67  1–3
  19 – Young   8 – Young   4 – Ford  Thomas Assembly Center (2,013)
Ruston, LA
November 22, 2023*
11:00 a.m., ESPN+ 		vs. Texas State
Louisiana Tech MTE 		W 74–67  2–3
  25 – Young   7 – tied   5 – Ford  Thomas Assembly Center (103)
Ruston, LA
November 29, 2023
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		California Baptist L 66–91  2–4
(0–1) 		 16 – Ford   7 – Fallah   2 – Ford  America First Event Center (1,181)
Cedar City, UT
December 2, 2023
4:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Seattle L 63–73  2–5
(0–2) 		 14 – Young   5 – tied   6 – Housley  Redhawk Center (943)
Seattle, WA
December 5, 2023*
6:00 p.m., P12N 		at Utah L 86–88  2–6
  23 – tied   5 – Housley   5 – tied  Jon M. Huntsman Center (7,161)
Salt Lake City, UT
December 9, 2023*
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		Idaho State W 82–74  3–6
  29 – Fallah   7 – Fallah   7 – Housley  America First Event Center (1,326)
Cedar City, UT
December 16, 2023*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Northern Arizona L 74–76  3–7
  19 – Ford   12 – Fallah   5 – Ford  Rolle Activity Center 
Flagstaff, AZ
December 19, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Montana State L 88–89 OT 3–8
  25 – Ford   10 – Fallah   3 – tied  Worthington Arena (2,229)
Bozeman, MT
December 22, 2023*
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		Middle Tennessee
C-USA/WAC Alliance 		W 69–63  4–8
  20 – Fallah   9 – Fallah   3 – tied  America First Event Center (1,335)
Cedar City, UT
December 30, 2023*
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		Antelope Valley W 95–78  5–8
  22 – Housley   13 – Johnson   6 – Housley  America First Event Center (886)
Cedar City, UT
January 4, 2024
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		Grand Canyon L 75–96  5–9
(0–3) 		 24 – Fallah   8 – Housley   5 – Johnson  America First Event Center (1,007)
Cedar City, UT
January 6, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Utah Valley L 62–80  5–10
(0–4) 		 17 – Young   7 – Felder   4 – Housley  UCCU Center (2,163)
Orem, UT
January 13, 2024
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		Stephen F. Austin L 82–84  5–11
(0–5) 		 20 – Ford   6 – Sibley   7 – Housley  America First Event Center (1,809)
Cedar City, UT
January 18, 2024
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		Utah Tech W 75–65  6–11
(1–5) 		 23 – tied   15 – Fallah   3 – Johnson  America First Event Center (3,563)
Cedar City, UT
January 20, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at California Baptist L 76–83  6–12
(1–6) 		 28 – Ford   9 – Hutchison   4 – Housley  Fowler Events Center (3,197)
Riverside, CA
January 25, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Tarleton State W 73–70  7–12
(2–6) 		 23 – Ford   6 – Young   5 – Housley  Wisdom Gymnasium (1,677)
Stephenville, TX
January 27, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Abilene Christian W 82–67  8–12
(3–6) 		 23 – Ford   7 – Sibley   3 – tied  Moody Coliseum (1,712)
Abilene, TX
February 1, 2024
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		UT Arlington L 68–76  8–13
(3–7) 		 16 – tied   7 – Young   4 – Housley  America First Event Center (1,422)
Cedar City, UT
February 3, 2024
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		UT Rio Grande Valley W 79–59  9–13
(4–7) 		 20 – Young   8 – tied   6 – Johnson  America First Event Center (1,352)
Cedar City, UT
February 8, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Utah Tech L 68–70  9–14
(4–8) 		 17 – Young   7 – Housley   2 – tied  Burns Arena (2,648)
St. George, UT
February 10, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Grand Canyon L 65–94  9–15
(4–9) 		 23 – Ford   6 – Hutchison   1 – tied  GCU Arena (7,124)
Phoenix, AZ
February 15, 2024
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		Seattle L 68–78  9–16
(4–10) 		 17 – Sibley   7 – Sibley   5 – Ford  America First Event Center (1,175)
Cedar City, UT
February 17, 2024
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		Utah Valley L 75–78  9–17
(4–11) 		 19 – Fallah   10 – Sibley   8 – Housley  America First Event Center (1,613)
Cedar City, UT
February 22, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at UT Arlington L 85–90  9–18
(4–12) 		 24 – Ford   7 – Sibley   4 – Young  College Park Center (1,622)
Arlington, TX
February 29, 2024
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		Abilene Christian L 68–77  9–19
(4–13) 		 19 – Young   5 – Johnson   4 – Fallah  America First Event Center (828)
Cedar City, UT
March 2, 2024
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		Tarleton State L 83–88  9–20
(4–14) 		 29 – Young   9 – Hutchison   4 – Jeter IV  America First Event Center (1,119)
Cedar City, UT
March 7, 2024
5:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Stephen F. Austin L 60–87  9–21
(4–15) 		 14 – Sibley   9 – Sibley   5 – Housley  William R. Johnson Coliseum (1,507)
Nacogdoches, TX
March 9, 2024
5:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		at UT Rio Grande Valley W 68–59  10–21
(5–15) 		 15 – tied   7 – Felder   8 – Housley  UTRGV Fieldhouse (652)
Edinburg, TX
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Mountain.

Source:[5]

References

  1. ^ "2022-23 Men's Basketball Standings". Western Athletic Conference. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  2. ^ Couch, Graham (March 18, 2023). "Fowler's Todd Simon comes back close to home, takes over Bowling Green men's basketball program". Lansing State Journal. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  3. ^ Cappiello, Vin (March 15, 2023). "Southern Utah's Todd Simon accepts men's head basketball post at Bowling Green". stgeorgeutah.com. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  4. ^ Haynie, Parker (April 11, 2023). "Thunderbirds Find Their New Head Men's Basketball Coach in Rob Jeter". Southern Utah University Athletics. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  5. ^ "2023-24 Men's Basketball Schedule". Southern Utah University Athletics. Retrieved October 21, 2023.