Southern Utah faces Idaho State in Big Sky tourney
No. 10 seed Idaho State (11-18, 7-13) vs. No. 7 seed Southern Utah (14-15, 9-11)
Big Sky Conference Tourney First Round, CenturyLink Arena, Boise, Idaho; Wednesday, 1 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Idaho State and Southern Utah are prepared to match up in the first round of the Big Sky tournament. The teams split the regular season series at one win apiece. The teams last went at it on Feb. 9, when the Thunderbirds shot 50 percent from the field while limiting Idaho State to just 41.9 percent en route to a 78-72 victory.
BIG MEN ON CAMPUS: Brandon Boyd is averaging 14.4 points to lead the way for the Bengals. Kelvin Jones is also a key contributor, accounting for 9.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. The Thunderbirds have been led by Cameron Oluyitan, who is averaging 12.8 points.
BRILLIANT BRANDON: Boyd has connected on 29.9 percent of the 117 3-pointers he's attempted and has made 6 of 17 over the last five games. He's also made 79.1 percent of his foul shots this season.
WINLESS WHEN: Idaho State is 0-7 when scoring fewer than 65 points and 11-11 when scoring at least 65.
PERFECT WHEN: The Thunderbirds are 5-0 when they turn the ball over nine times or fewer and 9-15 when they exceed nine turnovers. The Bengals are 5-0 when they hold opponents to a field goal percentage of 40.3 percent or worse, and 6-18 when opponents exceed that percentage.
DID YOU KNOW: Southern Utah has attempted the second-most free throws among all Big Sky teams. The Thunderbirds have averaged 21.4 foul shots per game this season.
