2023–24 Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball team

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 play their games at America First Event Center as members of the Western Athletic Conference. 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.

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
2024–25 →
2023–24 WAC men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
Grand Canyon173 .850305 .857
Tarleton*164 .8002510 .714
UT Arlington137 .6502014 .588
Seattle119 .5502314 .622
Utah Valley119 .5501616 .500
Stephen F. Austin1010 .5001815 .545
Abilene Christian1010 .5001618 .471
California Baptist812 .4001617 .485
Utah Tech*713 .3501120 .355
Southern Utah515 .2501021 .323
UT Rio Grande Valley218 .100625 .194
* Ineligible for the NCAA tournament due to transition from Division II
2024 WAC tournament winner

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
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G0Donavhan Cain6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
FrLink PrepBeloit, WI
SG1Dominique Ford6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)196 lb (89 kg)JrIdahoLas Vegas, NV
SG2Harrison Reede6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
FrPhhoenix PrepAberdeen, SD
G/F3Jamir Simpson6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)205 lb (93 kg)JrWisconsin–ParksideLima, OH
PG4Braden Housley6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)180 lb (82 kg)RS FrSkyridge High SchoolLehi, UT
PF5Chazz Hutchison6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)215 lb (98 kg)RS SrUC IrvineMission Viejo, CA
F12Mason Johnson6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
JrMilwaukee Area Technical CollegeMilwaukee, WI
PG13Tainui Taiaroa6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
FrABC PrepLas Cruces, NM
F14Jamari Sibley6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)185 lb (84 kg)JrUTEPMilwaukee, WI
G15Peter Dadson Jr.6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
SoHillcrest PrepSydney, Australia
PG16Prophet Johnson6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
SoBellevue CollegeDayton, OH
PG21Robert Jeter6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)180 lb (82 kg)JrWestern IllinoisMadison, WI
PF22Parsa Fallah6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)250 lb (113 kg)SoKouchin AmolAmol, Iran
SG23Duncan Reid6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
FrSkyridge High SchoolHighland, UT
F24Nestor Dyachok6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
SoCasper CollegeMoscow, Russia
SG25Zion Young6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)220 lb (100 kg)RS SrOaklandChicago, IL
PF33Brock Felder6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
FrParowan High SchoolParowan, UT
PG55Hayden Ledbetter5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)
SoCasper CollegeMemphis, 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#ResultRecordHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsSite (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 23, 2023*
6:30 p.m.
WestminsterW 98–66 
            America First Event Center 
Cedar City, UT
Regular season
November 6, 2023*
8:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Cal State BakersfieldL 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 PacificW 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 StateL 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
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 BaptistL 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 SeattleL 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 UtahL 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 StateW 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 ArizonaL 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 StateL 88–89 OT3–8
 25  Ford  10  Fallah  3  Tied Worthington Arena (2,229)
Bozeman, MT
December 22, 2023*
6:30 p.m., ESPN+
Middle TennesseeW 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 ValleyW 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 CanyonL 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 ValleyL 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. AustinL 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 TechW 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 BaptistL 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 StateW 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 ChristianW 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 ArlingtonL 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 ValleyW 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 TechL 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 CanyonL 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+
SeattleL 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 ValleyL 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 ArlingtonL 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 ChristianL 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 StateL 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. AustinL 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 ValleyW 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 Time.

Source[5]

References