Utah Tech’s men’s basketball team is preparing for two key Western Athletic Conference (WAC) matchups this week as they seek to strengthen their position ahead of the conference tournament. The Trailblazers, currently holding a 17-12 overall record and 10-5 in WAC play, will host Abilene Christian on Thursday night at Burns Arena in St. George, Utah. Following that, they will travel to Cedar City to face Southern Utah on Saturday.
Abilene Christian enters the contest with a 13-14 record and stands fifth in the WAC at 5-9. The Wildcats have recently found success, winning three of their last four games, but have struggled on the road with a 3-9 away record and five straight losses outside their home court since early January.
Senior forward Bradyn Hubbard leads Abilene Christian and ranks second in the WAC for points per game at 16.0. He also holds top spots in steals per game (third), free throw percentage (fourth), and field goal percentage (sixth). Senior guard Rich Smith is another key player, standing second in assists per game and fourth in steals within the conference.
Southern Utah comes into Saturday’s matchup with a 9-19 record and shares sixth place in the WAC standings. The Thunderbirds have been strong at home but are coming off two consecutive losses there. They lead the conference in three-point shooting percentage and rank highly in blocks, free throw accuracy, scoring offense, and made three-pointers per game.
Senior forward Jaiden Feroah tops the league both in total blocks and blocks per game while ranking fifth for rebounds per outing. Freshman guard Elijah Duval is among conference leaders for field goal percentage, points per game, and assists; senior forward Isaiah Cottrell is also prominent for rebounds and blocked shots.
Historically, Abilene Christian leads its series against Utah Tech seven games to two. However, this season has seen Utah Tech win both previous meetings on ACU’s home floor—first on January 1 by a score of 79-64 and again on January 29 with a 76-70 victory.
Against Southern Utah, it will be the teams’ fourteenth meeting overall; SUU leads by one win but Utah Tech has taken both matchups this season at home—including an opening WAC play win (80-66) on December 29 and another high-scoring victory (102-91) on January 24. Despite these wins at home, UT has yet to defeat Southern Utah when playing away in Cedar City.
In their most recent outing last Saturday against Tarleton State, Utah Tech secured an important road win after trailing during much of the second half. Senior guard Jusaun Holt and redshirt sophomore guard Chance Trujillo each scored 19 points while senior forward Ethan Potter contributed 17 points along with six rebounds. Trujillo recorded his second double-double of the season by leading all players with ten rebounds as well.
The Trailblazers currently lead or rank near the top of several statistical categories within both the WAC and NCAA Division I basketball: they average more than twenty-two three-point attempts per game while making nearly eight; hold opponents to under thirty percent from beyond the arc; maintain an assist-to-turnover ratio above one; shoot nearly forty-seven percent from the field; and have multiple players among league leaders individually—including Potter who leads all WAC players for rebounds per game as well as total rebounds this season.
Ethan Potter was recognized as Player of the Week by the conference for his performances last week—a distinction he has now earned four times during this campaign—while teammates Chance Trujillo and Noah Bolanga have also received weekly honors earlier this year.
With only three regular-season games remaining before next month’s WAC Tournament—which will mark Utah Tech’s final appearance before leaving the league—the team has already secured its best Division I era win total so far alongside a guaranteed winning regular-season record.
The Trailblazers will conclude their schedule by hosting Utah Valley next Saturday for Senior Day festivities at Burns Arena.
