Benjamin and Tarleton State host Southern Utah

Tarleton State Texans (6-10, 1-0 WAC) at Southern Utah Thunderbirds (8-7, 0-1 WAC)

Cedar City, Utah; Thursday, 8:30 p.m. EST

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Thunderbirds -7.5; over/under is 139

BOTTOM LINE: Tarleton State plays Southern Utah after Bubu Benjamin scored 21 points in Tarleton State's 77-74 win against the UT Arlington Mavericks.

The Thunderbirds have gone 6-1 in home games. Southern Utah ranks second in the WAC with 13.9 assists per game led by Tavi Jackson averaging 3.3.

The Texans have gone 1-0 against WAC opponents. Tarleton State is 4-2 when it has fewer turnovers than its opponents and averages 18.4 turnovers per game.

Southern Utah's average of 7.1 made 3-pointers per game is 1.9 fewer made shots on average than the 9.0 per game Tarleton State allows. Tarleton State averages 4.8 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.3 fewer made shots on average than the 6.1 per game Southern Utah allows.

The matchup Thursday is the first meeting of the season for the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jamir Simpson is shooting 43.5% and averaging 16.5 points for the Thunderbirds.

Benjamin is averaging 17.3 points and 5.1 rebounds for the Texans.

LAST 10 GAMES: Thunderbirds: 4-6, averaging 71.5 points, 32.3 rebounds, 13.6 assists, 5.4 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 43.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 75.8 points per game.

Texans: 5-5, averaging 69.4 points, 29.3 rebounds, 11.9 assists, 10.7 steals and 3.7 blocks per game while shooting 46.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.4 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press