Utah Valley Wolverines vs Southern Utah Thunderbirds Prediction, 3/5/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Utah Valley Wolverines vs Southern Utah Thunderbirds

Date: Thursday, March 5, 2026

Location: America First Events Center in Cedar City, UT

TV: ESPN+

America First Events Center is the site where the Southern Utah Thunderbirds (10-19) will play the Utah Valley Wolverines (22-7) on Thursday.

The Utah Valley Wolverines took the court against Abilene Christian and earned the victory with a final of 74-67 in their last contest. In reference to personal fouls, the Wolverines ended up with 22 and Abilene Christian recorded 20 personal fouls. They buried 7 of 18 shots from beyond the arc. Abilene Christian ended up shooting 82.8% at the charity stripe by making 24 of their 29 attempts. On top of that, Abilene Christian collected 31 rebounds (9 offensive, 22 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Abilene Christian doled out 14 assists and had 13 steals for the contest. With regard to defense, Utah Valley allowed the other team to go 38.3% from the floor on 18 out of 47 shooting. They also dished out 18 assists in the matchup as well as forcing the opposition into 17 turnovers and having 11 steals. In regard to rebounding, they earned a total of 28 with 5 of them being of the offensive variety. From the free throw line, the Wolverines buried 15 of 25 tries for a percentage of 60.0%. Utah Valley ended with a 56.5% FG percentage (26 out of 46) and converted 7 out of their 16 shots from 3-point land.

Trevan Leonhardt is one guy who came through in this matchup. He scored 16 points on 4 of 9 shooting. He played for 36 mins and pulled down 9 rebounds. He ended up going 44.4% from the field and also dished out 7 dimes.

Get all of our NCAA Picks Today

Utah Valley steps onto the hardwood with a win-loss record of 22-7 on the campaign. They cough up possession 14.4 times per contest and as a team are committing 18.2 personal fouls per game. As a team, Utah Valley is pulling in 37.0 boards per game and is sitting with 545 dimes for the campaign, which is 14th in college hoops in terms of passing the ball. The Wolverines are hitting 33.5% on shots from distance (191 of 570) and 69.8% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 80.1 points per game (86th in Division 1) while hitting 50.4% from the floor.

On the defensive end, the Wolverines are able to force 15.6 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 17.7 personal fouls. They are giving up 33.6% on 3-pointers while they are 29th in the country in points per game from their opponents (67.0). The Wolverines defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 40.6% (660 of 1,626) and they relinquish 31.3 boards per game as a team. They currently rank 56th in Division 1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 353 surrendered on the season.

For their last game, the Southern Utah Thunderbirds walked away with a victory by a final of 81-67 against Utah Tech. In regard to how they attacked the glass, Southern Utah allowed Utah Tech to grab 24 in all (4 offensive). They finished 50.0% from beyond the perimeter by going 9 of 18 and finished the game at 10 out of 12 at the charity stripe (83.3%). The Thunderbirds permitted Utah Tech to knock down 24 out of their 54 attempts from the floor which had them shooting 44.4% for this contest. Overall, the Thunderbirds finished shooting 29 out of 61 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 47.5%. In terms of shots from beyond the arc, Southern Utah made 7 out of 24 tries (29.2%). They were able to make 16 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 69.6%. Utah Tech committed 17 fouls in the game which took the Thunderbirds to the charity stripe for a total of 23 shots. They gave up possession of the ball 8 times, while earning 7 steals in the game. The Thunderbirds recorded 24 defensive boards and 14 offensive rebounds totaling 38 for the contest.

Tanner Hayhurst was important for the Thunderbirds for the game. He made 8 out of 11 in this matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 72.7%, and had 4 rebounds. He scored 25 points in his 37 minutes on the court, but wasn't able to tally an assist.

Southern Utah has a win-loss record of 10-19 for the campaign. The Thunderbirds commit 16.3 fouls every game while shooting 72.5% from the free throw line. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 14.0 times per contest (167th in college) and they are turning it over 14.3 times per contest. Southern Utah has tallied 2,216 pts so far this year (76.4 per game) and they grab 36.3 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Thunderbirds are hitting on 45.9% from the field, which ranks 146th in D-1.

The Southern Utah defense gives up 36.8% on shots from beyond the arc (200 of 544) and their opponents are knocking down 71.0% of their free throw attempts. They surrender 13.3 assists and 35.7 boards per game, which ranks them 182nd and 264th in those defensive categories. The Thunderbirds on the defensive end are ranked 321st in college in PPG given up with 79.3. They are forcing their opponents into 11.0 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 46.3% from the floor (297th in college hoops).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Southern Utah

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Get college basketball picks on every single game, or if you want our very best bets by the experts, sign up for your free $60 account with a guarantee.