OPENING TIP: Dixie State's men's basketball team (1-1/0-0 PacWest) opens the road portion of its 2015-16 schedule this weekend as the Storm travels to Rohnert Park, Calif., for the annual Sonoma State/Ron Logsdon Classic. The Storm will take on the host Seawolves (2-1) Friday at 7:30 p.m. (PT), and will square off against San Francisco State (0-1) Saturday at 5:30 p.m. (PT). SFSU and Academy of Art will play the opening game of the tournament Friday at 5:30 p.m. (PT), and AAU and SSU will wrap up play Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. (MT). All four games will be played in The Wolves Den (2,000) on the SSU campus.
DIXIE STATE ON THE AIR: All Dixie State home and away games will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio 97.7 FM, with DSU Assistant Media Relations Coordinator Keric Seegmiller calling the play-by-play action, along with Devin Dixon providing color analysis for all home games. All DSU home games are also televised live on KCEC-TV (TDS Cable Channel 22) with a simulcast feed from ESPN Radio, with tape-delay rebroadcasts throughout the following week. In addition live-streaming audio and video (home games only) are available on the internet at www.southernutahlive.com.
THE SERIES: This weekend's Classic marks the first time Dixie State has faced both Sonoma State and San Francisco State on the basketball court.
COACHING STAFF: Five-time PacWest Conference Coach of the Year Jon Judkins (Utah State, 1988; 469-220 career record) is his 11th season on the Dixie State bench, where he has compiled a 185-92 overall record, including a 165-81 mark during DSU's NCAA Division II era. Last season Judkins led the Storm to a 20-8 record and the program's fifth Pacific West title in six years with a 17-3 league mark. In addition, he guided DSU to its sixth-consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Prior to his arrival at Dixie State, Judkins served as head coach at Snow College for 12 season and posted a 284-128 overall record. He led the Badgers to a pair of Scenic West Athletic Conference titles in 1999 and 2000, which earned him SWAC Coach of the Year honors. Judkins played for one season at Dixie State before transferring to Utah State, where he became the first Aggie to post a triple-double. During the 1987-88 season, he helped lead the Aggies to the PCAA title and an NCAA Tournament bid.
Judkins is joined on the DSU bench by Kasey Winters (Dixie State, 2008), who is in his third season as assistant coach, and Kevin Williamson (University of Great Falls, 2007) who is in his first season on the Storm sideline.
STORM PICKED THIRD IN THE PACWEST: Dixie State was picked to finish third in the 2015-16 Pacific West Conference preseason coaches' poll. California Baptist received 13 first place votes and 195 total points in being tabbed as the PacWest preseason favorite. BYU-Hawai'i picked up one first place vote to narrowly edge Dixie State for second, 169-166, followed by Azusa Pacific (146) in fourth, Chaminade (130) in fifth, Hawai'i Pacific in sixth (123) and Point Loma (120) in seventh to round out the top-half of the poll.
Dixie State senior point guard Mason Sawyer (West Jordan, Utah/West Jordan HS) was named to the PacWest Preseason all-Conference team, while CBU senior guard Gelaun Wheelwright was named the PacWest Preseason Player of the Year.
AGAINST NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS: Friday's game at Sonoma State will be the 100th non-conference game Dixie State has played since becoming an NCAA Division II school. Now in its 10th-season of four-year competition, Dixie State has played to a 52-47 (.525) overall record against non-PacWest opponents, including a 41-33 mark (.554) since the 2007-08 season, the first year the Storm competed in the PacWest. In DSU's first season of four-year competition in 2006-07, Dixie State played to an 11-14 record.
DSU has posted five winning non-conference records in its past six campaigns, including a program-best 6-1 mark in 2013-14, and an 8-3 record in 2010-11. Last season the Storm went 3-4 against non-PacWest teams.
AGAINST THE GNAC/CCAC: With last weekend's home split against Concordia (OR) and Seattle Pacific, Dixie State moved to 19-12 all-time against members of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC). Last week's games were the first of four vs. GNAC schools as the Storm will play at the Montana State Billings Thanksgiving tournament next weekend, where DSU will face MSUB and Alaska-Fairbanks.
Entering this week's tourney at SSU, DSU is 6-8 against California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) schools, which both Sonoma State and SFSU are members.
IT'S NOT HOW YOU START: With last Friday's win vs. Concordia (OR), Dixie State improved to 6-4 all-time in season openers during the program's Division II era. In fact, DSU has now won four-straight season openers and six of its last seven overall. In home openers only, Dixie State is 8-2 in its previous 10 Burns Arena debuts as a four-year program.
HOME SWEET HOME: Since becoming an NCAA Division II program in 2006-07, Dixie State has played to an 84-19 (.815) record inside the Burns Arena under head coach Jon Judkins. The Storm has posted six 10-plus win seasons over that span, including a perfect 12-0 record in 2009-10, and an 11-1 mark last season.
HOME SWEET HOME, PART 2: For the fifth-straight year, Dixie State finished a season ranked in the top-five nationally in home attendance. In 2014-15, DSU recorded the fifth-highest home attendance average in Division II at 2,607 fans per game for 12 home dates last season. In all, a total of 31,286 fans attended a DSU game in the Burns Arena.
Since the 2008-09 season, Dixie State has been ranked in the top-15 in Division II in attendance, including being ranked #2-overall in 2012-13 and 2013-14, and #3 in the country after the 2010-11 and 2011-12 campaigns. DSU was also ranked ninth in 2009-10, and 14th in 2008-09.
Dixie State also finished fifth among Utah's other NCAA (Division I) members in attendance in 2014-15, ranking only behind Brigham Young (16,125), Utah (12,101), Utah State (9,158) and Weber State (6,829) in average attendance.
HOW ABOUT WHEN THE BAGS ARE PACKED?: Friday's game at Sonoma State will mark just the second time in the last six seasons that Dixie State has opened the away portion of its schedule as a true road team. The previous two seasons, and five of its last six overall, the Storm has started their non-Burns Arena slate on a neutral court.
DSU is 4-5 in its previous nine true road openers, having won two-straight and four out its last five, including a 54-49 win at then-ranked Point Loma last year. The one loss in that stretch - an 81-80 OT loss at perennial D-I power UNLV to open the 2012 season.
Overall Dixie State is 4-5 in its first game away from the Burns Arena, with victories over Stanislaus State (2014, 76-54) and Central Washington (2013, 106-89) the previous two season.
FOR STARTERS: Senior forward Mark Ogden Jr. (Spring Valley, Calif./Steele Canyon HS) averaged 10.0 points and 8.5 rebounds in opening his senior campaign last weekend ... Ogden pulled down nine rebounds and scored five points in the opener vs. CUO, and followed that up with 15 points and six boards along with two steals and two blocks vs. SPU.
Senior forward Robbie Nielson (Gresham, Ore./Barlow HS) had his best season-opening game in his four-year DSU career in the opener vs. CUO, going for 15 points and a career-high eight rebounds in the win ... Nielson battled foul trouble against SPU and played just 13 minutes with four points and one rebound.
Junior forward Josh Fuller (Rexburg, Idaho/Madison HS) just missed his first collegiate double-double with a game and career-high 14 rebounds and nine points in the win over CUO ... he also three assists and a steal vs. the Cavaliers ... Fuller hit on 3-of-5 shooting to finish with 10 points and four caroms vs. SPU.
Sophomore guard Trevor Hill (Sandy, Utah/Alta HS) opened his season with a bang as he went for 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting, a career-high nine assists, three rebounds and three steals in 28 minutes vs. CUO ... he followed that up with a career-high 20 points to lead four players in double figures in the loss vs. SPU.
Senior point guard Mason Sawyer (West Jordan, Utah/West Jordan HS) led all scorers with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting with three 3-pointers and three assists in the win over CUO ... he scored eight of his 11 points in the second half to help spark a furious rally vs. SPU, also dished out four assists with three boards and two steals.
OFF THE BENCH: Sophomore point guard Brandon Simister (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) tallied nine points, four rebounds and two assists in a season-high 20 minutes vs. SPU ... sophomore forward Zac Hunter (American Fork, Utah/American Fork HS) made the most of his season debut in the opener vs. CUO and he hit 5-of-8 shots for 13 points (two off of his career-high) with three rebounds and three assists ... freshman forward Quincy Lewis tallied five points with one board in nine minutes vs. CUO ... sophomore guard Daylor Youngblood (South Jordan, Utah/Bingham HS) pulled down three rebounds in eight minutes against CUO ... freshman forward Walker Swenson (St. George, Utah/Dixie HS) had two points and three boards in nine minutes vs. CUO ... freshman forward Jake McCord (Kailua, Hawai'i/Westlake HS) made the most of his two minutes played against Concordia (OR), hitting 2-of-3 shots for four points with a rebound.
ABOUT THE SONOMA STATE SEAWOLVES: Sonoma State enters Friday's game having played three-straight games against PacWest opponents, book-ending road wins at Dominican (68-63) and at Holy Names (81-73) around a 57-55 loss neutral court loss to Academy of Art. Senior guard James David is the Seawolves' top scorer at 14.3 ppg, having hit on 10-of-24 (.417) from the perimeter, while backcourt mate David Ahern is averaging 10.0 ppg off the bench. Through three games, SSU is shooting 44.6 percent from the floor and 75.8 percent from the line, while enjoying a +4.3 rebounding margin.
ABOUT THE SAN FRANCISCO STATE GATORS: San Francisco State, which plays Academy of Art Friday, won its lone game of the weekend last week at home in overtime vs. Pacific Union, 78-76. Five Gators scored in double figures, led by guards Warren Jackson and Nick Calcaterra with 12 points apiece. SFSU shot 44.9 percent from the field and 90.9 at the charity stripe in the win.
HEAD COACH JON JUDKINS ON THE STORM: "Being early in the year we have to adjust and do things because [teams] are going to try different things we're not ready for, so we've got to be ready to get our basic stuff in. These last couples have been good practices. They've competed, they're getting after it, and if we do that I think we're going to be OK. The road trips are always fun to see what kind of team you have and get to know them pretty good, so I'm excited about that."
UP NEXT: Dixie State will spend its Thanksgiving holiday weekend on the road as the Storm will play in the Montana State Billings Thanksgiving Tournament. DSU will open the tourney vs. Alaska-Fairbanks on Friday, Nov. 27, at 3 p.m. (MT), followed by a match-up against the host Yellowjackets on Saturday, Nov. 28, at 7:30 p.m. Both games will be played in the Alterowitz Gymnasium on the MSUB campus.
