2000–01 Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball team

2000–01 Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball
Mid-Continent tournament champions Mid-Continent Regular season co-champions
NCAA tournament
Conference	Mid-Continent Conference
Record	25–6 (13–3 Mid-Con)
Head coach	Bill Evans
Home arena	America First Event Center

2000–01 Mid-Continent Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Valparaiso	13	–	3		.813			24	–	8		.750
Southern Utah †	13	–	3		.813			25	–	6		.806
Youngstown State	11	–	5		.688			19	–	11		.633
Missouri-Kansas City	9	–	7		.563			14	–	16		.467
Oakland	8	–	8		.500			12	–	16		.429
IUPUI	6	–	10		.375			11	–	18		.379
Oral Roberts	5	–	11		.313			10	–	19		.345
Western Illinois	5	–	11		.313			5	–	23		.179
Chicago State	2	–	14		.125			5	–	23		.179
† 2001 Mid-Con Tournament[1] winner

The 2000–01 Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball team represented Southern Utah University in the 2000–01 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Thunderbirds, led by 5th-year head coach Bill Evans, played their home games at the America First Event Center in Cedar City, Utah as members of the Mid-Continent Conference. They finished the season 25–6, 13–3 in Mid-Con play to finish in second place. They defeated Western Illinois, Oral Roberts, and Valparaiso to win the Mid-Con tournament and receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament – the first, and only, appearance in program history. Playing as No. 14 seed in the East region, the Thunderbirds were beaten by No. 3 seed Boston College in the opening round.[2]

Roster

2000–01 Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F Fred House 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — Sr	Head coach Bill Evans Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 17, 2000*		at Arizona State	L 72–94	0–1	Wells Fargo Arena  Tempe, Arizona
Dec 22, 2000*		at Utah	W 77–70	8–3	Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, Utah
Big Sky tournament
Mar 4, 2001*		vs. Western Illinois Quarterfinals	W 66–53	23–5	Allen County War Memorial Coliseum  Fort Wayne, Indiana
Mar 5, 2001*		vs. Oral Roberts Semifinals	W 73–62	24–5	Allen County War Memorial Coliseum  Fort Wayne, Indiana
Mar 6, 2001*		vs. Valparaiso Championship game	W 62–59	25–5	Allen County War Memorial Coliseum  Fort Wayne, Indiana
NCAA tournament
Mar 15, 2001*	(14 E)	vs. (3 E) No. 7 Boston College First round	L 65–68	25–6	Nassau Coliseum  Uniondale, New York
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Mountain.

Source[3]

References

1. sports-reference.com 2000-01 Mid-Continent Conference Season Summary
2. "An Escape and an Exhale by the Eagles". The New York Times. March 16, 2001. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
3. "2000-01 Men's Basketball Schedule". Southern Utah University Athletics. Retrieved July 12, 2023.