Utah Valley vs. Idaho State GAME INFORMATION
TV: UVUtv
Radio: ESPN 960 AM
Radio Webcast: espn960sports.com
Live Video Stream: WolverineGreen.com/Watch
Live Stats Link: UVU StatBroadcast
 

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OPENING TIP
After opening the 2016-17 season with a setback at nationally-ranked Gonzaga, Utah Valley is now set for its home opener against regional rival Idaho State on Wednesday night at the UCCU Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

Conner Toolson scored a game-high 19 points against nationally-ranked Gonzaga on Friday night. The sophomore guard knocked down 7-of-12 shots from the field, including a 4-of-7 clip from beyond the arc in his UVU debut. Newcomers Kenneth Ogbe and Isaac Neilson were also in double figures against the Zags with 13 and 10 points, respectively.

UVU won its exhibition game on Nov. 7 at the UCCU Center, defeating Division II foe Western State (Colo.), 113-87. Junior guard Brandon Randolph posted a triple-double in the win, tallying 20 points with 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

Utah Valley returns only three players from last year's team that went 12-18 in head coach Mark Pope's inaugural season. Ivory Young and Andrew Bastien are the lone returning starters from the 2015-16 season. Young ranked fourth on the team in scoring at 9.0 points per game and led UVU from long range, connecting on 37.7 percent (49-of-130) of his shots from beyond the arc. Andrew Bastien led the team in blocks with 52.

The Wolverines welcome 11 new players to this year's roster, including five who sat out the 2014-15 season due to NCAA transfer rules or injuries. UVU welcomes eight transfers and three freshmen to the team. Three of UVU's newcomers will have redshirt the season due to transfer rules. Two-year starter Zach Nelson, who sat out last season with injury, returns to the hardwood this season. The preseason all-WAC honoree is the lone remaining player from UVU's 2014 WAC regular season championship team.

The Wolverines were selected to finish fourth by the coaches and fifth by the media in the WAC preseason poll. UVU received two first place votes in the media poll.

Mark Pope enters his second season as the head coach of the Utah Valley men's basketball team. The Kentucky graduate led a depleted and injury-riddled roster to 12 wins in his debut season, including wins over Weber State, UTSA and Idaho State.

BROADCAST INFO
Wednesday's game against Idaho State will be broadcast live on UVUtv with Brandon Crow and former UVU player Matt Peterson calling the action. The game will be streamed live at WolverineGreen.com/Watch.

The game will also be broadcast live on ESPN 960 AM radio with Jim McCulloch and former UVU WAC champion Holton Hunsaker handling the play-by-play and color duties. A live stream of the radio broadcast will be available through ESPN960sports.com and also through the ESPN 960 app, which is available for both iPhone and Android.

ABOUT IDAHO STATE
Idaho State enters Wednesday night's game against the Wolverines with a 0-1 record. The Bengals dropped an 81-70 decision at New Mexico in their season opener on Friday night in Albuquerque. Ethan Telfair led ISU with a 25-point, 12-rebound, 10-assist triple-double. The senior guard connected on 9-of-23 shots from the field, including a 3-of-7 clip from long range. Junior forward Robert Jones III and sophomore center Novak Topalovic were also in double figures against New Mexico with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

The Bengals return 75.6 percent of its scoring from the 2015-16 season. Eight letterwinners, including four starters return from last year's ISU team that finished 16-15 overall and 11-7 in Big Sky play. ISU placed fourth in the Big Sky last season with coach Bill Evans earning Big Sky Coach of the Year honors and Ethan Telfair earning first-team All Big Sky honors.

SERIES HISTORY VS. IDAHO STATE
Utah Valley and Idaho State meet on the basketball hardwood for the ninth time in the two team's histories. The series is currently tied at 4-4. The Wolverines have won three straight over the Bengals dating back to a 60-57 win at Idaho State on Nov. 26, 2014. The two teams meet on the UCCU Center hardwood for just the fourth time with UVU holding a 2-1 advantage in games played in Orem. UVU defeated ISU 100-76 last season in Pocatello. Five of the eight games in the series have been decided by eight or fewer points.

All-Time Results vs. Idaho State (series tied 4-4)
Nov. 23, 2004    Idaho State def. Utah Valley, 70-62        Pocatello, Idaho
Jan. 25, 2005    Utah Valley def. Idaho State, 52-45        Orem, Utah
Nov. 26, 2005    Idaho State def. Utah Valley, 72-56        Pocatello, Idaho
Feb. 21, 2006    Idaho State def. Utah Valley, 68-67        Orem, Utah
Dec. 19, 2006    Idaho State def. Utah Valley, 76-62        Pocatello, Idaho
Nov. 26, 2014    Utah Valley def. Idaho State, 60-57        Pocatello, Idaho
Dec. 23, 2014    Utah Valley def. Idaho State, 51-47        Orem, Utah
Dec. 12, 2015    Utah Valley def. Idaho State, 100-76        Pocatello, Idaho

UTAH VALLEY/IDAHO STATE CONNECTIVITY
Utah Valley head coach Mark Pope's father in law is the late Lynn Archibald, who coached at Idaho State from 1977-1982. He was also the head coach at Utah (82-89) and an assistant at BYU. Idaho State junior guard Hayes Garrity transferred to ISU from Utah Valley where he was on the UVU roster from 2013-16.

UVU IN HOME OPENERS
Utah Valley holds an all-time 10-3 record in home openers since making the transition to Division I in 2003. The Wolverines have won five straight home openers dating back to the 2011-12 season.

All-Time Results in Home Openers
Nov. 21, 2003    Kennesaw State def. Utah Valley, 78-43    
Nov. 27, 2004    Boise State def. Utah Valley, 74-55    
Nov. 19, 2005    Utah Valley def. Texas State, 77-45    
Nov. 10, 2006    Utah Valley def. Montana State, 69-37    
Nov. 20, 2007    Utah Valley def. Troy, 72-51    
Nov. 14, 2008    Utah Valley def. Northern Arizona, 68-62    
Nov. 13, 2009    Utah Valley def. North Dakota State, 80-72
Nov. 12, 2010    Maine def. Utah Valley, 77-66 (OT)
Nov. 11, 2011    Utah Valley def. Simpson, 80-53
Nov. 17, 2012    Utah Valley def. Arizona Christian, 96-70
Nov. 08, 2013    Utah Valley def. IUPUI, 74-66
Nov. 14, 2014    Utah Valley def. South Dakota, 60-52
Nov. 14, 2015    Utah Valley def. Great Falls, 89-60

UVU OPENS SEASON WITH 92-69 LOSS AT #13/14 GONZAGA
Conner Toolson scored a game-high 19 points and Kenneth Ogbe added 13 to lead Utah Valley in a 92-69 season-opening loss to No. 13 Gonzaga Friday night at the McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Washington. Gonzaga (1-0) knocked down its first three shots of the game to take a quick 8-0 lead just 30 seconds into the game. The Bulldogs then capped off a 9-0 run on a Jordan Mathews three-pointer to extend the lead to a 28-13 advantage with 8:54 remaining in the opening half. Utah Valley (0-1) responded with a 12-2 run on back-to-back threes by Toolson and Ogbe to cut the Gonzaga lead to just five points, 30-25, with six minutes to go in the half. It would be as close as UVU would get as Gonzaga went into the break with a 45-32 lead. The Zags opened the second half with an 8-2 run to take a 19-point, 56-37 lead. The Wolverines got as close as 14 points, 69-55, at the 9:34 mark but couldn't get any closer as Gonzaga out-scored UVU 23-14 over the final nine minutes to secure the 92-69 win. Toolson led all scorers with 19 points. The sophomore guard connected on 7-of-12 shots from the field, including a 4-of-7 clip from long range. He also tallied three assists and pulled down a pair of rebounds in 28 minutes of play. Ogbe scored his 13 points on 3-of-6 shooting, including two shots from three. Isaac Neilson was also in double figures with 10 points.  The junior forward knocked down 4-of-9 shots, including one shot from beyond the arc. Neilson led the Wolverines with seven rebounds. Zach Nelson scored nine points, while Brandon Randolph helped with seven. Randolph also added six rebounds. Gonzaga out-rebounded UVU 51-31 on the night and out-scored the Wolverines 42-24 in the paint. Utah Valley committed only 11 turnovers while forcing the Zags into 16. Silas Melson led the Bulldogs with a team-high 17 points, while Mathews helped with 16.

RANDOLPH'S TRIPLE-DOUBLE LEADS UVU TO 113-87 WIN OVER WESTERN STATE IN EXHIBITION CONTEST
Brandon Randolph recorded a 20-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist triple-double to lead the Utah Valley University men's basketball team to a 113-87 win over Division II foe Western State in an exhibition contest on Monday night at the UCCU Center. Randolph scored his game-high 20 points on a 6-of-9 clip from the field, including a 3-of-9 mark from beyond the arc. He also knocked down 7-of-9 free throws. The junior guard had two steals to go along with his 10 assists and 10 rebounds. Conner Toolson and Jared Stutzman each added 15 points.  Toolson knocked down 6-of-14 shots from the field, including three shots from long range. The sophomore guard also tallied a team-high three steals. Stutzman hit 5-of-9 shots on the night with four three-pointers. He also pulled down five rebounds and dished out a pair of assists. Isaac Neilson and Kenneth Ogbe had 12 points, while Zach Nelson helped with 11. Ivory Young had 10 points.

NUVI BASKETBALL CENTER
Utah Valley University broke ground on a new $3.5 million basketball practice and conditioning facility on June 22 at a ceremony celebrating the new building.
 
The 14,500-square-foot facility, which is privately funded, will be named the NUVI Basketball Center after a lead donation from NUVI executive chair Keith Nellesen. The structure will be located on the south side of the UCCU Center on UVU's Orem campus.
 
The facility, designed by Method Studio, will include 8,000 square feet of court space and nine basketball standards, with "game-day atmosphere" graphics to match the UCCU Center environment. A mesh wall will separate the court from 1,900 square feet of strength and conditioning space, with sliding doors to dampen sound when necessary. A mezzanine level overlooks the court and will include 3,000 square feet of office space split into suites for the men's and women's coaching staff. Each suite will feature a large office for each head coach that can double as a conference room, offices for three assistant coaches and basketball operations.

NEW FACES
Utah Valley welcomes 13 new players to its roster this season, including three players (Brandon Randolph, Isaac Neilson, Jordan Poydras) who had to sit out last season due to NCAA transfer rules. The Wolverines have added five new transfers to this year's roster, including three who will have to sit out and redshirt this season.UVU welcomes three freshman to the team, including sharp-shooters Conner Toolson and Jared Stutzman.

MBA SMARTS
Utah Valley might be the only team in the country with two juniors that are entering their first year in a post graduate MBA program. Zach Nelson and Kenneth Ogbe started their first year in the MBA program at UVU this year.

WOLVERINES RANKD 4th IN PRESEASON COACHES' POLL, 5th IN MEDIA POLL - NELSON NAMED PRESEASON ALL-WAC
The Utah Valley University men's basketball team was picked to finish fourth by the coaches and fifth by the media in the WAC preseason polls released at the annual WAC Preview and Media Day at the Marriott Denver Airport Gateway Park.
 
UVU junior forward Zach Nelson earned preseason all-WAC second team honors by both the coaches and the media. Nelson returns to the team after sitting out last season with a medical redshirt. The junior forward played in all 30 games and made 28 starts for UVU during the 2014-15 season. He led the team in rebounding at 6.1 rebounds a game and ranked second on the team in scoring at 11.0 points a contest.
New Mexico State was picked to win the league in both polls. The Aggies received nine of the 24 available first place votes from the media and four first place votes from the coaches.
 
In the coaches' poll, Grand Canyon was picked to finish second with CSU Bakersfield third and Utah Valley fourth. Seattle U and UMKC tied for fifth followed by UT Rio Grande Valley in seventh and Chicago State in eighth.
 
On the media side, Grand Canyon was picked second and CSU Bakersfield was third. Seattle U was selected fourth and Utah Valley was fifth. UMKC was picked to finish sixth, followed by UTRGV in seventh and Chicago State in eighth. Utah Valley received two first place votes in the media poll.
 
WAITING IN THE WINGS
Utah Valley has three players that must redshirt this season due to NCAA transfer rules. UVU signees Jake Toolson (BYU), Cory Calvert (BYU) and Akolda Manyang (Oklahoma) will redshirt this season.