Utah Valley at BYU GAME INFORMATION
Radio: ESPN 960 AM (Jim McCulloch/Holton Hunsaker)
Radio Webcast: espn960sports.com
Live Video Stream: TheW.tv
Live Stats Link: BYU StatBroadcast
 

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OPENING TIP
Saturday's matchup in the UCCU Crosstown Clash at BYU marks the second game of a three-game road stretch for the Wolverines. UVU opened the road swing with an 88-85 win at Denver on Wednesday night. The team will also travel to play Pac-12 foe Washington State on Nov. 30.

Utah Valley recorded its biggest comeback in school history on Wednesday night as the team erased a 27-point deficit to defeat Denver 88-85 at Magness Arena. The win marks the third-straight victory for the Wolverines.

Kenneth Ogbe scored a career-high 28 points and Jordan Poydras added a career-best 23 points in Utah Valley's 88-85 win at Denver on Wednesday night. Isaac Neilson registered his third-straight double digit rebound game with 10 boards, while Hayden Schenck recorded a career-high steals in the win.

Junior forward Kenneth Ogbe leads the team in scoring through four games this season, averaging 17.8 points per game. Sophomore guard Conner Toolson and junior forward Isaac Neilson also average double digits at 12.5 and 10.3 points per game, respectively. Three other players average 8.8 points a contest. Neilson leads the team on the boards, pulling down 9.8 rebounds a game.

Utah Valley welcomed 6,117 fans through its doors at its home opener on Nov. 16. The win over Idaho State marks the seventh largest crowd in UVU's Division I history and the largest crowd ever to witness a home opener at the UCCU Center.

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.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Saturday's game at BYU will be streamed live via the West Coast Conference's digital network at TheW.tv.

The game will also be broadcast live on ESPN 960 AM radio with Jim McCulloch and 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 BYU
BYU heads into Saturday's matchup against Utah Valley with a 4-1 overall record. The Cougars most recently dropped a 92-89 decision to Valparaiso in the championship game of the Men Who Speak Up Main Event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Wednesday night. Sophomore Nick Emery led the Cougars with 18 points in the setback to Valpo, followed by freshman TJ Haws' 15 and sophomore Eric Mika's 13. The Cougars went 3-1 at the tournament with home wins over Coppin State (96-59) and Coastal Carolina (81-65) before the 92-62 win over Saint Louis and the 92-89 loss to Valpo in Las Vegas. Saturday's game against UVU will mark the Cougars' third game of the week. Mika leads BYU in scoring and rebounding at 19.2 points and 9.4 rebounds a contest. Emery averages 13.8 points, while Haws tallies 12.6 a game. Kyle Davis is also averaging double figures at 10.0 points per game. BYU is one of the top rebounding teams in the country as the team ranks fifth nationally at 48.80 boards per game.

SERIES HISTORY VS. BYU
Although the two schools are separated by only about 4.6 miles, Utah Valley and BYU have met just two times on the basketball hardwood. BYU most recently took an 85-54 win over Utah Valley last season (Nov. 13). The Cougars defeated Utah Valley 84-65 in the only other meeting on Nov. 29, 2003. The two teams are scheduled to play their first-ever meeting at the UCCU Center next season.

All-Time Series Results (BYU leads 2-0)
Nov. 29, 2003    BYU def. Utah Valley 84-65    Provo, Utah
Nov. 13, 2015    BYU def. Utah Valley, 85-54    Provo, Utah    

MILE HIGH MAGIC - UVU RECORDS BIGGEST COMEBACK IN SCHOOL HISTORY
Utah Valley recorded its biggest comeback in school history as the Wolverines overcame a 27-point deficit to defeat Denver 88-85 on Wednesday night at Magness Arena. Utah Valley was just five points shy of breaking the all-time NCAA record for biggest deficit overcome to win a game set by Duke, which came back from 32 points down to defeat Tulane in 1950. The 27-point comeback win breaks the previous UVU record set last season when the Wolverines came back from a 20-point deficit to defeat UMKC, 79-70.

All-Time Biggest Comebacks in UVU history
Nov. 23, 2016    27 points    Utah Valley (88) at Denver (85)                       Denver, Colorado
Feb. 20, 2016    20 points    Utah Valley (79) vs. UMKC (70)                      Orem, Utah
Dec. 03, 2005    17 points    Utah Valley (71) vs. Sacramento State (69)    Orem, Utah

STREAKIN'
Utah Valley has won three-straight games dating back to an 82-73 win over Idaho State in the team's home opener. The Wolverines knocked off Benedictine 86-52 before taking the 88-85 win at Denver. The streak marks just the second three-game win streak for UVU over the past three seasons.

BOMBS AWAY
Utah Valley has knocked down 39 three-pointers through just four games this season. At that pace, Utah Valley is set to connect on nearly 300 shots from beyond the arc this season. The team is on track to break the UVU single season record of 256 made threes set by last year's team. UVU has already broken the all-time UVU single game record for threes attempted as the Wolverines put up a school-record 43 three-point attempts in Saturday's 86-52 win over Benedictine, surpassing the previous record of 37 set last season against Chicago State (2/18/2016). Utah Valley ranks 28th in the nation in threes per game (9.8).

OGBE RANKS FIFTH NATIONALLY IN 3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
UVU junior forward Kenneth Ogbe ranks fifth in the nation with a .667 clip from long range this season. Ogbe has knocked down 12-of-18 shots from beyond the arc this season and averages 3.0 threes per game.

UVU OVERCOMES 27-POINT DEFICIT TO DEFEAT DENVER, 88-85
Kenneth Ogbe scored a career-high 28 points and Jordan Poydras added a career-high 23 points to help lead Utah Valley to its biggest comeback in school history as the Wolverines overcame a 27-point deficit to defeat Denver 88-85 on Wednesday night at Magness Arena. Trailing by 27 points, 54-27, with 58 seconds to play in the first half, Utah Valley went on a 6-0 run capped off by a Poydras three to cut the DU lead to 21 points, 54-33, at the half. The Wolverines outscored Denver 8-3 to open the second half, cutting the Pioneer lead to 15 points, 57-42, with 17:54 to play. The two teams then went back-and-forth over the next five minutes, as Denver was able to hold on to a 17-point lead, 67-50, with 12 minutes remaining. Ogbe scored seven points over a five-minute stretch to lead Utah Valley on a 16-2 run to cut the Denver advantage to just three points, 69-66, with 7:54 to play. The Pioneers went up by six points, 73-67, at the 6:49 mark, but UVU countered with a 9-2 run capped off by a Poydras three-pointer that gave the Wolverines their second lead of the game since the opening minutes, 76-75, with four minutes to go. Utah Valley then out-scored Denver 12-10 over the final minutes and knocked down 4-of-6 free throws in the final minute to secure the come-from-behind victory. Ogbe scored his career-high 28 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, including a 3-of-4 clip from beyond the arc. The junior forward also knocked down 11-of-16 free throws. Poydras hit 5-of-11 shots from the floor, including 4-of-8 from long range for his career-high 23 points. He also connected on an impressive 9-of-11 shots from the charity stripe. Zach Nelson was in double figures with 18 points, connecting on 8-of-10 shots from the field. Nelson also pulled down five rebounds and dished out a pair of assists. Isaac Neilson led the Wolverines on the boards with 10 rebounds to go along with five points and two assists. Brandon Randolph scored seven points and dished out a game-high five assists.

NELSON CLIMBING UVU CAREER RECORD CHARTS
Zach Nelson currently ranks in the top-10 in 16 different all-time individual career statistical categories. The junior forward ranks fourth all-time at UVU in blocks (67), fifth in blocks per game (1.0), fifth in rebounds (399), fifth in defensive rebounds (300), fifth in defensive rebounds per game (4.5), sixth in rebound average (6.0), seventh in games started (64), seventh in assists (180), eighth in average minutes (30.0), eighth in scoring (700), eighth in field goals made (271), eighth in field goal percentage (.493), eighth in assist average (2.7), ninth in scoring average (10.6), 10th in field goals attempted (550), and 10th in offensive rebound average (1.5).

UVU IMPROVES TO A PERFECT 2-0 AT HOME WITH 86-52 WIN OVER BENEDICTINE
Kenneth Ogbe led three Utah Valley players in double figures with 13 points and Isaac Neilson recorded his second-straight double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Wolverines to an 86-52 win over Benedictine on Saturday night at the UCCU Center. Utah Valley jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead to open the game and did not allow Benedictine a field goal until the 17-minute mark. The Wolverines extended their lead to 16 points, 25-9, midway through the first half.  Benedictine fought back with a 12-2 run to cut the UVU lead to a six-point advantage, 27-21, with six minutes remaining before Utah Valley took a 43-32 lead into the break. The Wolverines scored 10 unanswered points to open the second half and went on a 20-2 run over the first seven minutes of the final period to take a 64-34 lead with 13:13 to play. The Wolverines continued to build on their lead throughout the rest of the half to secure the 86-52 victory. Ogbe scored his game-high 13 points on a 4-of-6 clip from the field, including a 3-of-5 mark from beyond the arc. He was also a perfect 2-for-2 at the charity stripe. Isaac Neilson knocked down 4-of-9 shots from the field and hit 4-of-6 shots from the free throw line. The junior forward also pulled down 10 rebounds, recorded three blocks and dished out a pair of assists. Utah Valley knocked shot 37 percent (27-of-73) from the field and hit 11 three-point field goals. The Wolverines put up 43 three-point attempts on the night, surpassing the UVU single game three-point attempts record of 36 set last season at Chicago State. The Wolverines tallied an impressive 16 steals on the night, which ranks third all-time in a single game in UVU history. The 16 steals helped force the Redhawks into 27 turnovers.

SEVENTH-LARGEST CROWD IN UVU HISTORY
Utah Valley welcomed 6,117 fans to its home opener against Idaho State on Nov. 16. The 6,117 fans is the largest crowd for a home opener in UVU history. The Idaho State game is the highest attended game at the UCCU Center since the matchup with Utah State on Dec. 13, 2014 that produced 6,121 fans. Wednesday night's game marks the seventh highest attended game in UVU history.

All-Time UVU Mbb Largest Crowds
1.             12/18/2010 vs. Utah State                 7,124  L, 58-76
2.             02/25/2012 vs. UTPA                         6,602  W, 74-64
3.             01/03/2012 vs. Wyoming                 6,556  L, 70-76
4.             11/19/2011 vs. UMKC                        6,437  W, 58-54
5.             02/04/2010 vs. UTPA                         6,324  W, 67-53
6.             12/13/2014 vs. Utah State                 6,121  L, 47-50
7.             11/16/16 vs. Idaho State                   6,117  W, 82-73
8.             03/07/2014 vs. CSU Bakersfield       5,068  W, 64-55
9.             02/27/2014 vs. NM State                   4,954  W, 66-61 (2OT)
10.             12/12/2008 vs. Utah State                 4,023  L, 50-69
10.           12/09/2006 vs. Utah State                4,002  L, 65-69

UVU WINS HOME OPENER OVER IDAHO STATE, 82-73
Conner Toolson scored a career-high 23 points and Isaac Neilson recorded a 14-point, 12-rebound double-double to lead the Utah Valley University men's basketball team to an 82-73 win over Idaho State on Wednesday night in front of 6,117 fans at the UCCU Center. The first half produced nine ties and eight lead changes as the two teams went back-and-forth with neither team taking more than a five-point lead. Trailing by four points, 35-31, with 1:46 remaining in the half, UVU's Kenneth Ogbe and Toolson hit back-to-back threes to help the Wolverines take a 37-35 lead into halftime. A Brandon Randolph layup and a pair of Ogbe free throws gave the Wolverines a six point lead, 41-35 to open second half play. ISU battled back with a 9-2 run to take its own six-point lead, 50-44, at the 14:25 mark. Trailing 58-56 with 8:51 remaining, UVU went on a 14-4 run to take a 70-62 lead with five minutes to play. The Wolverines held on to the lead over the final minutes to secure the win. Toolson scored his 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, including a 3-of-7 clip from beyond the arc and a 6-of-8 mark from the charity stripe. The sophomore guard also pulled down eight rebounds with three steals, one block and an assist. Neilson connected on 5-of-7 shots on the night and knocked down 4-of-6 free throws for his 14 points. Ogbe recorded his second-straight double-digit game of the season with 17 points. The junior guard knocked down 5-of-8 shots from the field, including four three-pointers. Ogbe also tallied three rebounds, two steals and a pair of blocks. Randolph and Jared Stutzman were also in double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Randolph hit four shots from the field and was a perfect 4-for-4 at the charity stripe. He also dished out a team-high four assists. Stutzman connected on 4-of-5 shots from the field, including a perfect 3-of-3 mark from long range. As a team, Utah Valley shot 43.5 percent (27-of-62) from the field, including 11 made shots from long range. The Wolverines held Idaho State to a 39.4 percent (28-of-71) clip from the field. The two teams each pulled down 45 rebounds on the night.

UVU OPENS SEASON WITH 92-69 LOSS AT #13 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.

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.

UVU RANKED 4TH IN PRESEASON COACHES POLL, 5TH IN MEDIA POLL - NELSON NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-WAC TEAM
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.