Utah Valley (7-6) at UC Davis (7-7)
GAME INFORMATION
Live Video Stream:
BigWest.TV
Radio: ESPN 960 AM (Jim McCulloch/
Jason Erickson)
Radio Webcast:
espn960sports.com
Live Stats Link:
UC Davis StatBroadcast
OPENING TIP
Fresh off a 73-64 win at UC Riverside on Wednesday night, Utah Valley continues road play in the Golden State as the Wolverines take on UC Davis on Saturday at 3 p.m. (MST) at the Pavilion in Davis, Calif.
The Wolverines won their second straight game with a 73-64 win at UC Riverside on Wednesday night. The win marked the third road victory of the season for Utah Valley, which now holds a 3-5 record on the road this season. UVU's road record includes wins at Denver, at BYU and at UC Riverside.
Conner Toolson led three other Wolverines in double figures with 16 points and hit a pair of clutch threes down the stretch to help lift Utah Valley to a 73-64 road win over UC Riverside on Wednesday night at SRC Arena.
Kenneth Ogbe scored 14 points on a 5-of-10 clip from the floor, including three shots form long range.
Brandon Randolph and
Isaac Neilson were also in double figures, scoring 13 and 12 points, respectively. Neilson pulled down six rebounds with a season-high four blocks to go along with his 12 points.
Toolson leads the Wolverines in scoring at 14.8 points per game. Junior forward Isaac Neislon ranks second on the team in scoring at 13.7 points a contest. Neilson leads the team on the boards, pulling down nearly 10 rebounds a game.
Brandon Randolph leads the team in assists, averaging 5.3 helpers a game.
Neilson ranks 14th nationally in offensive rebounds as the junior forward is pulling down on 3.85 boards per game on the offensive glass. The junior forward also ranks 27th in the nation with a 59.5 shooting percentage. He also ranks 30th nationally in rebounding, pulling down 9.9 boards a contest.
Utah Valley is the fourth-fastest team in the nation according to KenPom.com. The Wolverines averaged 78.4 possessions per game, ranking them fourth behind The Citadel (85.9), Savannah State (82.7), and BYU (79.1). UVU sits just ahead of Marshal (78.0), Wyoming (76.7), Central Michigan (76.6) and UCLA (76.6).
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Saturday's game at UC Davis will be streamed live at BigWest.TV. The game will also be broadcast live on ESPN 960 AM radio with Jim McCulloch and
Jason Erickson 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 UC DAVIS
The Aggies head into Saturday's matchup against Utah Valley with a 7-7 overall record. The team most recently picked up a 72-65 road win at Seattle U on Wednesday night. Saturday's matchup against the Wolverines marks just the third home game of the season for the Aggies, who are a perfect 2-0 at the Pavilion this year. UC Davis' home wins include victories over Holy Names and William Jessup. Junior forward Chima Moneke led all players and posted his league-high fourth double-double of the year by finishing with 22 points and 12 rebounds in the win at Seattle U. The game marked his third 20 and 10 effort of the season. Senior guard Brynton Lemar added 20 points to record his second 20-point effort in the last four games. Moneke leads the team in scoring this season at 15.1 points a game. Lemar also averages double digits at 13.9 points a contest. Moneke also fronts the team on the boards at 8.0 rebounds per game. As a team, UC Davis averages 71.2 points a game while allowing opponents a 72.6 points per game average. Saturday's game marks UC Davis' final non-conference game of the season. The Aggies open Big West play on Jan. 4 against UC Santa Barbara.
SERIES HISTORY VS. UC DAVIS, BIG WEST
Utah Valley and UC Davis meet on the basketball hardwood for the fifth time on Saturday afternoon. The all-time series is tied at two games apiece. After winning the first two games of the series in 2007, Utah Valley has dropped back-to-back games against the Aggies, including an 82-70 decision last season in Orem. UVU holds an all-time 2-6 record against teams from the Big West Conference.
All-Time Series Results vs. UC Davis (Series tied 2-2)
Jan. 06, 2007 Utah Valley def. UC Davis, 57-38 Davis, Calif.
Feb. 06, 2007 Utah Valley def. UC Davis, 88-59 Orem, Utah
Dec. 09, 2014 UC Davis def. Utah Valley, 64-43 Davis, Calif.
Nov. 28, 2015 UC Davis def. Utah Valley, 82-70 Orem, Utah
UVU PICKS UP 73-64 ROAD WIN AT UC RIVERSIDE
Conner Toolson led three other Wolverines in double figures with 16 points and hit a pair of clutch threes down the stretch to help lift Utah Valley to a 73-64 road win over UC Riverside on Wednesday night at SRC Arena.
Utah Valley took a 17-point lead, 55-38, with 13:55 remaining to play before UC Riverside went on a 21-5 run to cut the UVU lead to just one point, 60-59, with 2:37 remaining. Toolson then hit a shot from long range to give the Wolverines a four-point cushion, 63-59, with 2:20 to play. The Wolverines then out-scored UC Riverside 11-4 over the final two minutes to secure the 73-64 win.
Toolson connected on 6-of-11 shots from the field, including a 4-of-8 mark from beyond the arc for his team-high 16 points. The sophomore guard also pulled down six rebounds with one assist and a steal.
Kenneth Ogbe scored 14 points on a 5-of-10 clip from the floor, including three shots form long range. Ogbe dished out two assists and pulled down a pair of rebounds.
Brandon Randolph and
Isaac Neilson were also in double figures, scoring 13 and 12 points, respectively. Randolph knocked down 4-of-8 shots from the floor, including a 2-of-4 mark from three. The junior guard dished out a game-high four assists with five rebounds. Neilson pulled down six rebounds with a season-high four blocks to go along with his 12 points.
Utah Valley connected on 44.4 percent (24-of-54) of its shots on the night compared to UC Riverside's 38.3 percent (23-of-60) mark. The Wolverines knocked down 13 shots from beyond the arc.
UTAH VALLEY ENDS FOUR-GAME SKID WITH 72-47 WIN OVER MONTANA TECH
Isaac Neilson recorded his fifth double-double of the season with a game-high 15 points and 11 rebounds to lead Utah Valley to a 72-47 win over Montana Tech on Friday afternoon at the UCCU Center.
The Wolverines built up a double digit lead, 17-6, midway through the first half. The team then extended it to 16 points, 30-14, with 4:45 remaining in the half. Montana Tech then knocked down a pair of threes to cut the UVU's lead to a 30-22 advantage, but the Wolverines extended the lead back to 13 points, 35-22, at the break.
Utah Valley opened the second half on a 14-3 run, extending its lead to 26 points, 51-25, with 15 minutes to play. The Wolverines then continued to build on the lead through the remainder of the second half to secure the win.
Neilson tallied his 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and a 3-of-3 mark at the charity stripe. He also registered three blocks to go along with his 15 rebounds.
Brandon Randolph and
Jared Stutzman were also in double figures with 10 points apiece. Randolph was also in double figures with 10 points, knocking down 2-of-7 shots from the floor and 5-of-7 shots from the free throw line. The junior guard also tallied six rebounds and two assists. Stutzman scored his 10 points on a 3-of-5 clip from the field, including a pair of shots from long range.
Jordan Poydras scored nine points on three made shots from beyond the arc. The senior guard also pulled down four rebounds with an assist.
Joonas Tahvanainen helped with eight points and four rebounds.
THESE GUYS ARE SMART - TEAM HOLDS IMPRESSIVE 3.49 TEAM GPA
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. Under head coach
Mark Pope, Utah Valley basketball players hold a perfect pass-fail rate. Every single player under his guidance has passed each and every class taken over the past two seasons. This year's team holds an impressive 3.49 team grade point average.
DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE
Utah Valley junior forward
Isaac Neilson holds five double-doubles this season. The five double doubles are the most in the WAC this year and rank him sixth most in the country this season. His five double-doubles ranks Neilson tied for 36th nationally in the category.
OGBE RANKS SEVENTH IN THE NATION IN 3-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE, 31ST MOST EFFECTIVE SHOOTER IN THE NATION ACCORDING TO KENPOM.COM
As of Dec. 30, UVU junior forward
Kenneth Ogbe holds the seventh-best three-point field goal percentage in the nation at 51.9 percent. Ogbe currently sits below the 2.5 threes per game needed to be officially listed on the NCAA stat leaders. Ogbe has knocked down 27-of-52 shots from beyond the arc this season and averages 2.1 makes from beyond the arc per game. KenPom.com ranks Ogbe as the nation's 31st-most efficient shooter with an 66.2 percent effective field goal percentage. KenPom.com also ranks Ogbe with the 52nd-best true shooting percentage in the nation at 66.3 percent. Ogbe is shooting 49.4 percent from the field this year, knocking down 40 of the 81 shots he has taken this season.
WOLVERINES CONTINUE TO RECEIVE VOTES IN COLLEGEINSIDER.COM MID MAJOR TOP 25 POLL
After falling out of the CollegeInsider.com Mid Major Top 25 Poll last week, Utah Valley continues to stay in the mix as the team received one vote in this past week's poll. The Wolverines made their debut at No. 24 in the Nov. 28 version of the poll before dropping to No. 25 last week.
FAST AND THE FURIOUS
As of Dec. 30, KenPom.com has Utah Valley ranked as the fourth-fastest team in the nation at 78.4 possessions per 40 minutes. The Citadel is ranked as the No. 1 tempo team in the nation, followed by Savannah State and BYU. UVU is fourth, followed by Marshall in fifth, Wyoming in sixth, Central Michigan in seventh and UCLA in eighth.
LOVING THE LONG BALL
Utah Valley has knocked down 123 three-pointers through 13 games this season. At that pace, Utah Valley is set to connect on more than 275 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 made with 18 at BYU. The team also broke the single game UVU record for threes attempted as the Wolverines put up a school-record 43 three-point attempts in a 86-52 win over Benedictine on Nov. 19, surpassing the previous record of 37 set last season against Chicago State (2/18/2016). Utah Valley ranks 39th in the nation in threes per game, averaging 9.5 threes a contest.
