Utah Valley (9-10, 1-3) vs. UT Rio Grande Valley (10-12, 2-3) GAME INFORMATION
TV: UVUtv (Brandon Crow/Matt Peterson)
Live Video Stream: WAC Digital Network
Radio: ESPN 960 AM (Jim McCulloch/Holton Hunsaker)
Radio Webcast: espn960sports.com
Live Stats Link: UVU StatBroadcast
 

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OPENING TIP
Utah Valley returns home for a pair of WAC games this week against UTRGV and New Mexico State. The Wolverines will host UTRGV on Thursday night before welcoming defending WAC champion NM State on Saturday night. Tip-off for both games is set for 7 p.m.

The Wolverines hold a 6-2 record at the UCCU Center this season. The team has home wins over Idaho State, Benedictine, UTSA, Montana Tech, Antelope Valley and UMKC. UVU's only losses at home include an 80-79 overtime setback to in-state rival Utah State and a 70-61 loss to Chicago State.

Brandon Randolph missed a game-tying shot at the buzzer fell just short as the Utah Valley University men's basketball team dropped a 68-65 decision at CSU Bakersfield on Saturday night. Jordan Poydras fronted Utah Valley with 12 points. Zach Nelson and Conner Toolson were also in double figures with 10 points apiece.

Toolson leads the Wolverines in scoring at 14.1 points per game. Junior forward Isaac Neislon ranks second on the team in scoring at 11.5 points a contest and leads the team on the boards, pulling down nearly 10 rebounds a game. Randolph leads the team in assists, averaging 4.7 helpers a game.

Neilson ranks in the top-30 nationally in both rebounds per game and offensive boards per game. The junior forward ranks 15th nationally at 3.58 offensive rebounds per game. He also ranks 30th in rebounds per game at 9.7.

Utah Valley is the sixth fastest team in the nation according to KenPom.com. The Wolverines averaged 76.5 possessions per game, ranking sixth behind The Citadel (82.6), Savannah State (81.0), Marshall (78.5), BYU (77.0), and Lipscomb (76.7). UVU sits just ahead of Wyoming (76.5), Central Michigan (75.9), Green Bay (75.5), and UCLA (75.4). UVU averages 14.3 seconds per possession which ranks the team eighth nationally in average possession length.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Thursday's game against UTRGV will be televised live on UVUtv and the WAC Digital Network. Brandon Crow and Matt Peterson will be on the call for the UVUtv/WDN broadcast. 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 UTRGV
UTRGV heads into Thursday's matchup against Utah Valley with an 10-12 overall record. The Vaqueros hold a 1-9 record on the road this season. The team snapped a three-game skid on Saturday night with an 85-77 win over Chicago State at home in the team's lone contest of the week. Sophomore Antonio Green led UTRGV with 26 points while hitting seven three-pointers, raising his NCAA-leading total to 93. Junior Nick Dixon scored 22 points while freshman Lesley Varner Jr. posted his first-career double-double with 14 points, a career-high 11 rebounds, a career-high seven assists and a career-high tying three steals. Junior Mike Hoffman was also in double figures with 11 points. Green leads the team in scoring this season at 18.0 points per game. Dixon fronts the team on the boards, averaging 5.2 per game. He also averages double figures at 17.6 points a contest. UTRGV is the highest scoring team in the WAC, averaging 80.2 points per game. The Vaqueros ranks just ahead of Utah Valley which averages 78.6 points.

SERIES HISTORY VS. UTRGV
Utah Valley and UTRGV meet on the basketball hardwood for the 23rd time on Thursday night. UVU holds an all-time 19-3 advantage over the Vaqueros. Utah Valley has won eight straight games over UTRGV, including 12 of the last 13 games the two teams have played. UVU swept the season series last year with a 98-65 win in Orem and an 88-77 win in Edinburg. UTRGV's last win over UVU was a 62-60 victory over the Wolverines on Jan. 19, 2013 in Texas. The Wolverines hold an all-time 10-1 record against UTRGV at home. The lone setback at the UCCU Center was a 56-53 loss on March 10, 2010.

Last Five Results vs. UTRGV (UVU leads, 19-3)
Feb. 04, 2016    Utah Valley def. UTRGV, 88-77    Edinburg, Texas
Jan. 09, 2016    Utah Valley def. UTRGV, 98-65    Orem, Utah
Feb. 21, 2015    Utah Valley def. UTRGV, 72-49    Orem, Utah
Jan. 22, 2015    Utah Valley def. UTRGV, 72-54    Edinburg, Texas
March 13, 2014    Utah Valley def. UTRGV, 83-63    Las Vegas, Nevada

COACHES VS. CANCER - SUITS AND SNEAKERS
Utah Valley head coach Mark Pope and his staff are participating in the Coaches vs. Cancer campaign this week organized by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). Coach Pope joined BYU head coach Dave Rose at Subway on Jan. 23 to raise money for the American Cancer Society. The two coaches made sandwiches for patrons during the lunch hour. Coach Pope and his staff will be wearing sneakers with their suits at UVU's two home games this week to raise awareness for cancer.

HOME SWEET HOME
Utah Valley holds an all-time 149-42 (78.0 percent) record in 12 seasons at the UCCU Center. The Wolverines are averaging nearly 12 wins a season at the UCCU Center. UVU is an impressive 6-2 at home this season. The team's lone losses at home this season include an 80-79 overtime loss to in-state rival Utah State and a 70-61 setback to Chicago State.

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 DOWN
With a 14-point, 16-rebound double-double at Grand Canyon on Jan. 7, Utah Valley junior forward Isaac Neilson now holds six double-doubles this season. The six double doubles are the fourth-most in the WAC this year and  are the 10-most in the country this season. His six double-doubles ranks Neilson tied for 66th nationally in the category.

UVU AND UMKC COMBINE FOR 84 FREE THROW ATTEMPTS
Utah Valley and UMKC combined for a total of 84 free throw attempts in their game on Jan. 14 at the UCCU Center. UVU connected on 31-of-42 attempts at the charity stripe in the game, while UMKC knocked down 27-of-42 shots from the line. The combined 84 free throws fell just short of the WAC-record 93 attempted free throws between Wyoming (33) and New Mexico (58) during the 1965-66 season. UVU's 42 attempts falls short of the team record of 52 set at Chicago State on Jan. 29, 2009. However, the 42 attempts at the free throw line are the most ever recorded in the UCCU Center, breaking the previous team record of 41 set against both Texas A&M Corpus Christi (1/20/05) and against Chicago State (1/27/11).

FAST AND THE FURIOUS
As of Jan. 24, KenPom.com has Utah Valley ranked as the sixth fastest team in the nation at 76.5 possessions per 40 minutes. The Citadel (82.6) is ranked as the No. 1 tempo team in the nation, followed by Savannah State (81.0), Marshall (78.5), BYU (77.0), and Lipscomb (76.7). UVU is sixth, followed by Wyoming (76.5), Central Michigan (75.9), Green Bay (75.5), and UCLA (75.4). The Wolverines rank eighth nationally in average possession length at 14.3 seconds a possession.

LOVING THE LONG BALL
Utah Valley has knocked down 168 three-pointers through 19 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 60th in the nation in threes per game, averaging 8.8 threes a contest.

UVU COMES UP JUST SHORT IN 68-65 LOSS AT CSU BAKERSFIELD
Brandon Randolph's game-tying shot at the buzzer fell just short as the Utah Valley University men's basketball team dropped a 68-65 decision at CSU Bakersfield on Saturday night at the Icardo Center.
 
Trailing by four points, 64-60, with three minutes to play, Utah Valley's Jordan Poydras knocked down a three-pointer to get the Wolverines to within one point, 64-63. Each team turned the ball over before Connor Toolson was able to get a look from three that rimmed out. The Roadrunners tipped in a missed shot on the other end to give CSUB a three-point edge, 66-63, with a minute to go.
 
Randolph was fouled on the next UVU possession with 55 seconds remaining and knocked down both of his free throws to make it a one-point game, 66-65. UVU forced a CSUB missed shot with 28 seconds to go but and offensive rebound kept the possession alive for the Roadrunners. UVU was then forced to foul and send CSUB to the free throw line where Jaylin Airington knocked down both free throws to put the 'Runners back up by three points, 68-65, with 20 seconds to play. Toolson missed a game-tying three with seven seconds. Randolph pulled down the offensive board and launched a last-second shot from long range but couldn't get it to fall as CSU Bakersfield escaped with its eighth-straight home victory.

Jordan Poydras fronted Utah Valley with 12 points. The senior guard knocked down four shots from beyond the arc and dished out a pair of assists. Zach Nelson and Conner Toolson were also in double figures with 10 points apiece. Nelson was an impressive 4-of-5 from the field and a perfect 2-for-2 at the charity stripe. He also pulled down six rebounds with one assists, one steal and a block. Toolson connected on 3-of-8 shots form the field and went 4-for-4 at the stripe for his 10 points. Hayden Schenck and Joonas Tahvanainen each scored eight points off the bench. Schenck also pulled down six rebounds with two assists. Tahvanainen was a perfect 3-of-3 from the field, including a perfect 2-of-2 from long range.

 UVU connected on 43.1 percent (22-of-51) of its shots from the field. The Wolverines recorded a 28.1 percent (9-of-32) mark from long range. CSUB shot 44.0 percent (22-of-50) from the field, including a 46.2 percent (6-of-13) mark from beyond the arc.