Utah Valley (0-2) at Idaho State (0-1) GAME INFORMATION
Live Video: Big Sky TV
Radio: ESPN 960 AM (Jim McCulloch/Jason Erickson)
Radio Webcast: espn960sports.com
Live Stats Link: Idaho State Live Stats
 

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OPENING TIP
Utah Valley returns home from what might just be the toughest 24 hours in college basketball history as the Wolverines took on No. 4/5 Kentucky and No. 1 Duke on back-to-back nights to open the season. The Wolverines dropped a 73-63 decision at Kentucky before falling 99-69 at Duke. UVU now travels north to take on regional rival Idaho State on Tuesday night in Pocatello. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. (MT)

Utah Valley senior center Akolda Manyang was named Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Nov. 7-13.  The Rochester, Minn., native averaged 11.5 points on 60 percent shooting, 9.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.5 blocks in a pair of road games against two Top 5 teams last week. Manyang recorded a double-double with a career-high 17 points and a career-high 12 rebounds against No. 1 Duke. He also dished out a career-high six assists and registered a steal. Manyang connected on 6-of-11 shots from the field and knocked down 5-of-6 free throws against the Blue Devils. In the season opener at Kentucky, Manyang scored six points on 3-of-4 shooting, pulled down seven rebounds and tallied a game-high five blocked shots.

In the game at NO. 4/5 Kentucky, Kenneth Ogbe led a balanced scoring attack with 12 points while Jake Toolson added 11 points and three others chipped in 10. Manyang blocked five shots to go along with six points and six rebounds while Isaac Neilson scored 10 points and grabbed eight boards, as Utah Valley out-rebounded Kentucky, 38-37. Conner Toolson and Brandon Randolph also scored 10 points apiece, while Randolph dished out seven assists. At top-ranked Duke, Manyang recorded a 17-point, 12-rebound double-double. Ogbe, Randolph and Conner Toolson each pitched in 13, 12 and 11 points on the night, respectively.

Utah Valley returns eight players who saw significant time last season, including 2016-17 leading scorer Conner Toolson (11.9 ppg.). The Wolverines return five of their top six scorers and their top five rebounders from the 2016-17 season. WAC All-Defensive team honoree and preseason All-WAC selection Isaac Neilson returns after leading the team with 9.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game last season. The Wolverines welcome nine new players to this year's roster, including four who sat out the 2016-17 season due to NCAA transfer rules or injuries. UVU welcomes eight transfers and one freshman to the team.

The Wolverines were selected to finish third by the media and fourth by the coaches in the WAC preseason poll. UVU received three first place votes in the media poll and one first place vote in the coaches' poll. UVU senior forward Isaac Neilson was received preseason all-WAC first team honors by the media and second team honors by the coaches.

Mark Pope enters his third season as the head coach of the Wolverines. His team scored more points than any other team in UVU history last season. UVU picked up its first-ever postseason national tournament wins with a run to the College Basketball Invitational Final Four. The team also picked up a historic win over crosstown rival BYU, scoring 114 points - the most ever scored by a BYU opponent in the Marriott Center. The Wolverines completed one of the biggest comebacks in NCAA history last season, overcoming a 27-point deficit to defeat Denver in the Mile High City. UVU also picked up a first-ever win at WAC rival New Mexico State, snapping the Aggies' 39-game conference home win streak and ended the nation's third-longest home win streak.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Tuesday night's game at Idaho State will be streamed live on WatchBigSky.com. The game will also be broadcast on the air waves at 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 IDAHO STATE
Idaho State opened the season with a 94-74 setback at Arizona State on Nov. 10. Junior forward Jacob McCord led the Bengals with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting. He also had five rebounds. Freshman center Novak Topalovic had 13 points, six rebounds and a team-high four assists, while sophomore guard Geno Luzcando had 10 points. The Bengals return 61.5 percent of its scoring from a season ago despite losing leading scorer Ethan Telfair's 17.5 points per game. Idaho State was picked to finish 10th by the coaches and 11th by the media in the Big Sky Conference preseason polls. The Bengals feature a pair of former Wolverines in graduate guard Hayes Garrity and sophomore guard Jared Stutzman. ISU is coached by Bill Evans who is in his sixth season with the team. Evans coaches at Southern Utah for 15 seasons, taking the T-Birds to their only NCAA Tournament appearance in 2001.

SERIES HISTORY VS. IDAHO STATE
Utah Valley and Idaho State meet up on the basketball hardwood for the 10th time on Tuesday night. The Wolverines hold a slight 5-4 all-time series lead in the matchup, including four straight over the Bengals. ISU holds a 3-2 advantage in games playing in Pocatello. Utah Valley defeated the Bengals in last season's matchup in Orem, 82-73.

All-Time Results vs. Idaho State, UVU leads series (5-4)
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
Nov. 16, 2016    Utah Valley def. Idaho State, 82-73        Orem, Utah

#TOUGHEST24 - UTAH VALLEY PLAYS TOUGHEST 24 HOURS OF BASKETBALL IN NCAA HISTORY
Utah Valley embarked on what is likely the toughest 24 hours of basketball ever played in NCAA history. Utah Valley traveled to Lexington, Kentucky to open the 2017-18 season against SEC foe Kentucky on Nov. 10 at Rupp Arena before continuing its road trip against ACC foe Duke on Nov. 11 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Wolverines played two of the top-5 teams in the nation on back-to-back nights on the road at a pair of basketball cathedrals. UVU chartered a plane and welcomed a travel party of over 100 staff and boosters to join the team on the trip.  Kentucky and Duke own a combined 13 NCAA men's basketball national titles. Kentucky was ranked No. 4/5 and Duke was the consensus No. 1 ranked team in the preseason polls. ESPN embedded a reporter and a television crew with the team, which featured a behind-the-scenes, all-access look at the Wolverines on the trip. ESPN' SportsCenter created a four-minute documentary-style feature on UVU that aired on SportsCenter throughout the day on Sunday, Nov. 12. ESPN's Sam Strong also traveled with the Wolverines and featured numerous stories and video clips about the team on ESPN.com throughout the entire #Toughest24 trip. ESPN's Kevin Connors also featured the Wolverines on SportsCenter two times prior to the trip and once while the Wolverines were on the trip.
 
MANYANG NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Utah Valley senior center Akolda Manyang has been named Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Nov. 7-13. This is his first-ever WAC Player of the Week honor. The Rochester, Minn., native averaged 11.5 points on 60 percent shooting, 9.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.5 blocks in a pair of road games against two Top 5 teams last week. Manyang recorded a double-double with a career-high 17 points and a career-high 12 rebounds against No. 1 Duke. He also dished out a career-high six assists and registered a steal. Manyang connected on 6-of-11 shots from the field and knocked down 5-of-6 free throws against the Blue Devils. In the season opener at Kentucky, Manyang scored six points on 3-of-4 shooting, pulled down seven rebounds and tallied a game-high five blocked shots.

UVU TAKES 99-69 SETBACK AT NO. 1 DUKE
Fresh off a battle at No. 4/5 Kentucky just one night earlier, the Utah Valley University men's basketball team capped off what is being referred to as the toughest 24 hours in college basketball history with a 99-69 loss to consensus No. 1 Duke at historic Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday night. Kenneth Ogbe helped UVU out of the gate with five early points. A three-pointer from Conner Toolson a few minutes later gave Utah Valley a 10-8 lead heading into the first media timeout of the game. Out of the timeout, Brandon Randolph got a steal and found Jake Toolson on the fast break for a layup. Conner Toolson followed by hitting three straight free throws to put the Wolverines up by five.  The Blue Devils tied things up at 17-17 with just under 12 minutes to go until half, and proceeded to go on an 11-0 run until Isaac Neilson hit a three-pointer with just over nine minutes remaining. An Ogbe layup with 7:30 to play ended another Duke run, and Conner Toolson hit his second three-pointer of the half to cut the lead to single digits. After the Blue Devils got a couple quick transition buckets, Utah Valley scored six-straight points, including four from Ogbe, to reduce the deficit to single digits again at 40-31. Duke went on to score eight of the half's final 10 points to take a 48-33 lead into halftime. Ogbe led UVU with 11 points in the half and Akolda Manyang chipped in 10 rebounds. Brandon Randolph got behind the defense for a quick layup, and Manyang sunk a hook shot over his defender in the post to start off the second half for the Wolverines. Overall, Utah Valley's first 10 points of the half came in the paint. Manyang hit two free throws and then threw down an electric dunk with 8:45 to play to give the Wolverines a boost. Randolph followed up Manyang's efforts with a nifty fake pass that led to a running floater in the lane. UVU continued to attack the paint for the remainder of the game, but the Duke attack, led by heralded freshman Marvin Bagley and preseason All-American Grayson Allen, proved to be too much to overcome. The Wolverines were led by a 17-point, 12-rebound double-double from Manyang. Ogbe, Randolph and Conner Toolson each pitched in 13, 12 and 11 points on the night, respectively.

UVU HANGS WITH NO. 4/5 KENTUCKY BEFORE FALLING, 73-63
Utah Valley University made a run at No. 4/5 Kentucky before eventually falling, 73-63, on the opening night of the college basketball season on Friday night at historic Rupp Arena. The Wolverines (0-1) led by as much as 12 points in the second half, when Kenneth Ogbe converted on a three-point play with a dunk and a free throw, but the Wildcats (1-0) took control of the game on the strength of an 18-0 run. The run turned a 37-25 UVU lead into a 43-37 advantage for Kentucky. Ogbe led a balanced scoring attack with 12 points while Jake Toolson added 11 points and three others chipped in 10. Akolda Manyang blocked five shots to go along with six points and six rebounds while Isaac Neilson scored 10 points and grabbed eight boards, as Utah Valley out-rebounded Kentucky, 38-37. Conner Toolson and Brandon Randolph also scored 10 points apiece, while Randolph dished out seven assists. Despite falling behind by 14 on two different occasions, Utah Valley was able to get as close as six, 69-63, with 15 seconds remaining on a Jake Toolson steal and a Randolph lay-up. The Wildcats hit four free throws over the final seconds to extend it back to 10. Both teams finished with 34 points in the paint while the Wildcats were able to turn 20 UVU turnovers into 23 points, finishing plus-seven in that category.

THREE-POINT STREAKING
Utah Valley has now hit a three-point field goal in 100 straight games. The last time UVU played in a game without hitting a shot from beyond the arc was on Feb. 27, 2014 against New Mexico State.