Utah Valley (11-14, 3-7) vs. Grand Canyon (18-9, 7-3) GAME INFORMATION
TV: UVUtv (Brandon Crow / Holton Hunsaker)
Video Stream: WAC Digital Network
Radio: ESPN 960 AM (Jim McCulloch / Ben Aird)
Radio Webcast: espn960sports.com
Live Stats Link: UVU StatBroadcast
 

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OPENING TIP
Utah Valley continues WAC play at home on Saturday night as the Wolverines welcome league-foe Grand Canyon to the UCCU Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. (MST).

The Wolverines continue play at the UCCU Center where the team holds a 7-4 record this season. UVU's home wins over WAC opponents include wins over UMKC and UTRGV this season. Utah Valley holds an all-time 149-43 (77.6 percent) record in 12 seasons at the UCCU Center. The Wolverines are averaging nearly 12 wins a season at the UCCU Center.

UVU dropped an 80-71 decision to WAC leader CSU Bakersfield on Thursday night at the UCCU Center. Jordan Poydras led two other Wolverines in double figures with a team-high 15 points. Conner Toolson and Brandon Randolph were also in double figures with 14 and 10 points, respectively. Randolph also pulled down six rebounds and dished out a team-high five assists.
 
Toolson leads the Wolverines in scoring at 13.0 points per game. Kenneth Ogbe ranks second on the team in scoring at 10.9 points a contest. Neilson leads the team on the boards, pulling down 9.4 rebounds a game. Randolph leads the team in assists, averaging 4.6 helpers a game.

Neilson ranks in the top-40 nationally in a pair of individual statistical categories. The junior forward ranks 17th nationally at 3.44 offensive rebounds per game and 37th in the country in rebounds per game at 9.4. He also ranks 50th in the nation with 45 blocks this season.

Utah Valley is the seventh fastest team in the nation according to KenPom.com at 74.9 possessions per 40 minutes. Savannah State (81.2) is ranked as the No. 1 tempo team in the nation, followed by The Citadel (81.1), Marshall (77.9), BYU (76.4), Central Michigan (75.3), and Auburn (75.1). UVU is seventh, followed by Lipscomb (74.9), Green Bay (74.5), Wyoming (74.4), UTRGV (74.2), Omaha (74.1), UCLA (74.0), and Kentucky (73.9). The Wolverines rank ninth nationally in average possession length at 14.7 seconds a possession.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Saturday's game against Grand Canyon will be broadcast live on UVUtv and the WAC Digital Network (WACsports.com/live) with Brandon Crow and Holton Hunsaker on the call. The game will be broadcast on the air waves at ESPN 960 AM radio with Jim McCulloch and Ben Aird 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 GRAND CANYON
Grand Canyon heads into Saturday's matchup against Utah Valley with an 18-9 overall record. The Antelopes sit in third place in the WAC standings with a 7-3 league mark. GCU's lone setbacks in WAC play this season have been to New Mexico State, UMKC and CSU Bakersfield. GCU holds a 3-6 record on the road this season, including a 3-2 mark on the road in WAC play. Since a loss at home to CSU Bakersfield on Feb. 4, Grand Canyon has won three straight, including a 61-58 win at Seattle U on Thursday night. The 'Lopes overcame an early 15 point deficit to defeat the Redhawks in Seattle. Kerwin Smith and DeWayne Russell each scored 11 points while Darion Clark helped with 10 in the win. Russell leads both the 'Lopes and the WAC in scoring at 22.0 points per game. Josh Braun is also averaging double digits at 16.3 points a contest. As a team, GCU is averaging 73.4 points a game while limiting opponents to a 68.3 points per contest average.

SERIES HISTORY VS. GRAND CANYON
Utah Valley and Grand Canyon meet on the basketball hardwood for the ninth time on Saturday night. GCU holds an all-time 5-3 advantage over the Wolverines. After winning the first three games of the series, UVU has dropped five straight to the Antelopes. UVU holds an all-time 2-2 record in games played against the 'Lopes in the UCCU Center. Grand Canyon swept the two-game series last season, taking a 99-88 decision in Phoenix before downing UVU 86-79 in Orem. GCU also defeated UVU 82-72 in the first game of this season's series in Phoenix on Jan. 7. UVU has never won a conference game against GCU.

All-Time Series Results vs. Grand Canyon (GCU leads, 5-3)
Feb. 15, 2005    Utah Valley def. Grand Canyon, 71-49    Orem, Utah
Jan. 11, 2014    Utah Valley def. Grand Canyon, 65-58    Orem, Utah
Feb. 06, 2014    Utah Valley def. Grand Canyon, 79-68    Phoenix, Ariz.
Jan. 15, 2015    Grand Canyon def. Utah Valley, 83-74    Orem, Utah
Feb. 14, 2015    Grand Canyon def. Utah Valley, 83-57    Phoenix, Ariz.
Jan. 16, 2016    Grand Canyon def. Utah Valley, 99-88    Phoenix, Ariz.
March 05, 2016    Grand Canyon def. Utah Valley, 86-79    Orem, Utah
Jan. 07, 2017    Grand Canyon def. Utah Valley, 82-72    Phoenix, Ariz.

LAST MEETING VS. GRAND CANYON (January 7, 2017)
Despite a pair of double-double performances from Brandon Randolph and Isaac Neilson, Utah Valley couldn't overcome a big second half run by Grand Canyon in an 82-72 setback to the Antelopes on Jan. 7 in the team's WAC opener at GCU Arena.
 
Trailing by eight points, 17-9, with 11:59 to play in the first half, Utah Valley went on a 13-0 run over the next five minutes to take its largest lead of the game, 22-17, with 6:56 remaining in the half. The two teams then played through four ties and a pair of lead changes before Grand Canyon took a 38-35 advantage into the break.
 
A Neilson dunk at the 15:57 mark of the second half cut the GCU lead to just two points, 43-41. Grand Canyon responded with a 16-2 run to take a 59-43 advantage with 11:58 remaining. The Wolverines battled back to get as close as eight points, 61-53, with 8:31 to play, but couldn't get any closer as the Antelopes built their lead back up to as many as 19 points at the four minute mark and UVU ran out of time to recover as Grand Canyon secured the win.
 
Randolph registered his second double-double of the season with 18 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. The junior guard also dished out a team-high six assists. Randolph knocked down 6-of-10 shots from the field and went a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line.
 
Neilson tallied his sixth double-double of the season with 14 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. Neilson connected on 6-of-10 shots on the night, including a shot from long range.
 
Kenneth Ogbe led Utah Valley with a team-high 20 points, his third 20-plus point game of the season. The junior guard knocked down 8-of-16 shots from the field, including a pair of shots from long range. He also went 2-for-3 at the charity stripe and pulled down three rebounds. Conner Toolson was also in double figures with 11 points.
 
As a team, Utah Valley shot 41.3 percent (26-of-63) on the night compared to GCU's 40.8 percent (29-of-71) mark. The Wolverines connected on just 6-of-26 shots from beyond the arc to GCU's 12-of-35 mark.  UVU out-rebounded GCU 44-42.
 
Braun led Grand Canyon with a game-high 31 points. The junior guard connected on 10-of-20 shots from the field and knocked down 7-of-13 shots from long range. DeWayne Russell helped with 21 points while Kerwin Smith added 12.

CRASHING THE BOARDS - UVU RANKS SIXTH IN NATION ON DEFENSIVE GLASS
Utah Valley currently ranks sixth in the country in defensive rebounds per game, pulling down 29.52 boards per game on the defensive side. The Wolverines have pulled down 738 defensive boards this season. UVU has 953 total rebounds this season, an average of 38.12 per game, which ranks 67th nationally.

UVU HOLDS HIGHEST SCORING AVERAGE IN TEAM HISTORY
This year's team is scoring more points per game than any UVU team in team history. The Wolverines are averaging 77.6 points a contest. The school record for scoring average is 76.0 points per game set by last year's 2015-16 team. The 2010-11 squad holds the third spot on the list at 75.9 points per game.

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.

FAST AND THE FURIOUS
As of Feb. 17, Utah Valley is the seventh fastest team in the nation according to KenPom.com at 74.9 possessions per 40 minutes. Savannah State (81.2) is ranked as the No. 1 tempo team in the nation, followed by The Citadel (81.1), Marshall (77.9), BYU (76.4), Central Michigan (75.3), and Auburn (75.1). UVU is seventh, followed by Lipscomb (74.9), Green Bay (74.5), Wyoming (74.4), UTRGV (74.2), Omaha (74.1), UCLA (74.0), and Kentucky (73.9). The Wolverines rank ninth nationally in average possession length at 14.7 seconds a possession.

THE LONG BALL
Utah Valley has knocked down 225 three-pointers through 25 games this season. At the pace, Utah Valley is set to connect on more than 265 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 45th in the nation in threes per game, averaging 9.0 threes a contest.

HOME SWEET UCCU CENTER
Utah Valley holds an all-time 149-43 (77.6 percent) record in 12 seasons at the UCCU Center. The Wolverines are averaging nearly 12 wins a season at the UCCU Center. UVU is 7-4 at home this season.