Utah Valley (11-15, 3-8) at New Mexico State (23-4, 9-2) GAME INFORMATION
TV: Fox Sports Arizona/Fox Sports Southwest (Adam Young/Rus Bradburd)
Video Stream: ESPN3
Radio: ESPN 960 AM (Jim McCulloch / Jason Erickson)
Radio Webcast: espn960sports.com
Live Stats Link: NMSU StatBroadcast
 

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OPENING TIP
Utah Valley heads out on its final regular season road trip of the season as the Wolverines wrap up WAC road play at New Mexico State and UTRGV on Thursday and Saturday. Tip-off for Thursday's game at New Mexico State is set for 7 p.m. (MST)

The Wolverines head out on the road where the team holds a 4-10 record this season. UVU's road wins inlcude victories at Denver, BYU, and UC Riverside. Chicago State is the lone WAC road victory for UVU this season.

UVU went 0-2 at home last week with an 80-71 loss to Bakersfield before a 77-71 setback to Grand Canyon. Ivory Young scored a season-high 18 points and Isaac Neilson added a 10-point, 13-rebound double-double in the setback to Grand Canyon on Saturday night. Brandon Randolph and Kenneth Ogbe were also in double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
 
Conner Toolson leads the Wolverines in scoring at 12.6 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 9.5 rebounds a game. Randolph leads the team in assists, averaging 4.6 helpers a game.

Neilson ranks in the top-30 nationally in a pair of individual statistical categories. The junior forward ranks 16th nationally at 3.50 offensive rebounds per game and 30th in the country in rebounds per game at 9.5. He also ranks 41st in the country with 247 rebounds and 55th in the nation at 1.73 blocks per game.

Utah Valley is the seventh fastest team in the nation according to KenPom.com at 75.0 possessions per 40 minutes. Savannah State (81.7) is ranked as the No. 1 tempo team in the nation, followed by The Citadel (81.1), Marshall (78.3), BYU (76.5), Central Michigan (75.9), and Auburn (75.1). UVU is seventh, followed by Lipscomb (74.9), Wyoming (74.8), Green Bay (74.7), UTRGV (74.6), Omaha (74.3), Kentucky (74.2), and UCLA (74.1). The Wolverines rank ninth nationally in average possession length at 14.8 seconds a possession.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Thursday's game at New Mexico State will be broadcast live on ESPN3 with Adam Young and Rus Bradburd on the call. The game marks UVU's second ESPN3 game of the season. The game will also be broadcast live on Fox Sports Arizona and Fox Sports Southwest. The game will be broadcast on the air waves at 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 NEW MEXICO STATE
New Mexico State heads into Thursday's matchup against Utah Valley with an 23-4 overall record. The Aggies sit in second place in the WAC standings with a 9-2 league mark. NMSU's lone setbacks in WAC play this season have been to CSU Bakersfield and Grand Canyon. NM State holds a perfect 14-0 record at home this season, including a perfect 4-0 mark on the road in WAC play. The Aggies have lost two of their last three games. NM State most recently picked up a 107-101 road win at UTRGV on Saturday night. Senior guard Ian Baker led the Aggies with a career-high 36 points in the win at UTRGV. He knocked down 11-of-18 shots to go along with seven assists and four rebounds. Junior guard Braxton Huggins scored 23 points, while sophomore forward Eli Chuha added17 and junior forward Jemerrio Jones helped with 13. Baker leads the team in scoring at 17.0 points per game this season. Four other Aggies average double figures, including Sidy N'Dir (13.7), Huggins (13.6), Chuha (11.9) and Jones (10.5). Chuha leads the team on the boards at 8.9 rebounds per game. As a team, New Mexico State averages 78.7 points a game while limiting opponents 67.7 points a contest.

SERIES HISTORY VS. NEW MEXICO STATE
Utah Valley and New Mexico State meet on the basketball hardwood for the eighth time on Saturday night. NM State holds an all-time 6-1 advantage over the Wolverines. Utah Valley's lone win in the series was a 66-61 overtime victory on Feb. 27, 2014. The win secured UVU the 2014 WAC regular season title. Since the win in 2014, Utah Valley has dropped five straight to the Aggies. UVU is 0-3 all-time against the Aggies in Las Cruces.

All-Time Results vs. New Mexico State (NMSU leads, 5-1)
Feb. 01, 2014    New Mexico State def. Utah Valley, 72-49    Las Cruces, N.M.
Feb. 27, 2014    Utah Valley def. New Mexico State, 66-61 (OT)    Orem, Utah
Jan. 24, 2015    New Mexico State def. Utah Valley, 69-44    Las Cruces, N.M.
Feb. 19, 2015    New Mexico State def. Utah Valley, 51-38    Orem, Utah
Jan. 07, 2016    New Mexico State def. Utah Valley, 78-66    Orem, Utah
Feb. 06, 2016    New Mexico State def. Utah Valley, 98-74    Las Cruces, N.M.
Jan. 28, 2017    New Mexico State def. Utah Valley, 74-69    Orem, Utah

LAST MEETING VS. NEW MEXICO STATE (January 28, 2017)
Brandon Randolph scored a team-high 18 points and Isaac Neilson recorded a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double to lead the Utah Valley University men's basketball team in a 74-69 setback to WAC leader New Mexico State on Jan. 28 in front of a 6,246 fans at the UCCU Center.

Randolph hit a layup to give Utah Valley a four-point edge, 67-63, with just 2:03 to play. New Mexico State then responded with nine unanswered points over the final two minutes to secure the 74-69 win.

A pair of Ivory Young threes and another from Jared Stutzman helped Utah Valley jump out to a 9-4 lead to open the game. UVU and NM State then played through three ties and nine lead changes before the Wolverines went on an 11-4 run over the final five minutes of the half to take a 38-31 lead into the break.
 
UVU led by as many as nine points early in the second half, taking a 42-33 lead with 18:07 remaining in the game. New Mexico State went on a 16-4 run over a five-minute span to tie the game, 52-52, at the 9:47 mark. The two teams then played through three ties and six lead changes before the Aggies secured the game with the 9-0 run over the last two minutes to secure the road win.
 
Randolph scored his 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, including a perfect 2-of-2 clip from beyond the arc. He also knocked down 2-of-3 shots at the free throw line and collected three steals and three assists.
 
Neilson recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds. The junior forward knocked down 7-of-9 shots from the field and registered a pair of blocks.
 
Kenneth Ogbe and Ivory Young were also in double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Ogbe hit 5-of-9 shots from the field while Young connected on 4-of-6 shots with three three-pointers.
 
As a team, Utah Valley out-shot NM State with a 49.1 percent (28-of-57) clip. The Aggies hit 46.0 percent (29-of-63) shots from the field. The Wolverines scored a season-high 44 points in the paint compared to NMSU's 36 points. NM State out-rebounded UVU 44-25 on the night.  
 
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 29.46 boards per game on the defensive side. The Wolverines have pulled down 766 defensive boards this season. UVU has 989 total rebounds this season, an average of 38.04 per game, which ranks 68th 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 77.3 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.

DOUBLE DOWN
With a 10-point, 13-rebound double-double against Grand Canyon on Feb. 18, Utah Valley junior forward Isaac Neilson now holds nine double-doubles this season. The nine double doubles are the third-most in the WAC this year and are the 13th-most in the country this season. His nine double-doubles ranks Neilson tied for 60th nationally in the category. The nine double doubles rank him tied for third in the WAC.

THROWING UP THE FREEBIES
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 attempted 48 free throws in a win over UTRGV on Jan. 26. The 48 attempts falls short of the team record of 52 set at Chicago State on Jan. 29, 2009. However, the 48 attempts at the free throw line are the most ever recorded in the UCCU Center, breaking the previous team record of 42 set against UMKC on Jan. 14 of this season.

FAST AND THE FURIOUS
As of Feb. 21, Utah Valley is the seventh fastest team in the nation according to KenPom.com at 75.0 possessions per 40 minutes. Savannah State (81.7) is ranked as the No. 1 tempo team in the nation, followed by The Citadel (81.1), Marshall (78.3), BYU (76.5), Central Michigan (75.9), and Auburn (75.1). UVU is seventh, followed by Lipscomb (74.9), Wyoming (74.8), Green Bay (74.7), UTRGV (74.6), Omaha (74.3), Kentucky (74.2), and UCLA (74.1). The Wolverines rank ninth nationally in average possession length at 14.8 seconds a possession.

THE LONG BALL
Utah Valley has knocked down 233 three-pointers through 26 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 51st in the nation in threes per game, averaging 9.0 threes a contest.

UVU FALLS TO GRAND CANYON, 77-71
Ivory Young scored a season-high 18 points and Isaac Neilson added a 10-point, 13-rebound double-double to lead the Utah Valley University men's basketball team in a 77-71 setback to Grand Canyon on Saturday night at the UCCU Center.

The first half produced six ties and seven lead changes as the two teams went back-and-forth. Neither team led by more than five points. Utah Valley held a 33-32 lead until GCU's Shaq Carr rebounded a Randolph miss and heaved it three quarters of the court as the buzzer sounded to give the 'Lopes a 35-33 lead at the break.
 
The Wolverines took a 43-42 lead just five minutes into the second half before going on a 9-4 run to extend the lead to a 52-46 advantage at the 11:33 mark. Trailing 61-55 with 8:20 to play, Grand Canyon went on a 9-2 run to take its first lead since the 19:37 mark, 64-63, with 5:47 remaining. The 'Lopes then outscored UVU 13-8 the rest of the way to secure the 77-71 victory.
 
Young scored his team-high 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field, including a 4-of-8 mark from beyond the arc. The senior guard also dished out three assists with two rebounds and a steal in 24 minutes of play.
 
Neilson's 10-point, 13-rebound effort marks his ninth double-double of the season. Neilson connected on 5-of-9 shots for his double-digit performance. The 13 rebounds marks his 13th double-digit rebounding effort of the season.
 
Brandon Randolph and Kenneth Ogbe were also in double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Randolph also dished out three assists with a steal, while Ogbe pulled down a pair of boards with one assist and a steal. Andrew Bastien scored seven points and pulled down three rebounds.
 
As a team, Utah Valley connected on 44.6 percent (25-of-56), including a 33.3 percent (8-of-24) mark from long range. Grand Canyon hit 44.8 percent (30-of-67) shots from the field with a 46.7 percent (7-of-15) clip from three-point range.  GCU edged UVU 37-36 on the boards.
 
DeWayne Russell led Grand Canyon with 18 points. Joshua Bruan and Shaq Carr were also in double figures with 17 and 11 points, respectively.
 
NELSON CLIMBING UVU CAREER RECORD CHARTS
Zach Nelson currently ranks in the top-10 in 17 different all-time individual career statistical categories. The junior forward ranks fourth all-time at UVU in blocks (76), sixth in blocks per game (0.9), fourth in rebounds (473), tied for third in defensive rebounds (357), eighth in defensive rebounds per game (4.3), eighth in rebound average (5.6), fourth in games started (82), seventh in assists (204), eighth in points scored (839), seventh in field goals made (326), ninth in field goal percentage (.492), 10th in assist average (2.4), seventh in minutes played (2,368),10th in scoring average (10.2), eighth in field goals attempted (662), eighth in offensive rebounds (116), 10th in offensive rebound average (1.4) and eighth in three-point field goals attempted (233).

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.