Utah Valley (12-15, 4-8) at UT Rio Grande Valley (10-19, 2-10) GAME INFORMATION
Video Stream: UTRGV YouTube Channel
Radio: ESPN 960 AM (Jim McCulloch / Jason Erickson)
Radio Webcast: espn960sports.com
Live Stats Link: GoUTRGV.com
 

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OPENING TIP
Fresh off a historic win at New Mexico State on Thursday night, Utah Valley wraps up WAC road play at UT Rio Grande Valley on Saturday night at the UTRGV Fieldhouse in Edinburg, Texas. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. (MST).

The Wolverines hold a 5-10 record on the road this season. UVU's road wins include victories at Denver, BYU, and UC Riverside. UVU holds WAC road wins over Chicago State and New Mexico State. A win over UTRGV on Saturday would mark the team's first road sweep of the season.

Utah Valley picked up its first-ever win at New Mexico State on Thursday night, defeating the Aggies 84-72. The win snapped NM State's 40-game conference home win streak. The win also ended NMSU's 23-game overall home win streak which ranked third in the nation.
 
Conner Toolson leads the Wolverines in scoring at 12.4 points per game. Kenneth Ogbe ranks second on the team in scoring at 11.1 points a contest. Neilson leads the team on the boards, pulling down 9.4 rebounds a game. Randolph leads the team in assists, averaging 4.5 helpers a game.

Neilson ranks in the top-33 nationally in a pair of individual statistical categories. The junior forward ranks 20th nationally at 3.41 offensive rebounds per game and 33rd in the country in rebounds per game at 9.4. He also ranks 45th in the country with 253 rebounds and 58th in the nation at 1.67 blocks per game.

Utah Valley is the seventh fastest team in the nation according to KenPom.com at 74.6 possessions per 40 minutes. Savannah State (81.3) is ranked as the No. 1 tempo team in the nation, followed by The Citadel (81.0), Marshall (78.2), BYU (76.2), Central Michigan (75.3), and Auburn (74.6). UVU is sixth, followed by Wyoming (74.5), Green Bay (74.5), Lipscomb (74.4), UTRGV (74.2), Omaha (73.9), Kentucky (73.8), UMass (73.7) and UCLA (73.6). The Wolverines rank ninth nationally in average possession length at 14.8 seconds a possession.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Saturday's game at UTRGV will be broadcast live on UTRGV's Youtube channel which is available via GOUTRGV.com. 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 UT RIO GRANDE VALLEY
UTRGV heads into Saturday's matchup against Utah Valley with an 10-19 overall record. The Vaqueros sit in seventh place in the WAC standings with a 2-10 league mark. UTRGV's lone victories in WAC play this season have been a pair of wins over Chicago State. UTRGV holds a perfect 7-6 record at home this season, including a perfect 1-5 mark at home in WAC play. The Vaqueros have lost seven straight games dating back to the team's 92-81 setback at Utah Valley on Jan. 26. UTRGV dropped an 86-77 decision to Seattle U at home on Thursday night. Junior Nick Dixon led UTRGV with 18 points in the loss to SU. Sophomore Antonio Green scored 13 points while hitting a trio of three-pointers. Junior McAllen-native Moe McDonald scored a season-high 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting, including a career-high tying 3-of-8 from behind the arc, with a career-high tying four assists. Dixon leads the team in both scoring and rebounding this season at 18.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Green also averages double figures at 16.8 points a contest. UTRGV averages 78.6 points per game while allowing opponents an 82.3 points per game average.

SERIES HISTORY VS. UTRGV
Utah Valley and UTRGV meet on the basketball hardwood for the 24th time on Thursday night. UVU holds an all-time 20-3 advantage over the Vaqueros. Utah Valley has won nine straight games over UTRGV, including 13 of the last 14 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. The Wolverines also defeated UTRGV, 92-81, on Jan. 26 in Orem. UTRGV's last win over UVU was a 62-60 victory over the Wolverines on Jan. 19, 2013 in Texas.

Last Five Results vs. UTRGV (UVU leads, 20-3)
Jan. 26, 2017    Utah Valley def. UTRGV, 92-81    Orem, Utah
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

LAST MEETING VS. UTRGV (January 26, 2017)
Kenneth Ogbe and Conner Toolson each scored 17 points and Brandon Randolph helped with 15 to lead the Utah Valley University men's basketball team to a 92-81 win over UT Rio Grande Valley on Jan. 26 at the UCCU Center.
 
Utah Valley opened the game with a 9-1 run to open the game. The Wolverines held on the lead to go up by 10 points, 21-11, with 11:38 remaining in the half. UTRGV responded with a 10-4 run to cut the UVU lead to just four points, 25-21, with 8:30 to play in the opening period. The two teams played even the rest of the half as the Wolverines took a 41-37 lead into the break.
 
The Wolverines outscored UTRGV 7-3 to open the second half, giving UVU a 49-40 lead with 17:19 to play. Utah Valley extended its lead to 12 points, 62-50, at the 12-minute mark. The Vaqueros would close the gap to six points, 76-70, with five minutes remaining. UVU then outscored UTRGV 15-9 over the final 4:54 to secure the 92-81 win.
 
Ogbe scored his 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field, including a 4-of-7 clip from long range. He also pulled down five rebounds with one assist and a block. Toolson knocked down 4-of-8 shots from the field with a pair of three-pointers for his 17 points. The sophomore guard also hit 7-of-8 free throws.
 
Randolph tallied his 15 points a 4-of-7 clip from the field including a 1-of-1 mark from beyond the arc. Randolph also pulled down seven rebounds with two steals and an assist. Jordan Poydras and Zach Nelson were also in double figures with 12 points apiece. Poydras also dished out a game-high seven assists.
 
Isaac Neilson scored nine points with seven rebounds, while Hayden Schenck scored seven points with eight rebounds and five assists.

 Utah Valley shot 44.2 percent (23-of-52) on the night while UTRGV connected on a 42.6 percent (29-of-68) clip from the field. The Wolverines connected on 10 three-pointers. UVU shot 75 percent from the free throw line, connecting on 36-of-48 shots at the stripe. The 48 attempts is a UCCU Center record for the Wolverines. Nick Dixon led UTRGV with a game-high 41 points. Antonio Green was also in double figures with 18 points.

UTAH VALLEY PICKS UP HISTORIC 84-72 WIN AT NEW MEXICO STATE, SNAPS NMSU'S HOME WIN STREAKS
Utah Ivory Young and Kenneth Ogbe each scored 16 points to lead the Utah Valley University men's basketball team to an 84-72 win over New Mexico State on Thursday night at the Pan American Center. The win snaps NM State's 40-game conference home win streak and ends the nation's third-longest home win streak at 23 games.
Utah Valley (12-15, 4-8) is the first team this season to pick up a win in the Pan American Center as NM State (23-5, 9-3) entered the contest with a perfect 14-0 record at the Pan American Center. The Aggies last loss at home was a 62-59 setback to Wyoming on Dec. 13, 2015. NMSU's last WAC home loss dates back to a 68-60 loss to Nevada on Jan. 26, 2012.

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 29.70 boards per game on the defensive side. The Wolverines have pulled down 802 defensive boards this season. UVU has 1,029 total rebounds this season, an average of 38.11 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 77.6 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.

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 65th 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. 24, Utah Valley is the seventh fastest team in the nation according to KenPom.com at 74.6 possessions per 40 minutes. Savannah State (81.3) is ranked as the No. 1 tempo team in the nation, followed by The Citadel (81.0), Marshall (78.2), BYU (76.2), Central Michigan (75.3), and Auburn (74.6). UVU is sixth, followed by Wyoming (74.5), Green Bay (74.5), Lipscomb (74.4), UTRGV (74.2), Omaha (73.9), Kentucky (73.8), UMass (73.7) and UCLA (73.6). The Wolverines rank ninth nationally in average possession length at 14.8 seconds a possession.

THE LONG BALL
Utah Valley has knocked down 242 three-pointers through 27 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 48th in the nation in threes per game, averaging 9.0 threes a contest.

UVU PICKS UP HISTORIC 84-72 WIN AT NEW MEXICO STATE
Ivory Young and Kenneth Ogbe each scored 16 points to lead the Utah Valley University men's basketball team to an 84-72 win over New Mexico State on Thursday night at the Pan American Center. The win snaps NM State's 40-game conference home win streak and ends the nation's third-longest home win streak at 23 games.
 
Utah Valley (12-15, 4-8) is the first team this season to pick up a win in the Pan American Center as NM State (23-5, 9-3) entered the contest with a perfect 14-0 record at the Pan American Center. The Aggies last loss at home was a 62-59 setback to Wyoming on Dec. 13, 2015. NMSU's last WAC home loss dates back to a 68-60 loss to Nevada on Jan. 26, 2012.
 
The game featured 14 lead changes and seven ties before Utah Valley went on a 19-0 run over a 5:34 stretch to take a 17-point 69-52 lead with 6:45 to play in the game. Utah Valley out-scored the Aggies 18-15 over the final six minutes to hang on to the team's first-ever win in Las Cruces.
 
Young scored his 16 points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting from the field, including a 1-of-1 mark from three-point range. The senior guard also knocked down 7-of-8 free throws and tallied five rebounds and an assist in 20 minutes of play.
 
Ogbe registered his 16 points on a 4-of-10 clip from the field, including a pair of shots from beyond the arc. Ogbe knocked down 6-of-9 shots at the charity stripe and pulled down two rebounds with one assist.
 
Brandon Randolph and Jordan Poydras were also in double figures with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Randolph knocked down 5-of-7 shots from the floor, including a season-high tying three shots from long range. The junior guard dished out a game-high four assists to go along with a pair of rebounds. Poydras hit 6-of-10 shots from the field and went a perfect 2-for-2 at the line for his 14 points. The senior guard also pulled down three rebounds, dished out two assists and tallied a pair of steals. Conner Toolson led the Wolverines on the boards with a team-high eight rebounds to go along with six points.
 
Utah Valley shot an impressive 55.1 percent (27-of-49) from the field—the second best mark of the season. The Wolverines connected on 45 percent (9-of-20) from beyond the arc. UVU held NM State to a 38.6 percent (27-of-70) clip from the field and an 18.5 percent (5-of-27) mark from three-point range.
UVU out-rebounded NM State 40-38 on the night. The Wolverines got 54 points from its bench compared to NMSU's 19 points.
 
Senior guard Ian Baker led New Mexico State with a game-high 21 points. Matt Taylor helped with 11 points while Braxton Huggins and Jemerrio Jones each had 10.

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), third in rebounds (477), third in defensive rebounds (360), eighth in defensive rebounds per game (4.2), eighth in rebound average (5.6), fourth in games started (83), seventh in assists (204), eighth in points scored (841), seventh in field goals made (327), 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 (665), eighth in offensive rebounds (117), 10th in offensive rebound average (1.4), eighth in three-point field goals attempted (240) and 10th in assists average (2.4).

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.