Utah Valley (10-12, 2-5) at UMKC (12-13, 4-4) GAME INFORMATION
Live Video Stream: WAC Digital Network
Radio: ESPN 960 AM (Jim McCulloch/Jason Erickson)
Radio Webcast: espn960sports.com
Live Stats Link: UMKC StatBroadcast
 

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OPENING TIP
Utah Valley travels to the BBQ capital of the World to take on WAC foe UMKC on Thursday night at historic Municipal Auditorium. The game will be broadcast on the WAC Digital Network at www.WACsports.com/live. Tip-off is set for 5:35 p.m. (MST).

Thursday's game at UMKC marks the second contest of a three-game road stretch for the Wolverines. UVU holds a 3-9 overall record on the road this season with wins at Denver, BYU and UC Riverside. The Wolverines hold a 0-3 mark on the road in WAC play this year.

Utah Valley got behind early and couldn't overcome a large halftime deficit as the Wolverines dropped a 63-50 decision to Seattle U on Saturday night at KeyArena in Seattle, Wash. Kenneth Ogbe led Utah Valley with a team-high 12 points with six boards. Brandon Randolph was also in double figures with 10 points to go along with five rebounds and four assists. Isaac Neilson pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.
 
Sophomore guard Conner Toolson leads the Wolverines in scoring at 13.1 points per game. Neislon ranks second on the team in scoring at 11.3 points a contest and leads the team on the boards, pulling down nearly 10 rebounds a game. Randolph leads the team in assists, averaging 4.5 helpers a game.

Neilson ranks in the top-30 nationally in both rebounds per game and offensive boards per game. The junior forward ranks 17th nationally at 3.50 offensive rebounds per game. He also ranks 30th in the country in rebounds per game at 9.5.

Utah Valley is the eighth fastest team in the nation according to KenPom.com at 74.9 possessions per 40 minutes. Savannah State (81.3) is ranked as the No. 1 tempo team in the nation, followed by The Citadel (81.1), Marshall (78.0), and BYU (76.8). UVU is eighth, followed by Green Bay (74.9), Omaha (74.6), (75.4), UCLA (75.1) and Kentucky (74.4). The Wolverines rank 10th nationally in average possession length at 14.7 seconds a possession.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Thursday's game at UMKC will be broadcast live online through the WAC Digital Network at www.WACsports.com/live. The game will also be broadcast live on 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 UMKC
UMKC heads into Thursday's matchup against Utah Valley with an 12-13 overall record. The Kangaroos are in fourth place in the WAC standings with a 4-4 league mark. UMKC holds an 8-5 record at home this season. Thursday's game marks the first of three straight home games for the Kangaroos. UMKC most recently picked up a 73-60 road victory at UT Rio Grande Valley on Saturday night. The 'Roos also picked up a 93-67 win at home over Ottawa last week. UMKC senior forward Kyle Steward was named the WAC's Player of the Week after averaging 20.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists over the two wins. He scored 20 points in each game and shot 50 percent from the floor, 47 percent from beyond the arc and 82 percent from the free throw line. Senior guard LaVell Boyd leads the team in scoring this season at 18.1 points per game. Steward is also averaging double figures at 10.1 points a game. As a team, UMKC is averaging 76.0 points a contest while allowing opponents a 79.7 points per game average.

SERIES HISTORY VS. UMKC
Utah Valley and UMKC meet on the basketball hardwood for the 16th time on Thursday night. UVU holds an all-time 9-6 advantage over the Kangaroos. Utah Valley has won three of the last four matchups between the two teams. The two teams last met on Jan. 14 in Orem with the Wolverines taking an 86-76 win. Utah Valley swept last season's regular season series against the 'Roos, defeating UMKC 90-79 in Kansas City and 79-70 in Orem. UMKC last defeated UVU in the quarterfinals of last year's WAC Tournament, taking an 80-78 win at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. UVU hold a 3-4 all-time record against UMKC in games played in the Show-Me State.

Last Five Results vs. UMKC (UVU leads, 9-6)
Jan. 14, 2017    Utah Valley def. UMKC, 86-76    Orem, Utah
March 10, 2016    UMKC def. Utah Valley, 80-78    Las Vegas, Nevada
Feb. 20, 2016    Utah Valley def. UMKC, 79-70    Orem, Utah
Jan. 21, 2016    Utah Valley def. UMKC, 90-79    Kansas City, Mo.
Feb. 26, 2015    UMKC def. Utah Valley, 69-50    Kansas City, Mo.

LAST MEETING VS. UMKC (January 14, 2017)
Brandon Randolph led three other Wolverines in double figures with 16 points to lead the Utah Valley University men's basketball team to an 86-76 win over WAC foe UMKC on Jan. 14 at the UCCU Center.
 
Trailing 10-3 with 14:51 to play in the first half, Utah Valley used a 17-2 run over a six-minute span to take a 20-12 lead with eight minutes remaining in the half. UMKC out-scored UVU 19-15 throughout the remainder of the half as the Wolverines held on to a 35-31 lead at the break.
 
UVU held on to a four-point lead, 49-45, with 10:53 to play in the game. The Wolverines then extended their lead to 11 points, 64-53, on a Randolph layup at the five-minute mark. The Kangaroos were only able to get as close as eight points over the final five minutes as UVU held on to its lead to secure the 86-76 victory.
 
Randolph knocked down 6-of-12 shots from the field and 4-of-5 free throws for his team-high 16 points. It marks the third straight game that the junior guard has hit 50 percent of more of his shots. He also pulled down nine rebounds with two assists and a pair of steals. Zach Nelson registered his fifth double digit scoring game of the season with 14 points. Nelson knocked down 6-of-9 shots from the floor and went 2-for-2 at the charity stripe. Conner Toolson and Jared Stutzman were also in double figures with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Toolson connected on 3-of-9 shots with a 6-of-8 mark from the free throw line. Stutzman was a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point range and hit 3-of-5 free throws for his 12 points. Ivory Young tallied nine points, while Kenneth Ogbe and Jordan Poydras each registered seven points.
 
As a team, Utah Valley shot 44.6 percent (25-of-56) on the night compared to UMKC's 38.6 percent (22-of-57) clip. The Wolverines out-rebounded UMKC, 45-34. Utah Valley hit 73.8 percent of its free throws, connecting on 31-of-42 shots at the stripe. The 42 free throws are the most ever attempted by a UVU team in the UCCU Center, breaking the previous UCCU Center record of 41 attempts.
 
LaVell Boyd led UMKC with 22 points. Xavier Bishop and Broderick Newbill helped with 14 points each.

CRASHING THE BOARDS - UVU RANKS FIFTH IN NATION ON DEFENSIVE GLASS
Utah Valley currently ranks fifth in the country in defensive rebounds per game, pulling down 29.86 boards per game on the defensive side. The Wolverines have pulled down 657 defensive boards this season. UVU has 849 total rebounds this season, an average of 38.6 per game, which ranks 54th nationally.

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, 10-rebound double-double against New Mexico State on Jan. 28, Utah Valley junior forward Isaac Neilson now holds seven double-doubles this season. The seven double doubles are the fourth-most in the WAC this year and are the 12th-most in the country this season. His seven double-doubles ranks Neilson tied for 70th nationally in the category. The seven double doubles rank him fourth 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. 7, KenPom.com has Utah Valley ranked as the eighth-fastest team in the nation at 74.9 possessions per 40 minutes. Savannah State (81.3) is ranked as the No. 1 tempo team in the nation, followed by The Citadel (81.1), Marshall (78.0), BYU (76.8), Central Michigan (75.1), Lipscomb (75.1) and Wyoming (75.1). UVU is eighth, followed by Green Bay (74.9), Omaha (74.6), Central Michigan (75.8), UCLA (74.5) and Kentucky (74.4).The Wolverines rank 10th nationally in average possession length at 14.7 seconds a possession.

THE LONG BALL
Utah Valley has knocked down 187 three-pointers through 22 games this season. At the pace, Utah Valley is set to connect on more than 245 shots from beyond the arc this season. The team is nearly 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.

UTAH VALLEY DROPS 63-50 DECISION AT SEATTLE U
Utah Valley got behind early and couldn't overcome a large halftime deficit as the Wolverines dropped a 63-50 decision to Seattle U on Saturday night at KeyArena in Seattle, Wash.
 
The loss drops UVU to 10-12 overall and 2-5 in WAC play, while Seattle U improves to 11-11 on the season and 3-4 in league play with the win.
 
Seattle U jumped out to a quick 10-2 lead after the first five minutes of play in the first half. UVU's Brandon Randolph knocked down the Wolverines' first field goal of the game at the 14:13 mark before Kenneth Ogbe made it back-to-back UVU shots to cut the SU lead to four points, 10-6, with 13:12 to play in the half. The Redhawks then used a 10-4 run to take a 10-point, 22-12 lead with just under seven minutes remaining in the half. SU then outscored UVU 10-6 over the final six minutes to take a 32-18 lead into the break.
 
Utah Valley opened the second half on a 12-3 run over a four-minute span to cut the Redhawk lead to just five points, 35-30, with 16:09 to play. SU countered with an 8-0 run of its own to go back up by 13 points, 43-30, with 13 minutes remaining. UVU would cut the SU lead to eight points, 54-46, at the 4:59 mark but couldn't get any closer as the Redhawks continued to build on its lead to secure the 63-50 victory.
 
Ogbe led Utah Valley with a team-high 12 points, connecting on 3-of-9 shots from the field and 5-of-8 shots at the free throw line. Ogbe also pulled down six boards. Randolph was also in double figures with 10 points. The junior guard hit 4-of-11 shots from the field and 2-of-4 shots at the stripe Randolph also pulled down five rebounds and dished out four assists on the night.
 
Jordan Poydras scored nine points, while Isaac Neilson helped with seven. Neilson also pulled down a team-high nine rebounds in 17 minutes of action. Andrew Bastien scored a season-high four points on a 2-for-3 shooting clip. Bastien also pulled down three rebounds.
 
Utah Valley shot a season-low 29.5 percent (18-of-61) from the field, including a season-low 11.5 percent (3-of-26) from three-point range. Seattle U connected on 46 percent (23-of-50) of its shots, including a 35 percent (7-of-20) mark from long range.
 
Matej Kavas led Seattle U with a game-high 18 points. William Powell and Brendan Westendorf were also in double figures with 13 and 11 points, respectively.