Utah Valley (13-15, 5-8) vs. Seattle U (13-15, 5-8) 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
Fresh off a road sweep of New Mexico State and UT Rio Grande Valley last week, Utah Valley returns home to take on Seattle U on Saturday night in the team's final regular season game of the season. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. (MST).

The Wolverines have secured no worse than the No. 5 seed at next week's WAC Tournament in Las Vegas. The winner of Saturday's game against Seattle U will earn the No. 4 seed at the tournament, while the loser will be the No. 5 seed. UVU and Seattle U will face one another again on Thursday, March 9 at 2 p.m. in the quarterfinals of the WAC Tournament.

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 39-game conference home win streak. The win also ended NMSU's 23-game overall home win streak which ranked third in the nation. The team then secured the road sweep with an 88-68 win at UTRGV. The two wins last week mark the first back-to-back wins for UVU since the team defeated Montana Tech and UC Riverside on Dec. 23 and 28.
 
Conner Toolson leads the Wolverines in scoring at 12.3 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 9.2 rebounds a game. Randolph leads the team in assists, averaging 4.4 helpers a game.

Neilson ranks in the top-40 nationally in a pair of individual statistical categories. The junior forward ranks 22nd nationally at 3.36 offensive rebounds per game and 40th in the country in rebounds per game at 9.2. He also ranks 53rd in the country with 257 rebounds and 68th in the nation at 1.61 blocks per game.

Utah Valley is the sixth fastest team in the nation according to KenPom.com at 74.5 possessions per 40 minutes. Savannah State (81.2) is ranked as the No. 1 tempo team in the nation, followed by The Citadel (80.8), Marshall (78.3), BYU (76.0), and Central Michigan (75.5),. UVU is sixth, followed by Lipscomb (74.4), Auburn (74.4), Green Bay (74.3), Wyoming (74.2), Omaha (74.2), UTRGV (74.0), Kentucky (73.5) and St. Johns (73.5). The Wolverines rank 11th nationally in average possession length at 14.9 seconds a possession.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Saturday's game against Seattle U will be broadcast live on UVUtv which is available in Utah County. Brandon Crow and Holton Hunsaker will be on the call. A live stream of the game will be available on the WAC Digital Network at www.WACsports.com/live. 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 SEATTLE U
Seattle U heads into Saturday's matchup against Utah Valley with an identical record as UVU at 13-15 overall. The Redhawks are tied with UVU in the WAC standings with a 5-8 league mark. Saturday's game marks the final regular season contest of the season for both teams. The Redhawks have dropped four of their last five games, including an 86-53 decision at New Mexico State on Feb. 25. Seattle U shot just 33 percent from the field in the first half and could never recover in the loss at NM State. Morgan Means and Scott Ulaneo were in double figures against NM State with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Brendan Westendorf leads the team in scoring this season at 14.6 points per game. Three other Redhawks also average double figures. Seattle U averages 70.9 points per game while allowing opponents a 72.0 average.

SERIES HISTORY VS. SEATTLE U
Utah Valley and Seattle U meet on the basketball hardwood for the 14th time on Saturday night. SU holds an all-time 8-5 advantage over the Wolverines. Utah Valley has dropped four straight to the Redhawks, including five of the last six. UVU's last win in the series was a 70-52 victory on Jan. 10, 2015 in Orem. UVU holds an all-time 3-3 record against SU in games played in Orem. Seattle U swept last year's season series against UVU, taking a 73-62 win in Orem before defeating the Wolverines 72-69 in Seattle. The Redhawks won the first game of this year series, 63-50, on Feb. 4 in Seattle.

All-Time Results vs. Seattle U (SU leads, 8-5)
Jan. 16, 2010    Seattle U def. Utah Valley, 66-63    Seattle, Wash.
March 06, 2010    Seattle U def. Utah Valley, 74-64    Orem, Utah
Jan. 13, 2011    Utah Valley def. Seattle U, 89-73    Orem, Utah
Feb. 09, 2011    Seattle U def. Utah Valley, 63-57    Seattle, Wash.
Jan. 07, 2012    Utah Valley def. Seattle U, 77-72    Orem, Utah
Jan. 13, 2012    Utah Valley def. Seattle U, 84-74    Seattle, Wash.
Jan. 19, 2014    Utah Valley def. Seattle U, 52-51    Seattle, Wash.
Feb. 13, 2014    Seattle U def. Utah Valley, 71-57    Orem, Utah
Jan. 10, 2015    Utah Valley def. Seattle U, 70-52    Orem, Utah
Feb. 07, 2015    Seattle U def. Utah Valley, 53-33    Seattle, Wash.
Jan. 28, 2016    Seattle U def. Utah Valley, 73-62    Orem, Utah
Feb. 27, 2016    Seattle U def. Utah Valley, 72-69    Seattle, Wash.
Feb. 04, 2017    Seattle U def. Utah Valley, 63-50    Seattle, Wash.

LAST MEETING VS. SEATTLE U (February 4, 2017)
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 Feb. 4 at KeyArena in Seattle, Wash.

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.

SENIOR NIGHT
Utah Valley will honor its three seniors prior to Saturday's tipoff against Seattle U. Andrew Bastien, Jordan Poydras and Ivory Young will be playing their final game at the UCCU Center.

Andrew Bastien
Andrew Bastien plays in his steps on to the UCCU Center floor for the final time tonight. Over the past two seasons, Bastien has played in 45 games and has made 23 starts. He has recorded an impressive 44 blocks over his two seasons which ranks him eighth all-time on the UVU career blocks chart. His 1.0 blocks per game career average ranks him fifth all-time on the UVU charts. Bastien's seven blocks against Southern Utah last season are tied for the second most all-time in a single game in UVU history. Bastien has been a major contributor down the stretch this season, averaging nearly five points and four rebounds over the past seven games.

Jordan Poydras
Jordan Poydras wraps up his career at the UCCU Center tonight as he plays in his 29th game as a Wolverine. The senior guard has had a major impact on UVU this season, averaging 10.1 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. Poydras registered back-to-back 20-plus point games as he helped UVU to its biggest comeback in school history, helping the team overcome a 27-point deficit with a season-high 23 points to defeat Denver. He then scored 20 points in UVU's 114-101 win at BYU. He has scored in double figures 15 times this season and has knocked down a team-best 49 shots from beyond the arc.

Ivory "Trey" Young
Ivory "Trey" Young plays in his 53rd game tonight for Utah Valley. The senior guard has scored 375 points in his two seasons with the Wolverines. His 75 career three-pointers are approaching the all-time top 10 chart at UVU. Young has dished out 100 assists and has pulled down 104 rebounds during his time as a Wolverine. He scored a career-high 27 points last season in a game against CSU Bakersfield. Young has tallied double figures points in five games this season, including double digit performances in his last three games. He most recently scored a team-high 16 points to lead UVU to one of its biggest wins in school history, knocking off New Mexico State, 84-72, to become the first WAC team in five years to defeat the Aggies in Las Cruces. The win also snapped NM State's 23-game overall home win streak.

UTAH VALLEY BECOMES FIRST WAC TEAM TO SWEEP NMSU/UTRGV ROAD TRIP
Utah Valley became the first team in WAC history to sweep the New Mexico State/UT Rio Grande Valley road trip. The Wolverines defeated New Mexico State 84-72 before downing UTRGV 88-68. The road sweep marks UVU's first WAC road sweep since its sweep of UMKC and Chicago State last season.

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 Feb. 23 at the Pan American Center. The win snaps NM State's 39-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.

SO CLOSE DOWN THE STRETCH
Utah Valley has lost six games this season where the Wolverines either trailed by two or less points or held a lead with under four minutes to play in regulation. The Wolverines have lost four games this year where the team was tied or held a lead with under four minutes to play.

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 29.89 boards per game on the defensive side. The Wolverines have pulled down 837 defensive boards this season. UVU has 1,073 total rebounds this season, an average of 38.3 per game, which ranks 57th 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 77.9 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 75th 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 March 1, Utah Valley is the sixth fastest team in the nation according to KenPom.com at 74.5 possessions per 40 minutes. Savannah State (81.2) is ranked as the No. 1 tempo team in the nation, followed by The Citadel (80.8), Marshall (78.3), BYU (76.0), and Central Michigan (75.5),. UVU is sixth, followed by Lipscomb (74.4), Auburn (74.4), Green Bay (74.3), Wyoming (74.2), Omaha (74.2), UTRGV (74.0), Kentucky (73.5) and St. Johns (73.5). The Wolverines rank 11th nationally in average possession length at 14.9 seconds a possession.

THE LONG BALL
Utah Valley has knocked down 250 three-pointers through 28 games this season. The team is now just six threes shy of tying 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 49th in the nation in threes per game, averaging 8.9 threes a contest.

HOME SWEET UCCU CENTER
Utah Valley holds an all-time 149-44 (77.2 percent) record in 12 seasons at the UCCU Center. The Wolverines are averaging nearly 12 wins a season at the UCCU Center. UVU is 7-5 at home this season.

POPE SUPPORTING COACHES VS. CANCER
Utah Valley head coach Mark Pope and his staff participated in the Coaches vs. Cancer campaign this past month organized by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). Coach Pope joined BYU head coach Dave Rose at Subway on Jan. 23 to raise money for the American Cancer Society. The two coaches made sandwiches for patrons during the lunch hour. Coach Pope has teamed up with Subway this year to raise money for the American Cancer Society, appearing in commercials state wide.

UVU COMPLETES ROAD SWEEP WITH 88-68 WIN AT UTRGV
Jordan Poydras scored 17 points and Zach Nelson added 14 to lead the Utah Valley University men's basketball team to a two-game road sweep with an 88-68 win over UT Rio Grande Valley on Feb. 25 at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
 
The win marks the team's first-ever road sweep of New Mexico State and UTRGV since the Wolverines joined the WAC. UVU defeated NM State 84-72 on Thursday night. It marks the first time that any team in the WAC has swept the NM State/UTRGV road series.

Trailing 4-2 just over a minute into the game, Utah Valley went on a 21-4 run over a seven and a half minute span to take a 23-8 lead with 11:20 remaining in the half. UTRGV responded with an 11-2 run of its own to cut the UVU lead to six points, 25-19, with 7:26 let in the first period. UVU then out scored the Vaqueros 22-10 to take a 47-29 lead into the break.
 
Utah Valley extended its lead to as many as 27 points, 74-47, with 9:59 to play in the final period. UTRGV was not able to get any closer than 17 points as UVU was able to hold on to its first half lead to secure the 88-68 win.
 
Poydras scored his 17 points on a 5-of-10 clip from the field, including a 2-of-4 mark from long range. The senior guard also knocked down 5-of-6 free throws and dished out three assists with two rebounds.
 
Nelson registered his 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including a pair of threes. Nelson also hit 2-of-2 free throws. The junior forward pulled down a team-high seven rebounds with two assists and a block.
 
Ivory Young scored 13 points, while Conner Toolson and Kenneth Ogbe were also in double figures with 11 points apiece. Young pulled down five rebounds and dished out a team-high four assists. Toolson also pulled down five boards and tallied three assists with a steal.

As a team, Utah Valley shot an impressive 54.7 percent (29-of-53) from the field, including a 44.4 percent (8-of-18) mark from three-point range. The Wolverines held UTRGV to a 36.8 percent (25-of-68) clip from the floor, inlcuding a 28.0 percent (7-of-25) mark from three. UVU out-rebounded UTRGV 44-29 on the night and out-scored the Vaqueros 40-14 in the paint.

Antonio Green led UTRGV with a game-high 19 points while teammate Moe McDonald helped with 18.

RANDOLPH BREAKS UVU SINGLE GAME ASSISTS RECORD, THIRD-BEST MARK IN NATION THIS SEASON
Utah Valley junior guard Brandon Randolph registered 14 assists in the Wolverines' win at BYU on Nov. 26. The 14 assists are the most ever recorded in a single game in UVU history. Randolph breaks the previous record of 12 set by Nick Thompson on Dec. 28, 2012 against Austin Peay. The 14 assists ties Randolph with six others for the third most assists dished out in a single game in the country this season. North Carolina State's Dennis Smith holds the top mark at 16 assists against Rider this season. Randolph leads the WAC this season at 4.4 assists per game.

MILE HIGH MAGIC - UVU RECORDS BIGGEST COMEBACK IN SCHOOL HISTORY
Utah Valley recorded its biggest comeback in school history as the Wolverines overcame a 27-point deficit to defeat Denver 88-85 on Nov. 23 at Magness Arena. Utah Valley was just five points shy of breaking the all-time NCAA record for biggest deficit overcome to win a game set by Duke, which came back from 32 points down to defeat Tulane in 1950. The 27-point comeback win breaks the previous UVU record set last season when the Wolverines came back from a 20-point deficit to defeat UMKC, 79-70.

All-Time Biggest Comebacks in UVU history
Nov. 23, 2016    27 points    Utah Valley (88) at Denver (85)    Denver, Colorado
Feb. 20, 2016    20 points    Utah Valley (79) vs. UMKC (70)    Orem, Utah
Dec. 03, 2005    17 points    Utah Valley (71) vs. Sacramento State (69)    Orem, Utah

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 (77), sixth in blocks per game (0.9), third in rebounds (484), third in defensive rebounds (366), eighth in defensive rebounds per game (4.3), eighth in rebound average (5.6), tied for third in games started (84), seventh in assists (204), eighth in points scored (855), seventh in field goals made (332), ninth in field goal percentage (.493), 10th in assist average (2.4), seventh in minutes played (2,408),10th in scoring average (10.2), eighth in field goals attempted (673), eighth in offensive rebounds (118), 10th in offensive rebound average (1.4), eighth in three-point field goals attempted (243) and 10th in assists average (2.4).

SECOND-LARGEST CROWD IN UVU HISTORY
Utah Valley welcomed 6,792 fans to its game against Utah State on Dec. 10. The 6,792 fans are the second-most ever to attend a UVU basketball game at the UCCU Center, not far behind the record of 7,124 set in 2010. UVU opened the season with the largest crowd ever for a home opener in UVU history. The 6,117 fans at the home opener against Idaho State also marks the seventh highest attended game in UVU history. The team also welcomed 6,246 fans through the gates at the New Mexico State game on Jan. 28, which is the sixth-highest attended home game of all time. UVU averages nearly 3,000 fans per game this season at the UCCU Center.

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.