Utah Valley (15-16) at Georgia Southern (18-14) GAME INFORMATION
CBI Website: GazelleGroup.com
Radio: ESPN 960 AM (Jim McCulloch / Jason Erickson)
Radio Webcast: espn960sports.com
Live Stats Link: GSstats.com
 

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OPENING TIP
Utah Valley has accepted an invitation to play in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) presented by FIVE FOUR. The Wolverines travel to play a first round matchup against Georgia Southern on Wednesday at Hanner Fieldhouse in Statesboro, Georgia. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET/5 p.m. MT.

The bid to play in the CBI marks Utah Valley's third appearance in a postseason national tournament. The Wolverines played in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) against California in 2014 and in the CollegeInisder.com Tournament against Weber State in 2012.

Utah Valley enters Wednesday's matchup against Georgia Southern with a 15-16 overall record. The Wolverines hit the postseason hardwood fresh off a historic quadruple overtime 81-80 setback to CSU Bakersfield in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament in Las Vegas. UVU went 1-1 at the WAC Tournament last week, defeating Seattle U 65-53 in the quarterfinals before falling to CSUB in the semis. UVU's matchup at Georgia Southern will mark the first time the two teams have met on the basketball hardwood.
 
Conner Toolson leads the Wolverines in scoring at 11.8 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 9.0 rebounds a game. Brandon Randolph leads the team in assists, averaging 4.1 helpers a game.

Utah Valley is the 12th fastest team in the nation according to KenPom.com at 73.1 possessions per 40 minutes. Savannah State (80.7) is ranked as the No. 1 tempo team in the nation, followed by The Citadel (79.4) and Marshall (77.3) in third. The Wolverines are in 12th just ahead of UCLA (72.9) in 11th, St. John's (72.9) 12th and Quinnipiac (72.8) in 13th.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Wednesday's CBI first round game at Georgia Southern 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. There will be no live stream video available.

ABOUT GEORGIA SOUTHERN
Georgia Southern heads into Wednesday's matchup against Utah Valley with an 18-14 overall record. The Eagles tied for third place in the Sun Belt this season with an 11-7 record. Georgia Southern most recently dropped a 90-70 decision to eventual champion Troy in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in New Orleans. Sophomore guard Ike Smith led Georgia Southern with 21 points to go along with four rebounds, and sophomore guard Tookie Brown tallied 14 points and five assists. Junior guard Mike Hughes helped with 12 points and five rebounds in the quarterfinal setback. Smith and Brown lead the Sun Belt Conference in scoring this season at 19.9 and 17.4 points per game, respectively. Both players earned 2017 first-team All-Sun Belt honors. Smith ranks 24th in the nation in field goals made (226), 36th in total points (638), and 37th in points per game (19.9). The Eagles averaged 76.3 points a game this season while limiting opponents to a 73.3 points per game average. Georgia Southern is coached by Mark Byington who is in his fourth season with the team. He holds a 69-59 record in his four seasons at GS.

SERIES HISTORY VS. GEORGIA SOUTHERN, SUN BELT CONFERENCE
Utah Valley and Georgia Southern meet on the basketball hardwood for the first time on Wednesday night. The game marks the 16th time that UVU has faced a team from the Sun Belt Conference. UVU is 7-8 all time against current Sun Belt teams. The last time the Wolverines faced a member of the Sun Belt Conference was on Dec. 19, 2012 when UVU defeated Troy 67-64 in Orem, Utah.

UVU MAKES THIRD APPEARANCE IN A NATIONAL POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT
The bid to play in the CBI marks Utah Valley's third appearance in a postseason national tournament. The Wolverines played in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) against California in 2014 and in the CollegeInisder.com Tournament against Weber State in 2012.

All-Time Results in Postseason National Tournaments (0-2)
March 13, 2012    CollegeInsider.com Tournament    Weber State def. Utah Valley, 72-69    Ogden, Utah
March 19, 2014    National Invitational Tournament    California def. Utah Valley, 77-64    Berkeley, Calif.

WAC TOURNAMENT
Utah Valley recently made its fourth appearance at the WAC Tournament last week in Las Vegas. The Wolverines now hold an all-time 2-4 record at the tournament. The Wolverines earned the No. 1 seed in their first-ever appearance at the tournament in 2014. 2017 marked the second-straight year that UVU had entered the tournament as the No. 4 seed. Last week's semifinal loss to CSU Bakersfield marked the second time that the Wolverines have appeared in a WAC Tournament semifinal game.

All-Time Results at WAC Tournament (2-4)
March 13, 2014    #1 Utah Valley 83, #8 UTRGV 63    Quarterfinals - Las Vegas, Nevada
March 14, 2014    #5 Idaho 74, #1 Utah Valley 69    Semifinals - Las Vegas, Nevada
March 12, 2015    #4 Bakersfield 55, #5 Utah Valley 40    Quarterfinals - Las Vegas, Nevada
March 10, 2016    #5 UMKC 80, #4 Utah Valley 78    Quarterfinals - Las Vegas, Nevada
March 09, 2017    #4 Utah Valley 65, #5 Seattle U 53    Quarterfinals - Las Vegas, Nevada
March 10, 2017    #1 Bakersfield 81, #4 Utah Valley 80 (4OT)    Semifinals - Las Vegas, Nevada

NEILSON NAMED TO WAC ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
Junior forward Isaac Neilson has been named to the WAC's All-Defensive team by the WAC's eight head coaches. Neilson, from Mission Viejo, Calif., has enjoyed the most successful season of his career. He ranks third in the WAC on the boards, pulling down 9.0 rebounds a game. He also ranks second in the WAC with a 56.8 percent clip from the field. He ranks second in the WAC in blocks, averaging 1.6 a game.

NEILSON CLOSING IN ON UVU SINGLE SEASON BLOCKS RECORD
Isaac Neilson has registered an impressive 51 blocks this season which is just five shy of tying the Utah Valley single season blocks record. Ben Aird (2012-13) holds the single season record with 56 blocks during the 2012-13 season. Neilson is currently all alone in second on the list with 51 swatted shots this season. Neilson's 1.6 blocks per game ranks him fourth on the UVU single season blocks per game chart.

All-time UVU Single Season Blocks List
1.    56    Ben Aird (2012-13)
2.    51    Isaac Neilson (2016-17)
3.    50    Ben Devoe (2004-05)
4.    48    Ben Aird (2011-12)
5.    39    Ben Aird (2010-11)

SO CLOSE DOWN THE STRETCH
Utah Valley has lost seven 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 five games this year where the team was tied or held a lead with under four minutes to play.

CRASHING THE BOARDS - UVU RANKS THIRD IN NATION ON DEFENSIVE GLASS
Utah Valley currently ranks third in the country in defensive rebounds per game, pulling down 30.58 boards per game on the defensive side. The Wolverines have pulled down 948 defensive boards this season. UVU has 1,220 total rebounds this season, an average of 39.4 per game, which ranks 25th nationally.

TEAM BREAKS ALL-TIME UVU SINGLE SEASON POINTS RECORD
This year's Utah Valley team has scored more points than any other UVU team in its history. The 2016-17 team has scored 2,388 points, breaking the previous record of 2,305 set by the 2011-12 UVU squad.

All-time UVU Single Season Points Chart
1.    2,388    2016-17 (31 games)
2.    2,305    2011-12 (33 games)
3.    2,280    2015-16 (30 games)
4.    2,276     2010-11 (30 games)
5.    2,161    2013-14 (32 games)

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 77.0 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.

All-time UVU Single Season Scoring Average Chart
1.    77.0    2016-17 (31 games)
2.    76.0    2015-16 (30 games)
3.    75.9    2010-11 (30 games)
4.    73.3    2003-04 (28 games)
5.    71.9    2006-07 (29 games)

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 15th-most in the country this season. His nine double-doubles ranks Neilson tied for 85th nationally in the category. The nine double doubles rank him tied for third in the WAC.

FREE-THROWIN'
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 13, Utah Valley is the 12th fastest team in the nation according to KenPom.com at 73.1 possessions per 40 minutes. Savannah State (80.7) is ranked as the No. 1 tempo team in the nation, followed by The Citadel (79.4) and Marshall (77.3) in third. The Wolverines are in 12th just ahead of UCLA (72.9) in 11th, St. John's (72.9) 12th and Quinnipiac (72.8) in 13th.

UVU BREAKS MULTIPLE TEAM RECORDS FROM LONG RANGE
Utah Valley knocked down seven threes in its win over Seattle U on March 4 to break the all-time single season UVU record for threes made. UVU now has 272 threes on the year, breaking the previous record of 256 set by last year's team. UVU has also broken the all-time UVU record for threes made in a single game with 18 made shots from beyond the arc at BYU on Nov. 26. 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.