Utah Valley (17-8, 6-3) vs. New Mexico State (22-3, 9-0)
Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018  |  7 p.m. MST
Orem, Utah  |  UCCU Center (7.500)
Complete Utah Valley Game Notes (PDF) | New Mexico State Game Notes (PDF)

GAME INFORMATION
TV: UVUtv/WAC Digital Network (Brandon Crow/Holton Hunsaker)
Live Video: WACsports.com/watch
Radio: ESPN 960 AM (Jim McCulloch)
Radio Webcast: espn960sports.com
Live Stats Link: UVU StatBroadcast
Tickets: NM State Game Tickets
 

---

OPENING TIP
Utah Valley went 1-1 on its two-game road swing last week with a 97-57 win at Chicago State and a 77-70 setback at Kansas City. UVU returns to the UCCU Center to host WAC leader New Mexico State on Thursday night. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. (MST)

 Kansas City knocked down 46.4 percent of its threes and 51.9 percent of its overall field goals, and Utah Valley could not overcome that hot shooting mark as it fell 77-70 at historic Municipal Auditorium on Saturday night. Despite the loss, UVU won the rebounding battle 32-29 and nearly doubled UMKC's points in the paint at 40-22. Utah Valley also scored 22 points off turnovers and outscored Kansas City's bench 29-17. Akolda Manyang finished just one rebound shy of a double-double as he scored 22 points and pulled down nine rebounds. Jake Toolson dropped in 11 points to go with three rebounds while Conner Toolson scored 10. Kenneth Ogbe was the final Wolverine in double figures with 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Randolph dished out a game high nine assists to go along with six points while Zach Nelson scored four points and grabbed three rebounds.

Utah Valley earned its 17th win of the season with a 97-57 victory at Chicago State last Thursday in the Windy City. The 17 wins matches last year's win total as the 2016-17 team finished the season with a 17-17 record. UVU has 17 wins with six regular season games remaining. The most wins in UVU's Division I era with a full Division I schedule came during the 2006-07 season when the team won 22 games.

Utah Valley is tied for the 11th-longest current home win streak in the nation at 10 games. Cincinnati holds the nation's longest current home win streak at 39 games, followed by Vermont at 21 games and South Dakota State at 18 games in a row.

Utah Valley has five players averaging double figures. Akolda Manyang leads the team in scoring at 14.0 points per game. Kenneth Ogbe ranks second on the team at 13.3 points per game. Conner Toolson is third at 12.2 points a contest. Jake Toolson averages 11.9 points, followed by Brandon Randolph at 10.6.

Utah Valley graduate forward Zach Nelson is closing in on the 1,000-point mark. Nelson currently has 963 points and is just 37 points shy of reaching the milestone. Nelson will become just the seventh player in UVU history to reach the mark. Nelson will become the first player in UVU history to score 1,000 points, pull down 500 or more rebounds and dish out 200 or more assists.
 
Utah Valley has played five teams that won their conference tournaments last season and made trips to the NCAA Tournament, including Kentucky (SEC Tournament), Duke (ACC Tournament), UC Davis (Big West Tournament), North Dakota (Big Sky Tournament), and New Mexico State (WAC Tournament). The Wolverines went 2-3 with wins over UC Davis and North Dakota.

UVU opened the season with what might just be the toughest 24 hours ever played in college basketball history as the Wolverines took on No. 4/5 Kentucky and No. 1 Duke on back-to-back nights to open the season. The Wolverines dropped a 73-63 decision at Kentucky before falling 99-69 at Duke. UVU has since won 15 of 18 games since the loss at Duke.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Thursday's game against New Mexico State will be broadcast live on The WAC Digital Network at www.WACsports.com/watch. Brandon Crow and Holton Hunsaker will be on the call for the WDN game. The WDN is also available on numerous media platforms, including Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, and Amazon Fire TV. The game will also be available on the air waves at ESPN 960 AM radio with Jim McCulloch handling the play-by-play duties. A live audio 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
WAC leader New Mexico State enters Thursday night's game with a 22-3 overall record and a perfect 9-0 mark in league play. The team has won 11 games in a row dating back to a 65-60 win at UC Irvine on Dec. 28. The Aggies wrapped up a four-game home stand last week with wins over CSU Bakersfield and Grand Canyon. The team is receiving 66 votes in the latest AP Top-25 Poll released on Feb. 12. The Aggies are on the verge of breaking into the Top-25. NM State is ranked second in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 poll. Graduate guard Zach Lofton leads the team in scoring at 20.0 points per game. Lofton is also pulling down 4.9 rebounds and dishing out 1.7 assists per game. Lofton's 20.0 points per game average ranks second among grad transfers in the nation. Senior forward Jemerrio Jones leads the team on the boards, pulling down a WAC-best 12.7 rebounds per game. NM State averages 74.5 points per game while limiting opponents to a 61.7 points per game average.  

SERIES HISTORY VS. NEW MEXICO STATE
Utah Valley and New Mexico State meet up on the basketball hardwood for the 10th time on Thursday night. NM State holds a 7-2 all-time advantage in the series dating back to 2014. The two teams split the two-game WAC series last year with each team winning on the road. NM State holds an all-time 3-1 advantage in games played at the UCCU Center. UVU's lone win over the Aggies at the UCCU Center was a 66-61 win on Feb. 27, 2014, which helped the Wolverines claim their lone WAC title.

All-Time Results vs. NM State (NMSU leads 7-2)
Jan. 20, 2018    New Mexico State def. Utah Valley, 86-59        Las Cruces, N.M.
Feb. 23, 2017    Utah Valley def. New Mexico State, 84-72        Las Cruces, N.M.
Jan. 28, 2017    New Mexico State def. Utah Valley, 74-69        Orem, Utah
Feb. 06, 2016    New Mexico State def. Utah Valley, 98-74        Las Cruces, N.M.
Jan. 07, 2016    New Mexico State def. Utah Valley, 78-66        Orem, Utah
Feb. 19, 2015    New Mexico State def. Utah Valley, 51-38        Orem, Utah
Jan. 24, 2015    New Mexico State def. Utah Valley, 69-44        Las Cruces, N.M.
Feb. 27, 2014    Utah Valley def. New Mexico State, 66-61        Orem, Utah
Feb. 01, 2014    New Mexico State def. Utah Valley, 72-49        Las Cruces, N.M.