Utah Valley (17-7, 6-2) at Kansas City (7-19, 2-7)
Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018  |  6 p.m. MST
Kansas City, Mo.    |   Municipal Auditorium (9.827)
Complete Utah Valley Game Notes (PDF)

GAME INFORMATION
TV: WAC Digital Network
Live Video: WACsports.com/watch
Radio: ESPN 960 AM (Jim McCulloch/Jason Erickson)
Radio Webcast: espn960sports.com
Live Stats Link: UMKCstats.com
 

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OPENING TIP
Utah Valley took back sole possession of second place in the Western Athletic Conference standings with its 97-57 win at Chicago State on Thursday night. The Wolverines now close out a three-game road swing with a matchup against Kansas City on Saturday night at historic Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City.

Utah Valley raced past Chicago State University, 97-57, on Thursday at Jones Convocation Center in the Windy City. The win, combined with UTRGV's win over Grand Canyon, puts the Wolverines back in second place in the Western Athletic Conference standings. The Wolverines hit a scorching 57.4 percent from the floor, a team season-high in WAC play. Conner Toolson and Kenneth Ogbe shared game highs of 18 points with both players going 4-for-7 from beyond the arc. Jake Toolson added 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting and also hauled in seven boards and dished out four assists. Akolda Manyang notched a double-double with 15 points and a game-high 11 rebounds and also added three blocks, while Ben Nakwaasah scored 10 to round out the Wolverines in double figures.

Utah Valley earned its 17th win of the season with a 97-57 victory at Chicago State on Thursday night. 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 10th-longest current home win streak in the nation at 10 games. Cincinnati holds the nation's longest current home win streak at 38 games, followed by Vermont at 20 games and South Dakota State at 18 games in a row.

All five of Utah Valley's starters are averaging double figures. Akolda Manyang leads the team in scoring at 13.6 points per game. Kenneth Ogbe ranks second on the team at 13.4 points per game. Conner Toolson is third at 12.3 points a contest. Jake Toolson averages 12.0 points, followed by Brandon Randolph at 10.8.

Utah Valley graduate forward Zach Nelson is closing in on the 1,000-point mark. Nelson currently has 959 points and is just 41 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
Saturday's game at Kansas City will be broadcast live on The WAC Digital Network at www.WACsports.com/watch. 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 KANSAS CITY
Kansas City enters Saturday night's game with a 7-19 overall record. UMKC defeated Seattle U, 74-67, on Thursday night to snap a five-game losing streak and up its record to 2-7 in WAC play. The 'Roos only other league win was a 62-59 win over Bakersfield back on Jan. 18. UMKC holds a 4-8 record at home this season. Sophomore guard Xavier Bishop and sophomore forward Jordan Giles each scored 18 points, while freshman guard Brandon McKissic and sophomore guard Isaiah Ross each helped with 11 in the win over Seattle U on Thursday night. Bishop leads the 'Roos in scoring this season at 12.3 points a game. Senior guard Broderick Robinson and Ross are also averaging double figures at 11.3 and 10.7 points per game, respectively. As a team, UMKC is averaging 69.3 points per game while allowing opponents a 76.8 points per game average. The 'Roos are averaging nearly nine three-pointers per game.

SERIES HISTORY VS. KANSAS CITY
Utah Valley and Kansas City meet up on the basketball hardwood for the 18th time on Saturday night. UVU holds a 10-7 all-time advantage in the series dating back to 2005. The two teams split the two-game WAC series last year with each team winning on its home floor. UVU has won two of the last three contests, including an 95-59 win on Jan. 11 in Orem. UMKC holds a 5-3 advantage in games played in Kansas City.

Last Five Results vs. Kansas City (UVU leads 10-7)
Jan 11, 2018    Utah Valley def. Kansas City, 95-59    Orem, Utah
Feb. 09, 2017    Kansas City def. Utah Valley, 84-76    Kansas City, Missouri
Jan. 14, 2017    Utah Valley def. Kansas City, 86-76    Orem, Utah
Mar. 10, 2016    Kansas City def. Utah Valley, 80-78    Las Vegas (WAC Tournament)
Feb. 20, 2016    Utah Valley def. Kansas City, 79-70    Orem, Utah