Utah Valley (23-10) at San Francisco (19-15)
Monday, March 19, 2018  |  8:00 p.m. MST
San Francisco, Calif.  |  War Memorial at the Sobrato Center (3,612)
Complete Utah Valley Game Notes (PDF)

GAME INFORMATION
Live Video: TheW.tv
Radio: ESPN 960 AM (Jim McCulloch/Clint Burgi)
Radio Webcast: espn960sports.com
Live Stats Link: USFstats.com
 

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OPENING TIP
For a second straight season, UVU accepted a bid to play in the College Basketball Invitational and has already advanced to the quarterfinal round with an 87-65 win over Eastern Washington in the first round on March 13 at the UCCU Center. The Wolverines now travel to the city by the bay to take on San Francisco on Tuesday night at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. MT

UVU is making its fourth appearance at a national postseason tournament. It marks the team's second straight appearance at the College Basketball Invitational as the Wolverines made a run to the Final Four of the tournament last season after picking up the school's first-ever post season national tournament victories with road wins at Georgia Southern and Rice in 2017.

Utah Valley went 1-1 at the WAC Tournament, March 8-9, in Las Vegas, defeating CSU Bakersfield, 81-74, in the quarterfinals before falling to Grand Canyon, 75-60, in the semifinals.

Five UVU players earned WAC postseason honors. Kenneth Ogbe was named to the All-WAC first team, while Conner Toolson and Brandon Randolph earned second team All-WAC honors. Akolda Manyang was named to the WAC's All-Defensive team and Jake Toolson was named to the WAC All-Newcomer team. Manyang was also named to the USBWA All-District team, becoming only the second player in UVU history to earn the distinction. NBA journeyman Ronnie Price is the only other UVU player to earn USBWA All-District honors (2004-05).

With its win over Eastern Washington on March 13, Utah Valley recorded its 23rd win of the season, the most wins ever recorded in a single season in UVU history. It is the highest win total of head coach Mark Pope's tenure at UVU, improving upon last season's win total of 17. It marks the fifth time in school history that a team has won 20 or more games. The last time UVU won at least 20 games was during the 2013-14 season when the Wolverines finished the season with a 20-12 record. The 23-win mark surpasses the 2006-07 team that won 22 games.

Utah Valley holds the fourth-longest current home win streak in the nation at 14 games. South Dakota State holds the nation's longest current home win streak at 20 games, followed by the College of Charleston at 16 games in a row. Utah Valley holds a school-record 16-1 mark at the UCCU Center this season, surpassing the previous school record of 14-1 set by the 2006-07 team.

Utah Valley has five players averaging double figures. Kenneth Ogbe leads the team in scoring at 13.3 points per game. Akolda Manyang  is second on the team at 13.2 points per game, while Conner Toolson is third on the team at 12.3 points per game. Jake Toolson averages 11.2 points, followed by Brandon Randolph at 10.6.

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 21 of its 28 games since the loss at Duke.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Monday night's College Basketball Invitational quarterfinal game at San Francisco will be broadcast live on the TheW.tv. Pat Olson and Jim Brovelli will be on the call. The game will also be available on the air waves at ESPN 960 AM radio with Jim McCulloch and Clint Burgi handling the action. 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 SAN FRANCISCO
San Francisco enters Monday night's CBI quarterfinal game with a 19-15 overall record. The Dons tied for fourth place in the West Coast Conference with San Diego and Pacific this season with a 9-9 league mark. This year's appearance in the CBI marks the 26th time that USF has participated in a postseason national tournament. The team holds two national titles to its name (1955 and 56) and one NIT championship (1949). It is the third time in program history that the Dons have played in the CBI (2012, 2017). Last year, USF dropped a first round CBI game at Rice, 85-76. UVU would move on to defeat Rice, 85-79, in the quarterfinals before falling at Wyoming in a Final Four game. USF went 1-1 at this year's WCC Tournament in Las Vegas, defeating Pacific, 71-70, in overtime before falling to top-seeded Gonzaga, 80-66, in the semifinals. The Dons picked up a 72-68 win over Colgate on March 14 to advance to Monday night's quarterfinal game against Utah Valley. The win over Colgate is the Dons first postseason tournament win since Mar. 19, 2011 when the Dons defeated Hawaii 77-74 in the second round of the CIT. The Dons' bench accounted for 32 of USF's 72 points in the win over Colgate, 26 of them coming from freshman guard Souley Boum who matched his career-high.  Boum leads the Dons in scoring at 11.6 points per game. Junior guard Frankie Ferrari also averages double figures at 11.1 points a contest. As a team, USF is averaging 68.8 points per game while limiting opponents to a 68.4 points per game average.

SERIES HISTORY VS. SAN FRANCISCO
Utah Valley and San Francisco meet up on the basketball hardwood for the third time on Monday night with the series tied at one game apiece. Utah Valley won the last meeting, 73-61, on Dec. 31, 2007 in Orem. USF won the other game, 69-64, in California on Nov. 28, 2007.

All-Time Results vs. San Francisco (Series tied, 1-1)
Dec. 31, 2007    Utah Valley def. San Francisco, 73-61    Orem, Utah
Nov. 28, 2007    San Francisco def. Utah Valley, 69-64    San Francisco, Calif.

LAST TIME VS. SAN FRANCISCO (Dec. 31, 2007 in Orem, Utah)
A Utah Valley run late in the first half that carried over into the second led the Wolverines to a 73-61 victory over the University of San Francisco on Dec. 31, 2007 in Orem, Utah.

UV shot 48 percent from behind the three-point line while hitting a school-record 13 three-pointers. Ryan Toolson tied a then school record, previously set by him, with seven three-pointers. Toolson finished with a game-high 31 points on 10-of-17 shooting. Jordan Brady scored 10 and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds. USF (4-10) was led by Dior Lowhorn's 19 points.

"This was a game with two teams that needed a win," UVU head coach Dick Hunsaker said. "I am pleased with our effort. The effort and energy was spread throughout the team. San Francisco is a tough team. They have good athletes and are in a transition period right now."

The game was even in the early going with each team shooting well in the first five minutes. A jumper by USF's Dior Lowhorn gave the Dons a 15-13 advantage with 13:54 remaining in the first half.

Down 28-25 with 4:13 remaining in the half, the Wolverines closed the half on a 15-5 run capped by a Josh Olsen steal and coast-to-coast driving layup to give UVU a 40-33 halftime advantage.

UVU started the second half like it finished the first, extending the lead to double figures at 50-39 on a Jordan Swarbrick lay up with 15:13 left in the game. Later an Olsen three-pointer gave the Wolverines a game-high advantage of 18 points at 60-42. The Wolverines and Dons traded runs over the final eight minutes with UVU maintaining a double-digit lead throughout the final minutes of the game. Toolson's three-pointer with 4:43 remaining in the game set the team and individual three-point records.

"(Utah Valley) is a really excellent shooting basketball team," USF head coach Eddie Sutton said. "They are one of the best shooting teams I've seen in quite some time."

UVU MAKES FOURTH APPEARANCE IN A NATIONAL POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT
The bid to play in the College Invitational Tournament marks Utah Valley's fourth appearance in a postseason national tournament and second straight appearance at the CBI. The Wolverines played in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) against California in 2014 and in the CollegeInisder.com Tournament against Weber State in 2012. UVU picked up its first-ever national postseason wins last year with victories over Georgia Southern and Rice en route to a loss at eventual champion Wyoming in the CBI Final Four. Tuesday night's first round CBI game marked the first national postseason tournament home game in UVU history.

All-Time Results in Postseason National Tournaments (3-3)
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.
March 15, 2017    College Basketball Invitational    Utah Valley def. Georgia Southern, 74-49    Statesboro, Georgia
March 20, 2017    College Basketball Invitational    Utah Valley def. Rice, 85-79    Houston, Texas
March 22, 2017    College Basketball Invitational    Wyoming def. Utah Valley, 74-68    Laramie, Wyoming
March 13, 2018    College Basketball Invitational    Utah Valley def. Eastern Washington, 87-65    Orem, Utah

ZACH NELSON BECOMES SEVENTH PLAYER IN UVU HISTORY TO REACH 1,000 POINTS
Utah Valley graduate forward Zach Nelson became the seventh player in UVU history to reach the 1,000-point mark. Nelson reached the milestone in the 38th minute of UVU's game against Eastern Washington in the first round of the CBI. Nelson is the first player in UVU history to score 1,000 points, pull down 500 or more rebounds and dish out 200 or more assists as he currently has 588 rebounds and 246 assists. He is the second player in UVU history to score 1,000 points and pull down 500 rebounds. Ben Aird is the only other player to score 1,000 points and pull down at least 500 rebounds as he scored 1,516 points and pulled down 1,012 rebounds.

UVU 1,000 Point Club
1.    2,163    Ryan Toolson (03-04, 06-09)
2.    1,545    Holton Hunsaker (2010-14)
3.    1,516    Ben Aird (2010-14)
4.    1,245    Ronnie Price (2003-05)
5.    1,078    David Heck (2003-07)
6.    1,066    Isiah Williams (2010-12)
7.    1,001    Zach Nelson (2013-18)

WOLVERINES BREAK UVU SINGLE SEASON WINS RECORD
With its 87-65 win over Eastern Washington in the first round of the CBI, Utah Valley won its 23rd game of the season. The 23 victories are the most wins ever recorded in a season by a UVU team. The 2003-04 team won 23 games but only six of those wins were against Division I opponents. UVU played its first full Division I schedule during the 2004-05 season.

Most Wins in a Single Season
1.    23    2017-18
2.    22    2006-07
3.    20    2011-12
       20    2013-14
5.    19    2010-11
6.    17    2008-09
       17    2016-17

UVU RECORDS FIRST 20-WIN SEASON SINCE 2013-14
Utah Valley won its 20th game of the season on Feb. 22 to become the fifth UVU team in the Division I era to win 20 or more games in a single season.  The last 20-win season came during the 2013-14 campaign when the team went 20-12 overall and finished 13-3 in WAC play for the team's first-ever WAC title. The 2013-14 team also made a trip the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) where it dropped a 77-64 decision at Cal. UVU has matched the 2006-07 UVU team for the  most wins in a season.

20-Win Seasons in UVU History
1.    22-7          2006-07
3.    20-13        2011-12  (CIT Tournament)
4.    20-12        2013-14  (NIT Tournament)
5.    23-10        2017-18 (CBI Tournament)