UTAH VALLEY FACES KENTUCKY IN LEXINGTON ON ESPN2
Fresh off a 66-55 win at UAB on Thursday night, Utah Valley continues BBN Showcase play at Kentucky on Monday night at Rupp Arena in Lexington. The game will tip-off at 5 p.m. (MT) and will be broadcast to a national audience on ESPN2.

TJ Washington and Brandon Averette combined for 37 points as Utah Valley surged past UAB on the road, 66-55, to kick off the BBN Showcase on Thursday night in Birmingham, Alabama. The Wolverines improved to 3-1 on the season, handing the Blazers their first loss on the year. The Wolverines made a season-high 10 shots from deep at a 43.5 percent clip and held the Blazers to just 2-of-10 from beyond the arc.

Utah Valley leads the nation in blocks with 34. The Wolverines also rank third in blocks per game at 8.5 a contest. Individually, Emmanuel Olojakpoke ranks third nationally with 14 blocks and 16th in blocks per game at 3.5 a game.

The Wolverines currently hold the 10th-best active home win streak in the nation at eight games. The team will look to extend its win streak against Lamar on Nov. 21. Tennessee holds the nation's longest active home win streak at 28 games.

Utah Valley returns just two starters and letterwinners from last year's squad that finished the season with a school-record 25 wins and a third-straight appearance at the College Basketball Invitational. Returning starters Isaiah White and TJ Washington are back after combining to score an average of 16.2 points per game last season. The Wolverines return just 21 percent of its scoring from a season ago.

Utah Valley welcomes 11 new players to its roster this season, including Brandon Averette, Casdon Jardine, and Cavit Ege Havsa, who each had to sit out last season due to NCAA transfer rules. The Wolverines have added five new transfers (JJ Overton, Emmanuel Olojakpoke, Brandon Morley, Jacob Heese, Trey Woodbury) to this year's roster. Fardaws Aimaq (Mercer) also joins the team but will have to sit out and redshirt this season. UVU welcomes two true freshmen to the team in Travis Wagstaff and Lewis Johnson.

Junior transfer guard Brandon Averette earned preseason all-WAC second team honors by the media. Averette spent his freshman and sophomore seasons at Oklahoma State where he played in 69 games over his two seasons with the Cowboys. He played in 36 games and made six starts for OSU during the 2017-18 season, leading the Cowboys in total assists (104) and assists per game (2.9). He also averaged 19.9 minutes, 6.3 points, 2.9 assists, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.6 steals per game during the 2017-18 season.

Mark Madsen enters his first season as the head coach of the Wolverines. The two-time NBA champion, former Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach, and former Stanford University basketball star makes his debut season as a head coach. He is just the third head coach in UVU's Division I history. Madsen takes over the Utah Valley program after serving the past six seasons as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers. He was a two-time NBA champion as a player with the Lakers (2001 and 2002), and he played for the Minnesota Timberwolves for six seasons.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Monday night's game at Kentucky will be broadcast live on ESPN2. Tom Hart and Jimmy Dykes will be on the call for the ESPN2 broadcast. The game will also be broadcast over the radio waves as Jim McCulloch enters his 10th season as the Voice of the Wolverines. Former Wolverine Holton Hunsaker will be handling the color commentary duties on the radio. The radio broadcast will be aired live on ESPN 960AM radio. A live stream of the radio broadcast will also be available at ESPN960Sports.com.

ABOUT KENTUCKY
Kentucky enters Monday night's game with a 2-1 overall record. The Wildcats opened the season with a 69-62 win over top-ranked Michigan State before downing Eastern Kentucky, 91.49. Prior to the loss to Evansville, UK had won 52 games in a row against unranked opponents at home. The team then fell at home to Evansville, 67.64 on Tuesday, Nov. 12. The Wildcats were picked to win the SEC this season by the league's media. The team has three players averaging double figures led by preseason second team all-SEC honoree Tyrese Maxey at 16.7 points per game. Immanuel Quickley and Nick Richards also average double figures at 14.0 and 11.3 points per game, respectively. The Wildcats are averaging 74.7 points per game while limiting opponents to a 59.3 points per game average.

SERIES HISTORY VS. KENTUCKY
Monday night's matchup between Utah Valley and Kentucky will mark just the second time the two teams have met on the basketball hardwood. Kentucky won the only meeting between the two schools, 73-63, on Nov. 10. 2017 at Rupp Arena.

LAST TIME VS. KENTUCKY (UK 73, UVU 63 - Rupp Arena - Lexington, Kentucky)
LEXINGTON--Utah Valley University made a run at No. 4/5 Kentucky before eventually falling, 73-63, on the opening night of the college basketball season on Nov. 10, 2017 at historic Rupp Arena. UVU then headed to Durham, North Carolina for the second half what was dubbed the toughest 24 hours in college basketball history to face top-ranked Duke the following night.
 
The Wolverines (0-1) led by as much as 12 points in the second half, when Kenneth Ogbe converted on a three-point play with a dunk and a free throw, but the Wildcats (1-0) took control of the game on the strength of an 18-0 run. The run turned a 37-25 UVU lead into a 43-37 advantage for Kentucky.

Ogbe led a balanced scoring attack with 12 points while Jake Toolson added 11 points and three others chipped in 10. Akolda Manyang blocked five shots to go along with six points and six rebounds while Isaac Neilson scored 10 points and grabbed eight boards, as Utah Valley out-rebounded Kentucky, 38-37. Conner Toolson and Brandon Randolph also scored 10 points apiece, while Randolph dished out seven assists.
 
Hamidou Diallo led all scorers with 18 points while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 13. Wenyen Gabriel finished with a game-high 13 rebounds, six coming on the offensive glass.

In the first half, Randolph found Neilson for a lay-up that gave UVU an 18-14 advantage before Kentucky responded with nine straight points. The Wolverines answered that with nine straight behind the play of Ben Nakwaasah, who scored a lay-up, found Ogbe for a three, and hit a pair from the line to put Utah Valley back in front, 25-23.
 
Randolph capped the run with a bucket and later scored the final bucket of the half on a 3-pointer that gave the Wolverine a 34-25 lead at the break. The Wolverines were plus-nine on the glass in the first half, outrebounding Kentucky, 25-16.
 
Out of halftime, Manyang blocked an attempt by Nick Richards on the defensive end before Ogbe went back door and took a Jake Toolson feed for a dunk before converting the free throw that gave UVU its biggest lead before the pivotal run by the Wildcats.
 
Despite falling behind by 14 on two different occasions, Utah Valley was able to get as close as six, 69-63, with 15 seconds remaining on a Jake Toolson steal and a Randolph lay-up. The Wildcats hit four free throws over the final seconds to extend it back to 10.
 
Both teams finished with 34 points in the paint while the Wildcats were able to turn 20 UVU turnovers into 23 points, finishing plus-seven in that category.

UTAH VALLEY PICKS UP ROAD WIN AT UAB, 66-55
TJ Washington and Brandon Averette combined for 37 points as Utah Valley surged past UAB on the road, 66-55, to kick off the BBN Showcase. The Wolverines improved to 3-1 on the season, handing the Blazers their first loss on the year.
 
"I'm really proud of how everyone played. When Isaiah White went down, guys were telling him that they had his back and coming back from a close loss, they knew they would have to step up," said Utah Valley head coach Mark Madsen. "Averette stepped up in front of a bunch of family members and our guards responded and made big plays."
 
Utah Valley took an early 7-4 lead over the first four minutes, but the Blazers responded with a 17-5 run to take a 21-12 advantage with 5:34 to go in the opening half. Jamison Overton scored the next six points for the Wolverines to spark a 13-5 run to cut the deficit to a single point. UAB scored the final four points of the half to take a 30-25 lead into the half.
 
After a bucket by Overton, the Wolverines used a barrage of three pointers from Washington, Averette, and Casdon Jardin to take a 42-39 lead with 10:46 to go in the game. After briefly surrendering the lead, UVU took command of the game, outscoring UAB 24-13 over the final nine minutes to secure their first road win of the year, 66-55. The win also secures coach Madsen his first win over a Division I opponent as coach at Utah Valley.
 
The Wolverines made a season-high 10 shots from deep at a 43.5 percent clip and held the Blazers to just 2-of-10 from beyond the arc. Utah Valley finished the game 23-of-52 from the field and outrebounded UAB 34-33. The Wolverines also finished with six blocks, giving them a nation-leading 34 blocks on the season.
 
Washington paced the Wolverines with 19 points, connecting on three shots from deep and all four of his free throws. Washington also added six rebounds and three steals. Three other Wolverines scored in double figures as Averette added 18 points, Jardine pumped in 14 points, and Overton finished with 11 points. Brandon Morley led UVU with 10 rebounds and Emmanuel Olojakpke swatted a team-leading three shots. Cavit Ege Havsa led the Wolverines with four assists.

UVU LEADS NATION IN BLOCKS
As of Nov. 17, Utah Valley leads the nation with 34 blocks this season. The Wolverines also rank third in the nation in blocks per game at 8.5 a game. Emmanuel Olojakpoke ranks third nationally with 14 blocks. He also ranks 16th in the nation in blocks per game at 3.5 a contest. Brandon Moreley ranks 26th in the nation with nine blocks.

National Block Leaders
1.      34    Utah Valley
T2.    26    Bethune-Cookman
T2.    26    Stony Brook
T4.    25    Harvard
T4.    25    Lamar
6.      24    FIU
T7.    23    South Alabama
T7.    23    UNC Greensboro
T7.    23    Auburn
T7.    23    Central Arkansas
T7.    23    Marshall    

BBN SHOWCASE
Utah Valley's win at UAB was its first of four games to be played as part of the BBN Showcase, which is a multi-team event. UVU will also play at Kentucky (Nov. 18), at home against Lamar (Nov. 21), and at Mount St. Mary's (Nov. 26).

UVU VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
Monday night's game will mark the 10th time that Utah Valley has faced a nationally-ranked opponent. The Wolverines are 0-9 in games against ranked teams. The last time UVU faced a ranked team was in 2017 when the Wolverines took on No. 1 Duke on Nov. 11, 2017. UVU dropped the game by a score of 99-69. It also marked the first time UVU has ever played the No. 1 ranked team in the country. UVU's closest game against a ranked opponent was the 73-63 loss at No 4/5 Kentucky on Nov. 10, 2017.

BLOCK PARTY
Utah Valley's 11 blocks in its 72-55 win over Westminster is the second-most blocks in a single game in UVU history. Brandon Morley and Emmanuel Olojakpoke each had five blocks, which ranks 10th on the UVU individual single game record charts. The 11 blocks are the most blocks in a single game since UVU recorded 11 blocks in a win over Chicago State on Jan. 12, 2017. The all-time UVU single game record for blocks is 12 set by the 2012-13 team in a win over NJIT on Jan. 5, 2013.

UVU HOLDS NATIONS'S 10TH-BEST ACTIVE HOME WIN STREAK IN THE NATION
As of Nov. 17, Utah Valley currently holds the 10th-longest active home win streak in the nation at eight games. The Wolverines will look to extend their win streak against Lamar in the team's next home game on Nov. 21. Tennessee holds the nation's longest active home win streak at 28 games.

THREE-POINT STREAKING
Utah Valley has now hit a three-point field goal in 136 straight games. The last time UVU played in a game without hitting a shot from beyond the arc was on Feb. 7, 2015 at Seattle U.