UTAH VALLEY HOSTS IN-STATE RIVAL WEBER STATE ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT UCCU CENTER
Utah Valley returns home from a three-game road swing to host in-state rival Weber State on Wednesday night at the UCCU Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. (MT)

The Wolverines have played five of their last six games on the road, traveling nearly 9,000 miles through the air in the process. The Wolverines have dropped two straight with setbacks at Mount St. Mary's and Colorado State. UVU's last win was a 68-62 over reigning Summit League Tournament champion North Dakota State on Nov. 23 in Fargo.

UVU most recently dropped a 92-61 decision at Colorado State on Sunday afternoon. Casdon Jardine tied a career high with five shots from beyond the arc and finished with a team-high 15 points in the loss at Colorado State. Jamison Overton was also in double figures with 10 points.

As of Dec. 3, Utah Valley ranks second in the nation in blocks with 54. The Wolverines also rank 14th nationally in blocks per game at 6.0 a contest. Individually, Emmanuel Olojakpoke is eighth nationally with 26 blocks. He also ranks 12th in blocks per game at 2.89.

Senior guard TJ Washington leads the Wolverines in scoring at 15.4 points, which ranks sixth in the WAC. Junior guard Brandon Averette follows closely behind at 14.0 points a game. Brandon Morely ranks fourth in the league in rebounding at 6.6 boards a game, while Emmanuel Olojakpoke leads the WAC and ranks second seventh in the nation with 26 blocks this season.

With its loss to Lamar at the UCCU Center on Nov. 21, Utah Valley's home win streak came to an end at eight games. The eight-game home win streak was the nation's 11th-longest home win streak in the nation at the time. UVU has won 33 of its last 36 games at the UCCU Center.

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
Wednesday night's game against Weber State will be broadcast live on UVUtv and the WAC Digital Network. Brandon Crow will be handling the play-by-play duties, while former UVU player Ben Aird will be on the color commentary. The WAC Digital Network is available at WACdigitalNetwork.com. The network is also available on Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, and Roku TV. UVU will also send the feed out on its YouTube channel. KSL TV will also stream the game on the KSL TV app. The game will also be broadcast over the radio waves as Jim McCulloch enters his 10th season as the Voice of the Wolverines. Josh Kallunki 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 WEBER STATE
Weber State enters Wednesday's game with a 1-5 overall record. The team is coming off three-straight losses at the Gulf Coast Showcase in Florida last week, falling to Wright State, Murray State, and Northeastern. Weber State's lone win this season was a 130-50 victory over West Coast Baptist on Nov. 19. The Wildcats are led by seniors Jerrick Harding and Cody John. Harding ranks fourth in the Big Sky Conference in scoring at 17.0 points per game. He is also sixth in the conference in free throw shooting at an 83.3 percent mark. He ranks fourth all-time at WSU in scoring and is the Wildcats' career leader in free throw shooting. John is averaging 12.5 points a contest and is seventh in the Big Sky in three-point shooting at a 43.5 percent clip. He is just 40 points away from reaching 1,000 career points. Weber State is coached by Randy Rahe who is in his 14th season with the team. He has led WSU to five Big Sky titles and nine postseason tournament appearances, including three trips to the NCAA Tournament.

SERIES HISTORY VS. WEBER STATE
Utah Valley (4-5) and Weber State (1-5) will meet up on the basketball hardwood for the 13th time on Wednesday night at the UCCU Center. The all-time series is tied at 6-6. The Wolverines are seeking their third-straight win over the in-state rival. UVU picked up the first-ever road win in the series last season with a 75-63 victory in Ogden. Prior to UVU's win last season, neither team had ever won a game on the opposing team's home floor. The Wolverines have won two straight, including three of the last four and four of the last six. The last time the two teams met up in Orem was on Dec. 6, 2017 with Utah Valley taking the 83-56 win at the UCCU Center. The Wolverines hold a perfect 5-0 record against the Wildcats in Orem.

All-Time Results vs. Weber State (Series Tied, 6-6)
Nov. 19, 2004    Weber State def. Utah Valley, 59-51        Ogden, Utah
Dec. 20, 2004    Utah Valley def. Weber State, 71-58        Orem, Utah
Dec. 06, 2005    Utah Valley def. Weber State, 68-49        Orem, Utah
Dec. 28, 2005    Weber State def. Utah Valley, 69-62        Ogden, Utah
Mar. 13, 2012    Weber State def. Utah Valley, 72-69        Ogden, Utah
Dec. 05, 2012    Weber State def. Utah Valley, 89-56        Ogden, Utah
Dec. 11, 2013    Utah Valley def. Weber State, 62-59        Orem, Utah
Dec. 20, 2014    Weber State def. Utah Valley, 73-61        Ogden, Utah
Dec. 09, 2015    Utah Valley def. Weber State, 84-81        Orem, Utah
Dec. 17, 2016    Weber State def. Utah Valley, 93-85        Ogden, Utah
Dec. 06, 2017    Utah Valley def. Weber State, 83-56        Orem, Utah
Dec. 15, 2018    Utah Valley def. Weber State, 75-63        Ogden, Utah

THE FRIENDLY SKIES
The Wolverines have played six of their nine games on the road this season. During those nine games, UVU has traveled an estimated 9,500 miles through the air in just 25 days. The Wolverines will travel an estimated 22,000 miles through the friendly skies this season.

UTAH VALLEY WINS SUMMIT LEAGUE/WAC CHALLENGE GAME FOR SECOND-STRAIGHT SEASON
With its 68-62 win at North Dakota State on Nov. 23, Utah Valley claimed a win in the Summit League/WAC Challenge for a second straight season. Utah Valley defeated Denver in last season's Summit League/WAC Challenge matchup. The WAC won the first-ever Summit League/WAC Challenge by finishing with a 6-3 record against the Summit League last season. The Summit League leads this season's Challenge, 3-2.

UVU RANKS SECOND NATIONALLY IN BLOCKS
As of Dec. 3, Utah Valley ranks second in the nation in blocks with 54. The Wolverines also rank 14th nationally in blocks per game at 6.0 a contest. Individually, Emmanuel Olojakpoke is eighth nationally with 26 blocks. He also ranks 12th in blocks per game at 2.89.