UVU OPENS WAC PLAY IN THE WINDY CITY ON THURSDAY NIGHT
Utah Valley travels to the Windy City this week to open Western Athletic Conference play against Chicago State on Thursday, Jan. 2. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. (MT). The team will then continue WAC road play at Kansas City on Saturday.

Utah Valley has played nine of its last 12 games on the road, traveling over 10,000 miles through the air in the process. The Wolverines have played 10 of their 15 games on the road this year. UVU will open WAC play with three straight road games at Chicago State, Kansas City, and Seattle U.

Utah Valley wrapped up non-conference play with an 80-65 win against Antelope Valley on Saturday at the UCCU Center. Brandon Averette scored a game-high 19 points and TJ Washington added 16 more in the win. Isaiah White and Casdon Jardine were also in double figures with 15 and 14 points, respectively. White led the Wolverines with nine rebounds. As a team, UVU shot 51 percent from the field while holding Antelope Valley to a 38 percent clip. The Wolverines, who rank second in the nation in blocks had four swats on the day.

As of Dec. 30, Utah Valley is tied for third nation in blocks with 86 swats. The Wolverines also rank 15th nationally in blocks per game at 5.7 a contest. Individually, Emmanuel Olojakpoke ranks seventh nationally with 42 blocks. He also ranks 17th in blocks per game at 2.8. With 42 blocks already this season, Olojakpoke is on track to break the all-time UVU single season blocks record of 72 set by Akolda Manyang during the 2017-18 season.

Junior forward Isaiah White leads the Wolverines in scoring at 16.3 points per game, which ranks third in the WAC. Senior guard TJ Washington is second at 13.5 points a game, followed by Brandon Averette at 12.9 and Casdon Jardine at 10.8. White also leads the team on the boards at 9.1 rebounds per game, while Emmanuel Olojakpoke leads the WAC and ranks seventh in the nation with 42 blocks this 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
Thursday's game at Chicago State will be broadcast live on the WAC Digital Network. 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. The game will also be broadcast over the radio waves as Jim McCulloch enters his 10th season as the Voice of the Wolverines. Jason Erickson 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 CHICAGO STATE
Chicago State enters Thursday's game with a 4-11 overall record. The Cougars have dropped five straight, including a 91-33 loss at Missouri on Monday night. Chicago State's last victory was an 89-81 win at Southern Illinois Edwardsville on Dec. 4. Three of CSU's four wins this season have come at home where the Cougars hold a 3-3 record. Junior guard Xavier Johnson leads the team in scoring at 17.7 points per game. Junior guard Andrew Lewis also averages double figures at 12.7 points a game. Junior forward Jace Olley leads the team on the boards, pulling down 5.2 rebounds per game. As a team, Chicago State averages 66.0 points a game while allowing opponents an 83.5 points per game average. Chicago State has not won a regular season WAC game since March 3, 2018 when the Cougars defeated Kansas City, 96-82, in Chicago. Prior to the win over Kansas City, CSU's only other win in the last three seasons wasz a 70-61 win over UVU in Orem on Jan. 12, 2017.

SERIES HISTORY VS. CHICAGO STATE
Utah Valley and Chicago State meet up on the basketball hardwood for the 25th time on Thursday night. UVU holds an 19-5 all-time advantage in the series dating back to 2008. Utah Valley swept the season series last season, defeating the Cougars 74-60 in Chicago before taking a 103-71 victory in Orem. UVU holds an all-time 8-4 record against the Cougars in Chicago. The Wolverines have won five straight against the Cougars. UVU has won the last four matchups in the Windy City. Chicago State's last and lone win at the UCCU Center was a 70-61 victory in Orem on Jan. 12, 2017.

Last Five Results vs. Chicago State (UVU leads 18-5)
Feb. 21, 2019    Utah Valley def. Chicago State, 103-71    Orem
Jan. 26, 2019    Utah Valley def. Chicago State, 74-60    Chicago
Feb. 08, 2018    Utah Valley def. Chicago State, 97-57    Chicago
Jan. 13, 2018    Utah Valley def. Chicago State, 83-58    Orem
Feb. 11, 2017    Utah Valley def. Chicago State, 87-54    Chicago

UVU IN WAC OPENERS
Utah Valley holds an all-time 3-3 record in Western Athletic Conference openers. The Wolverines have dropped three of their last four WAC openers, including a 71-60 setback at Grand Canyon in last year's WAC opening game.

All-Time UVU WAC Openers
Jan. 03, 2019    Grand Canyon def. Utah Valley, 71-60           Phoenix, Ariz.
Jan. 06, 2018    Utah Valley def. CSU Bakersfield, 75-42        Orem, Utah
Jan. 07, 2017    Grand Canyon def. Utah Valley, 82-72           Phoenix, Ariz.
Jan. 07, 2016    New Mexico State def. Utah Valley, 78-66     Orem, Utah
Jan. 10, 2015    Utah Valley def. Seattle U, 70-52                   Orem, Utah
Jan. 11, 2014    Utah Valley def. CSU Bakersfield, 82-74        Bakersfield, Calif.

UP UP AND AWAY
The Wolverines have played 10 of their 15 games on the road this season. During those seven road games, UVU has traveled an estimated 10,000 miles through the air in just one month. The Wolverines will travel an roughly 22,000 miles through the friendly skies this season.

CLOSE CALLS
Utah Valley has played eight games this season that have been decided by six points or less. UVU won two of those games--a six-point 68-62 win at North Dakota State and a two-point 69-67 win at Wyoming.  The Wolverines have dropped six of its nine games this season by just six points or less. UVU has dropped four of its last six games by five points or less, including a three point loss at Mount St. Mary's, a five-point loss to Weber State, a one-point loss at Southern Utah, and a three-point loss at Long Beach State.

UVU TIED FOR THIRD NATIONALLY IN BLOCKS
As of Dec. 30, Utah Valley is tied for third nation in blocks with 86 swats. The Wolverines also rank 15th nationally in blocks per game at 5.7 a contest. Individually, Emmanuel Olojakpoke ranks seventh nationally with 42 blocks. He also ranks 17th in blocks per game at 2.8. With 42 blocks already this season, Olojakpoke is on track to break the all-time UVU single season blocks record of 72 set by Akolda Manyang during the 2017-18 season.