UTAH VALLEY HOSTS CHICAGO STATE ON THURSDAY NIGHT AT UCCU CENTER
After splitting a pair of road games in the southwest last week, Utah Valley returns home to take on Chicago State and Kansas State this week at the UCCU Center. The Wolverines take on Chicago State on Thursday before welcoming Kansas City to the UCCU Center on Saturday. Both games are scheduled to tip-off at 7 p.m. (MST)

The Wolverines rebounded from an 84-77 loss at WAC leader New Mexico State to defeat UTRGV, 76-64, on Saturday night at UTRGV Fieldhouse in the Lone Star State. Jake Toolson led four Wolverines in double figures with 17 points and five rebounds in the win over the Vaqueros. Washington dropped 14 points, including a perfect 7-7 from the foul line, and a team-leading 4 assists off the bench. Nakwaasah and Richard Harward chipped in 10 points apiece and Baylee Steele led the team with seven rebounds

Conner Toolson knocked down a shot from long range with 14:38 remaining in the second half against Sam Houston State on Dec. 22 to lift his career point total to 1,002 points as he became just the eighth player in UVU history to score 1,000 career points. Toolson scored 18 points on the night to up his career total to 1,007. He is now fifth on the all-time scoring list with 1,081 points.

Utah Valley holds one of the top shooting percentages in the country as the Wolverines rank 19th nationally in field-goal percentage with a 48.5 percent clip from the floor. UVU also ranks 52nd in the country in three-point field goal percentage at 37.5 percent.

Jake Toolson individually ranks in the top-45 nationally in both field-goal percentage and free-throw percentage. He also fronts the WAC in those same two categories. He ranks 27th nationally in free throw percentage (87.2) and 45th in field goal percentage (56.0). According to KenPom.com, Toolson ranks eighth in the nation in true shooting percentage (69.6) and 21st nationally in effective field goal percentage (65.2).  

Jake Toolson leads Utah Valley in scoring at 16.1 points per game, followed by Conner Toolson at 12.4 points a contest. The Toolson duo has scored nearly 40 percent of UVU's points this season. Jake has been impressive from the floor, shooting a team-best 56 percent (140-of-250), including a team-best 46.2 percent (48-of-104) clip from three-point range. He also leads UVU with an 87.2 percent (75-of-86) clip from the free throw line. Baylee Steele leads UVU on the boards, pulling down 7.1 rebounds a game, while TJ Washington leads the team in assists at 4.0 a game.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Thursday's game against Chicago State will be broadcast live on ESPN+, which is available at ESPNplus.com. It is a subscription service, but you can sign up for a free seven day trial period.  The game will also be broadcast over the radio waves as Jim McCulloch enters his ninth 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 CHICAGO STATE
Chicago State enters Thursday's matchup at Utah Valley with a 3-23 overall record and a 0-11 mark in WAC play. The Cougars have lost 15 straight dating back to a 104-70 setback at DePaul on Dec. 12. Chicago State's last win was an 84-82 victory over Trinity Christian on Dec. 6. CSU has dropped 51 of its last 53 WAC games. The last WAC win was a 96-82 win over UMKC on March 3, 2018. The team's last WAC road win was a 70-61 victory at Utah Valley on Jan. 12, 2017. Senior guard Anthony Harris leads the team in scoring at 14.3 points per game. Junior forward Christian Jacob and senior guard Rob Shaw also average double figures at 10.9 and 10.2 points per game, respectively. Jacob leads the team on the boards, pulling down 5.7 rebounds a game. As a team, CSU averages 61.4 points a game while allowing opponents an 84.4 points per game average.

SERIES HISTORY VS. CHICAGO STATE
Utah Valley and Chicago State meet up on the basketball hardwood for the 24th time on Thursday night. UVU holds an 18-5 all-time advantage in the series dating back to 2008. Utah Valley swept the season series last season, defeating the Cougars 83-58 in Orem before taking a 97-57 victory in Chicago. The Wolverines defeated CSU 74-60 earlier this season on Jan. 26 in the Windy City. UVU holds an all-time 10-1 record against the Cougars in Orem. 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)
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
Jan. 12, 2017    Chicago State def. Utah Valley, 70-61    Orem
Feb. 18, 2016    Utah Valley def. Chicago State, 74-72    Orem