UTAH VALLEY LOOKS TO BOUNCE BACK AGAINST UT RIO GRANDE VALLEY ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON AT UCCU CENTER
Utah Valley looks to bounce back from a loss to WAC leader New Mexico State as the Wolverines continue WAC play at home on Saturday afternoon against UT Rio Grande Valley. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at the UCCU Center.

Isaiah White recorded a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double and to lead Utah Valley in a 70-56 loss to WAC leader New Mexico State on Thursday night at the UCCU Center. White scored his 16 points on 7 of 13 shooting from the field, including a pair of makes from beyond the arc. He also knocked down a pair of free throws. Casdon Jardine was also in double figures with 10 points on 4 of 7 shooting, including a 2 of 3 mark from long range. TJ Washington added eight points, while Brandon Averette added seven. Emmanuel Olojakpoke scored six points on a perfect 3 of 3 night from the field. Olojakpoke also had two blocks to push his swat total to 51 on the season.

As of Jan. 17, Utah Valley ranks ninth in the nation in blocks with 102 swats. The Wolverines also rank 20th nationally in blocks per game at 5.4 a contest. Individually, Emmanuel Olojakpoke ranks ninth nationally with 51 blocks. He also ranks 21st in blocks per game at 2.68. With 51 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.

Utah Valley has played nine 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 seven of its 11 losses this season by just six points or less. UVU has dropped five of its last nine 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, a three-point loss at Long Beach State, and a five-point setback at Kansas City. In six of UVU's 11 losses, the Wolverines had a lead/tie in the last five minutes of the game. At Kentucky, UVU was down by just one point with three minutes to play.

Junior forward Isaiah White leads the Wolverines in scoring at 14.9 points per game. Redshirt junior guard Brandon Averette is second at 12.8 points a game, followed by TJ Washington at 12.6 and Casdon Jardine at 11.1. White also leads the team on the boards at 8.7 rebounds per game, while Emmanuel Olojakpoke leads the WAC and ranks 10th in the nation with 51 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
Saturday's game against UT Rio Grande Valley will be broadcast live on the WAC Digital Network. Brandon Crow will be handling the play-by-play duties, while former UVU player Holton Hunsaker 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 UT RIO GRANDE VALLEY
UT Rio Grande Valley enters Saturday's game with a 6-11 overall record and a 2-2 mark in WAC play. UTRGV has wins over Kansas City and Chicago State, while taking setbacks to both California Baptist and Seattle U in league play. The Vaqueros dropped a 91-74 decision at Seattle U on Thursday night. Senior Lesley Varner II led the Vaqueros with 19 points and eight rebounds in the loss at SU. Sophomore Sean Rhea scored 13 points with eight rebounds. Jordan Jackson leads the team in scoring this season at 15.3 points per game. Varner II and Javon Levi also average double figures at 13.0 and 10.6 points per game, respectively. Varner II leads the team on the boards, pulling down 6.0 rebounds a game. Levi ranks third in the nation in assists per game at 8.3 a contest. He also ranks eighth in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.18.

SERIES HISTORY VS. UTRGV
Utah Valley and UT Rio Grande Valley meet up on the basketball hardwood for the 29th time on Saturday. UVU leads the all-time series 25-3. The Wolverines hold a 13-1 record all-time against UTRGV in games played in Orem. UVU has won 14 straight games against UTRGV. The last time UTRGV defeated the Wolverines was on Jan. 19, 2013 with the Vaqueros taking a 62-60 win in Edinburg. The only time UTRGV has defeated UVU in Orem was on March 10, 2010 with the Vaqueros taking a 56-53 win.

Last Five Results vs. UTRGV (UVU leads series, 25-3)
Feb. 16, 2019    Utah Valley def. UT Rio Grande Valley, 76-64    Edinburg, Texas
Jan. 17, 2019    Utah Valley def. UT Rio Grande Valley, 82-61    Orem, Utah
Feb. 17, 2018    Utah Valley def. UT Rio Grande Valley, 84-72    Orem, Utah
Jan. 18, 2018    Utah Valley def. UT Rio Grande Valley, 84-76    Edinburg, Texas
Feb. 25, 2017    Utah Valley def. UT Rio Grande Valley, 88-68    Edinburg, Texas