UTAH VALLEY CONTINUES WAC ROAD PLAY AT KANSAS CITY ON SATURDAY NIGHT
After opening WAC play with a win at Chicago State on Thursday night, Utah Valley (7-9, 1-0) continues league play on the road at Kansas City (8-7, 1-0) on Saturday night. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. (MT)

Utah Valley has played nine of its last 13 games on the road, traveling over 10,000 miles through the air in the process. The Wolverines have played 10 of their 16 games on the road this season. UVU opens WAC play with three straight road games at Chicago State, Kansas City, and Seattle U.

Five Wolverines scored in double figures as Utah Valley pulled away from Chicago State, 94-73, to start WAC play on Thursday night in the Windy City. Casdon Jardine led the Wolverines with 18 points on 7-of-10 from the field, hitting 4-of-5 from deep to go along with eight rebounds. Brandon Averette also chipped in 18 points on a pair of threes and a couple steals. Isaiah White poured in 16 points and a team high nine rebounds and TJ Washington scored 14 points to go along with a game-high eight assists. Jamison Overton was the other Wolverine in double figures with 12 points and Emmanuel Olojapoke added a pair of blocks.

As of Jan. 3, Utah Valley ranks fifth in the nation in blocks with 89 swats. The Wolverines also rank 17th nationally in blocks per game at 5.6 a contest. Individually, Emmanuel Olojakpoke ranks seventh nationally with 44 blocks. He also ranks 19th in blocks per game at 2.75. With 44 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 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 seven 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.

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 13.6 points a game, followed by Brandon Averette at 13.2 and Casdon Jardine at 11.3. 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 44 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 night's game at Kansas City 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 KANSAS CITY
Kansas City enters Saturday's game with an 8-7 overall record and a 1-0 mark in WAC play. The Kangaroos have won three straight, including a triple overtime 90-86 win over Seattle U at home on Thursday night in the team's WAC opener. There were 21 lead changes and 15 ties in the 'Roos win over Seattle U. Senior guard Jahshire Hardnett (formerly of BYU) poured in a career-high 28 points, including four three-pointers to lead Kansas City to the win over the Redhawks. The win pushed KC's home record to a perfect 5-0 this season. Hardnett scored 18 of his 28 points in the three overtime sessions, including 12 in the first overtime. Javan White leads the team in scoring at 11.9 points per game and rebounding at 7.5 boards a game. Brandon McKissic also averages double figures at 10.4 points a game. Hardnett ranks third on the team in scoring at 9.2 points a contest. As a team, Kansas City is averaging 71.3 points per game while holding opponents to a 69.0 points per game average. The 'Roos are under the direction of a new coach this season. Billy Donlon took over the team this season after serving as an assistant coach at Northwestern for the two previous seasons. Donlon also spent a year as an assistant coach at Michigan and six years as the head coach at Wright State.

SERIES HISTORY VS. KANSAS CITY
Utah Valley and Kansas City meet up on the basketball hardwood for the 22nd time on Saturday night. UVU holds an 13-8 all-time advantage in the series dating back to 2005. Utah Valley swept the season series last season, defeating the 'Roos 75-67 in Kansas City before taking a 79-67 victory in Orem. UVU also took a 71-64 win over Kansas City in the quarterfinals of last season's WAC Tournament. UVU holds an all-time 4-6 record against the 'Roos in Kansas City. The Wolverines have won three straight against Kansas City, including five of the last seven. Kansas City's last win over the Wolverines was a 77-70 win on Jan. 11, 2018 in Kansas City.

Last Five Results vs. KC (UVU leads 13-8)
March 13, 2019    Utah Valley def. Kansas City, 71-64    Las Vegas, Nevada
Feb. 23, 2019    Utah Valley def. Kansas City, 79-67    Orem, Utah
Jan. 24, 2019    Utah Valley def. Kansas City, 75-67    Kansas City, Missouri
Feb. 10, 2018    Kansas City def. Utah Valley, 77-70    Kansas City, Missouri
Jan. 11, 2018    Utah Valley def. Kansas City, 95-59    Orem, Utah

UP UP AND AWAY
Utah Valley has played nine of its last 13 games on the road, traveling over 10,000 miles through the air in the process. The Wolverines have played 10 of their 16 games on the road this season. UVU opens WAC play with three straight road games at Chicago State, Kansas City, and Seattle U.

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 seven 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.

NEARLY PERFECT AT THE LINE
Utah Valley sophomore guard Trey Woodbury was a perfect 19-for-19 at the free throw line this season until missing his first shot at the line against Northern Arizona on Saturday night. He has now knocked down 21-of-22 shots at the charity stripe. The UVU record is 41 straight free throws made, set by Jake Toolson last season and Holton Hunsaker during the 2011-12 season.

UVU RANKS FIFTH NATIONALLY IN BLOCKS
As of Jan. 3, Utah Valley ranks fifth in the nation in blocks with 89 swats. The Wolverines also rank 17th nationally in blocks per game at 5.6 a contest. Individually, Emmanuel Olojakpoke ranks seventh nationally with 44 blocks. He also ranks 19th in blocks per game at 2.75. With 44 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.

WASHINGTON MOVES INTO TOP-10 ON UVU CAREER ASSISTS CHART
TJ Washington entered the top-10 on Utah Valley's all-time assist leaders chart. Washington now has 183 career assists at UVU, which moves him into the 10th spot on UVU's all-time career individual assists chart. Washington is just three assists away from tying Ben Nakwaasah for the No. 9 spot on the chart.