UTAH VALLEY CONTINUES WAC ROAD PLAY AT NM STATE ON SATURDAY
Utah Valley continues WAC road play on Saturday as the team travels to the Land of Enchantment to take on WAC leader New Mexico State at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. MT.

Isaiah White's 23-point double-double wasn't enough to bring back the Wolverines as UVU dropped an 80-72 decision at UT Rio Grande Valley on Thursday night. The loss is the first defeat Utah Valley has suffered to the Vaqueros since Jan. 19, 2013 and is only the fourth time UTRGV has beaten UVU in 30 tries. White led the Wolverines with 23 points and 10 rebounds on 7-17 from the field and a couple of threes. Brandon Averette chipped in 13 points and three assists and Jardine added 13 points and six rebounds. TJ Washington paced UVU with six assists to go along with eight points and a pair of steals. Emmanuel Olojakpoke blocked another shot to bring his total to 68 on the year, just three blocks shy of the UVU single-season record.
 
As of Feb. 14, Utah Valley ranks tied for 10th in the nation in total blocks with 136 swats. The Wolverines also rank 11th nationally in blocks per game at 5.4 a contest. Individually, Emmanuel Olojakpoke is ranked tied for eighth nationally with 68 blocks. He also ranks 14th in blocks per game at 2.72. With 68 blocks already this season, Olojakpoke is four blocks away from breaking the all-time UVU single season blocks record of 71 set by Akolda Manyang during the 2017-18 season.

Utah Valley has played 14 games this season that have been decided by six points or less. UVU has won four of those games--a six-point 68-62 win at North Dakota State, a two-point 69-67 win at Wyoming, a two-point win over UTRGV, and a four-point win at Grand Canyon.  The Wolverines have dropped 10 of its 15 losses this season by just six points or less. UVU has dropped eight of its last 15 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, a five-point setback at Kansas City, a one-point loss at CSU Bakersfield, a four-point loss to California Baptist, and a two-point overtime loss to Seattle U. In eight of UVU's 15 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 14.6 points per game. Senior TJ Washington is second at 13.0 points a game, followed by Brandon Averette at 12.3  and Casdon Jardine at 10.5. White also leads the team on the boards at 9.2 rebounds per game, while Emmanuel Olojakpoke leads the WAC and ranks tied for eighth in the nation with 69 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 at New Mexico State will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Arizona, Fox Sports San Diego, Fox Sports Southwest-Plus, Fox College Sports Pacific, and the WAC Digital Network. Adam Young will be handling the play-by-play duties and Rus Bradburd will be the analyst. The WAC Digital Network is also available on Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, and Roku TV. 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 NEW MEXICO STATE
New Mexico State enters Thursday's game with a 20-6 overall record and a perfect 11-0 mark in WAC play. The Aggies have won 14 straight games. The team's last loss was a 69-62 setback at New Mexico on Dec. 14. NM State has won 28 straight games against teams from the WAC, which is the nation's longest active streak against league opponents. The Aggies have won 25 consecutive regular season WAC games--the longest streak in the history of the league. Most recently, the Aggies knocked off Seattle U at home on Thursday night, 72-64. redshirt junior forward Johnny McCants scored a team-high 14 points and pulled down a career-high 18 rebounds in the win over the Redhawks. NM State has now won 20 or more games for a ninth straight season. Senior guard Trevelin Queen leads the team in scoring at 14.1 points a game. Redshirt sophomore guard Jabari Rice and senior forward Ivan Aurrecoechea also average double figures at 12.6 and 11.4 points per game, respectively. McCants leads the team on the boards, pulling down 6.1 rebounds a game. As a team, NM State is averaging 70.7 points per game while limiting opponents to a 59.9 points per game average.

SERIES HISTORY VS. NM STATE
Utah Valley and New Mexico State meet up on the basketball hardwood for the 14th time on Thursday night. NM State leads the all-time series 10-3. New Mexico State defeated the Wolverines, 70-56, in the first matchup this season in Orem. UVU's last win over the Aggies was an 86-79 victory in Orem on Feb. 15, 2018. The Wolverines hold an all-time 1-5 record against the Aggies in Las Cruces. Utah Valley is the last WAC team to defeat NM State in Las Cruces when the Wolverines pulled off an 84-72 win on Feb. 23, 2017. Since then, NM State has won 24 straight WAC home games. UVU is the only WAC team that has defeated NM State two times since the 2016-17 season.

Last Six Results vs. NM State (NMSU leads series, 10-3)
01/16/2020    New Mexico State def. Utah Valley, 70-56        Orem, Utah
02/14/2019    New Mexico State def. Utah Valley, 84-77        Las Cruces, N.M.
01/19/2019    New Mexico State def. Utah Valley, 83-78        Orem, Utah
02/15/2018    Utah Valley def. New Mexico State, 86-79        Orem, Utah
01/20/2018    New Mexico State def. Utah Valley, 86-59        Las Cruces, N.M.
02/23/2017    Utah Valley def. New Mexico State, 84-72        Las Cruces, N.M.

LIVING ON THE EDGE
Utah Valley has played 14 games this season that have been decided by six points or less. UVU has won four of those games--a six-point 68-62 win at North Dakota State, a two-point 69-67 win at Wyoming, a two-point win over UTRGV, and a four-point win at Grand Canyon.  The Wolverines have dropped 10 of its 15 losses this season by just six points or less. UVU has dropped eight of its last 15 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, a five-point setback at Kansas City, a one-point loss at CSU Bakersfield, a four-point loss to California Baptist, and a two-point overtime loss to Seattle U. In eight of UVU's 15 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.

THE ISAIAH WHITE BOARDING SCHOOL
Isaiah White's 18 rebounds against CSU Bakersfield on Jan. 23 are tied for the second most in school history and the most since Baylee Steele recorded 19 rebounds against BYU back on Nov. 9, 2018. White currently ranks second in the WAC and leads the Wolverines at 9.2 rebounds per game. His 9.2 rebounds per game is the third best average in a single season in UVU history.

THE OLO JA POKEY, THAT'S WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT
Utah Valley senior forward Emmanuel Olojakpoke is one of the nation's leaders in total blocks at 68. His 68 blocks already ranks tied for second on the UVU single season record chart. He needs just four more blocks to break Akolda Manyang's record of 71 set during the 2017-18 season. Olojakpoke is currently tied for the best single season field goal percentage mark in UVU history at 68.3 percent. He has knocked down 56 of 82 shots this season. Olojakpoke is tied with Connor MacDougall, who shot 68.3 percent set during the 2018-19 season. UVU RANKS 10TH NATIONALLY IN BLOCKS
As of Feb. 14, Utah Valley ranks tied for 10h in the nation in total blocks with 136 swats. The Wolverines also rank 11th nationally in blocks per game at 5.4 a contest. Individually, Emmanuel Olojakpoke is ranked tied for eighth nationally with 68 blocks. He also ranks 14th in blocks per game at 2.72. With 68 blocks already this season, Olojakpoke is four blocks away from breaking the all-time UVU single season blocks record of 71 set by Akolda Manyang during the 2017-18 season.

UVU RANKS 10TH NATIONALLY IN BLOCKS
As of Feb. 14, Utah Valley ranks tied for 10h in the nation in total blocks with 136 swats. The Wolverines also rank 11th nationally in blocks per game at 5.4 a contest. Individually, Emmanuel Olojakpoke is ranked tied for eighth nationally with 68 blocks. He also ranks 14th in blocks per game at 2.72. With 68 blocks already this season, Olojakpoke is four blocks away from breaking the all-time UVU single season blocks record of 71 set by Akolda Manyang during the 2017-18 season.

WASHINGTON, OLOJAKPOKE MOVE INTO TOP-10 UVU CAREER CHARTS
TJ Washington entered the top-10 on Utah Valley's all-time assist leaders chart. Washington now has 226 career assists at UVU, which puts him at the No. 9 spot on the chart. He is now just seven assists away from tying David Heck (2003-07) for the No. 8 spot. Emmanuel Olojakpoke moved into the No. 7 spot on UVU's all-time career blocks chart. He currently has 68 blocks and is now just four blocks away from passing Akolda Manyang (2017-18) for the No. 6 spot.