UTAH VALLEY HOSTS CSU BAKERSFIELD ON THURSDAY NIGHT AT UCCU CENTER
After playing four of its last six games on the road, Utah Valley returns to Orem to host WAC foe CSU Bakersfield on Thursday night at the UCCU Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

Utah Valley was unable to hold onto its late lead as New Mexico State hit an off-balance three, just before the buzzer, to secure the 84-82 win in the Pan American Center on Saturday. TJ Washington hit a pair of free throws to give the Wolverines the lead with six seconds to go before the Aggies came down and banked in a three from the left wing, leaving just 0.6 seconds on the clock. UVU was then unable to get a shot off as the Aggies came away with the win. White led five Wolverines in double figures with his second straight game with over 20 points. He finished with 21 points on 7 of 12 from the field, 3 of 6 from downtown, and a perfect 4 of 4 from the charity stripe. Casdon Jardine added 14 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds. Jamison Overton chipped in 13 points on 6-8 from the floor and added a pair of steals and Brandon Averette scored 13 points to go along with 4 assists. TJ Washington paced the Wolverines with a game-high eight assists to go along with 11 points and a couple of steals.
 
As of Feb. 19, Utah Valley ranks 12th in the nation in total blocks with 137 swats. The Wolverines also rank 13th nationally in blocks per game at 5.3 a contest. Individually, Emmanuel Olojakpoke is ranked tied for eighth nationally with 69 blocks. He also ranks 14th in blocks per game at 2.72. With 69 blocks already this season, Olojakpoke is three 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 15 games this season that have been decided by six points or less and seven games decided by three points or less. The Wolverines have lost six games by three points or less and 11 games by six points or less.

Junior forward Isaiah White leads the Wolverines in scoring at 15.0 points per game. Senior TJ Washington is second at 12.9 points a game, followed by Brandon Averette at 12.3  and Casdon Jardine at 10.7. White also leads the team on the boards at 8.8 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
Thursday night's game against CSU Bakersfield will be broadcast live on the WAC Digital Network, which is available at WACsports.com/Watch. Brandon Crow will be handling the play-by-play duties. The WAC Digital 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 CSU BAKERSFIELD
CSU Bakersfield enters Thursday night's game against the Wolverines with a 11-15 overall record and a 5-6 mark in WAC play. The team has lost five of its last six games, including a 59-53 setback at home against Kansas City on Saturday night. Greg Lee led CSUB with 13 points, his third double-digit scoring effort in the last four games. The junior forward also added five rebounds, one assists, two steals, a block against Kansas City. CSUB knocked down just 1-of-11 attempts from long range in the loss to the 'Roos. Redshirt junior forward Taze Moore leads CSUB in scoring this season at 11.3 points a game. He is the lone Roadrunner to average double figure scoring. Redshirt junior guard De'Monte Buckingham averages 9.2 points a game, while junior guard Czar Perry averages 8.7. Buckingham leads the team on the boards, pulling down 4.7 rebounds a game. As a team, CSUB is averaging 69.6 points a game while limiting opponents to a 68.1 points per game average.

SERIES HISTORY VS. CSUB
Utah Valley and CSU Bakersfield meet up on the basketball hardwood for the 25th time on Thursday night. Utah Valley has taken four of the last six contests between the two teams, including a 76-61 win in Orem last season. The Wolverines dropped a heartbreaking 58-57 overtime decision earlier this season on Jan. 23 in Bakersfield. UVU holds an all-time 6-4 record against CSUB in games played at the UCCU Center. CSU Bakersfield's last win in Orem came on Feb. 16, 2017 with the 'Runners taking an 80-71 win.

Last Six Results vs. CSU Bakersfield (CSUB leads 13-10)
Jan. 23, 2020    CSU Bakersfield def. Utah Valley, 58-57 (OT)    Bakersfield, Calif.
March 9, 2019    Utah Valley def. CSU Bakersfield, 76-61        Orem, Utah
Jan. 5, 2019    CSU Bakersfield def. Utah Valley, 73-71        Bakersfield, Calif.
March 8, 2018    #2 Utah Valley def. #7 CSU Bakersfield, 81-74    Las Vegas, Nevada
Feb. 22, 2018    Utah Valley def. CSU Bakersfield, 70-47        Bakersfield, Calif.
Jan. 06, 2018    Utah Valley def. CSU Bakersfield, 75-42        Orem, Utah