UTAH VALLEY HOSTS SEATTLE U ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON AT UCCU CENTER
Utah Valley continues Western Athletic Conference play this week as the Wolverines host Seattle U on Saturday at the UCCU Center. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. MT

Isaiah White scored 15 points and Brandon Averette added 14 to lead Utah Valley in a 65-61 loss to California Baptist last Wednesday at the UCCU Center. White scored his 15 points on 7 of 13 shooting. He also pulled down five rebounds with one assist and a steal. Averette knocked down 5 of 12 shots from the field and went a perfect 4 of 4 from the charity stripe for his 14 points. TJ Washington scored six points to go along with a game-high 10 assists. Trey Woodbury had nine points on the night with six rebounds and a pair of blocks.

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.
 
As of Feb. 6, Utah Valley ranks ninth in the nation in total blocks with 128 swats. The Wolverines also rank 11th nationally in blocks per game at 5.6 a contest. Individually, Emmanuel Olojakpoke ranks eighth nationally with 65 blocks. He also ranks 11th in blocks per game at 2.83. With 65 blocks already this season, Olojakpoke is seven 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 13 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 nine of its 14 losses this season by just six points or less. UVU has dropped seven of its last 13 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, and a four-point loss to California Baptist. In seven of UVU's 14 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 14.1 points per game. Senior TJ Washington is second at 13.4 points a game, followed by Brandon Averette at 12.0  and Casdon Jardine at 10.0. White also leads the team on the boards at 9.1 rebounds per game, while Emmanuel Olojakpoke leads the WAC and ranks eighth in the nation with 65 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 afternoon's  game against Seattle U will be broadcast live on the WAC Digital Network (WACsports.com/Watch). Brandon Crow will be handling the play-by-play duties, while former UVU player Holton Hunsaker will be on the color commentary. 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 SEATTLE U
Seattle U enters Saturday's game with an 11-12 overall record and a 4-4 mark in WAC play. The Redhawks dropped a 72-65 decision to California Baptist in the team's lone game of the week last week. Mattia Da Campo and Morgan Means picked up 10 and 13 points, respectively while Terrell Brown finished with 14 points and five assists. SU ranks 11th nationally in free throws made at 394. The team also holds one of the top free throw percentages in the nation at 77.1 percent, which ranks 17th in the country. Brown leads the team in scoring at 19.6 points per game. Morgan Means also average double figures at 11.8 points per game. Brown leads the WAC and ranks third in the nation in field goal attempts at 419. As a team, Seattle U averages 74.0 points while allowing opponents a 71.4 points per game average.

SERIES HISTORY VS. SEATTLE U
Utah Valley and Seattle U meet up on the basketball hardwood for the 21st time on Saturday afternoon. The series is tied at 10 games apiece. Utah Valley has won five of the last seven meetings. The Redhawks took this year's series opener in Seattle, 83-50. UVU swept the regular season two-game series last season with an 88-78 win in Orem and the 77-68 victory in Seattle. Utah Valley holds an all-time 6-3 record against the Redhawks in games played in Orem.

Last Five Results vs. Seattle U (Series tied 10-10)
01/11/2020    Seattle U def. Utah Valley, 83-50    Seattle, Wash.
02/26/2019    Utah Valley def. Seattle U, 77-68    Seattle, Wash.
01/12/2019    Utah Valley def. Seattle U, 88-78    Orem, Utah
03/03/2018    Utah Valley def. Seattle U, 73-47    Orem, Utah
02/03/2018    Seattle U def. Utah Valley, 55-54    Seattle, Wash.