UTAH VALLEY TRAVELS TO THE EMPIRE STATE TO FACE ST. JOHN'S ON SATURDAY

• Utah Valley will step out of WAC play this week and travel to the Empire State to take on St. John's on Saturday at Carnesecca Arena in Queens, N.Y. The game will tip-off at 2 p.m. (MT) and will be broadcast live on FS1 and on ESPN 960 AM radio.
   
• Trey Woodbury buried the game-winning three from the top of the key with under six seconds to go as Utah Valley knocked off Seattle U, 93-92, on Friday night at the Redhawk Center. Fardaws Aimaq led all scorers with a career-high 29 points to go along with a game-high 14 rebounds. Jamison Overton added 21 points and Woodbury scored 20 points to go along with five rebounds. Cole finished with 12 points and 11 boards to give the Wolverines a second-straight game with two players finishing with a double-double.
   
• Fardaws Aimaq was been named the TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for Jan. 11-17, the league office announced on Monday. Aimaq scored a career-high 29 points to go with 14 rebounds and four blocks in a 93-92 overtime win at Seattle U on Friday night. The transfer from Mercer earned his eighth double-double against the Redhawks, which ranks fourth in the country. He knocked down 8-of-12 attempts from the field and connected on 13-of-15 shots at the free throw line.
   
• Aimaq leads the nation in rebounds per game at 15.1 a contest. He also leads the country in offensive rebounds per game (5.00) and ranks first in defensive boards per game (10.10). Aimaq ranks fourth in the nation in total rebounds with 151 this season. With 151 total rebounds, Aimaq is already just 88 rebounds shy of breaking into the top-10 all-time UVU single season rebounds chart. He also ranks fourth in the nation with eight double-doubles.
   
• Fardaws Aimaq tied his own UVU single-game rebound record with 20 boards at Weber State on Jan. 2. He also pulled down 20 rebounds against Wyoming on Dec. 12, which broke the previous UVU single game record of 19 rebounds set by Baylee Steele against BYU on Nov. 9, 2018. Aimaq has recorded 15 or more rebounds in five of UVU's seven games this season.
   
• Mark Madsen is in his second season as the head coach of the Wolverines. The two-time NBA champion, former Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach, and former Stanford basketball star went 11-19 during his first season with UVU. He is just the third head coach in UVU's Division I history. Madsen took  over the Utah Valley program last season 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 played for the Minnesota Timberwolves for six seasons.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Saturday's game at St. John's will be broadcast live on FS1, which is also streamed live at FoxSports.com/live. The game will also be broadcast over the radio waves on ESPN 960 AM radio with Jim McCulloch calling the action. A live stream of the radio broadcast will also be available at ESPN960Sports.com.

ABOUT ST. JOHN'S
St. John's heads into Saturday's game with an 8-7 overall record. The team is 3-6 in BIG EAST play. The Red Storm has won two of its last three games, including a 74-70 win at No. 23 Connecticut on Jan. 18. Freshman guard Posh Alexander matched a season high by leading five St. John's scorers in double figures with 18 points on 6 of 11 shooting in the win over UConn. Sophomore guard/forward Julian Champagnie leads the team in both scoring and rebounding at 20.0 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Junior guard Greg Williams Jr. also averages double figures at 10.0 points a game. As a team, St. John's is averaging 78.67 points a game while limiting opponents to a 77.93 points per game average. St. John's ranks second in the nation in total steals (151) and fourth nationally in steals per game (10.1). Alexander ranks 13th in the country in steals per game at 2.47 a game.

SERIES HISTORY VS. ST. JOHN'S, BIG EAST
Utah Valley and St. John's will meet up on the basketball hardwood for the first time on Saturday. The Wolverines hold a 0-1 record against current BIG EAST teams, dropping a 66-55 decision at Marquette on Nov. 12, 2007.

AIMAQ LEADS THE NATION ON THE BOARDS
Aimaq leads the nation in rebounds per game at 15.1 a contest. He also leads the country in offensive rebounds per game (5.00) and ranks first in defensive boards per game (10.10). Aimaq ranks fourth in the nation in total rebounds with 151 this season. With 151 total rebounds, Aimaq is already just 88 rebounds shy of breaking into the top-10 all-time UVU single season rebounds chart. He also ranks fourth in the nation with eight double-doubles.

A Division I NCAA player has not averaged 15 or more rebounds in a single season since Alcorn State's Larry Smith averaged 15.1 boards in 26 games during the 1979-80 season. Aimaq is in good company.

Rebounds per game chart since the 1985-86 season
1.    Warren Kidd, Middle Tennessee    1992-93    14.85
2.    Jerome Lambert, Baylor    1993-94    14.79
3.    Tim Duncan, Wake Forest    1996-97    14.74
4.    Shaquille O'Neal, LSU    1990-91    14.68
5.    Kurt Thomas, TCU    1994-95    14.56
6.    Kenneth Faried, Morehead State    2010-11    14.51
7.    Blake Griffin, Oklahoma    2008-09    14.40

DISH MASTERS
Utah Valley ranks ninth in the nation in assists per game, dishing out 18.4 a contest. Individually,  Blaze Nield ranks fourth nationally in assist turnover ratio at 5.43. Trey Woodbury leads the team in assists at 4.1 a game, followed by Nield at 3.8 helpers per game.

DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE
Fardaws Aimaq and Evan Cole each recorded a double-double in the 81-77 win over California Baptist on Jan. 9. Aimaq had 23 points and 16 rebounds while Cole tallied 14 points and 11 boards. The last time Utah Valley had two players recorded a double-double in the same game was on Jan. 7, 2017 when Brandon Randolph (18 points/10 rebounds) and Isaac Neilson (14 points/16 rebounds) each had them. Aimaq and Cole repeated the feat in the 93-92 overtime win at Seattle U on Jan. 15 with Aimaq scoring 29 points with 14 rebounds and Cole scoring 12 points with 11 boards.

AIMAQ BREAKS UVU SINGLE GAME REBOUND RECORD TWICE
Aimaq's 20 rebounds on Dec. 12 against Wyoming breaks the previous UVU single game record of 19 rebounds set by Baylee Steele against BYU on Nov. 9, 2018. He then matched his own school record with 20 rebounds on the road at Weber State on Jan. 2.  Aimaq has now recorded 15 or more rebounds in five of UVU's seven games this season. He now holds four of the top five marks on the UVU single game rebounds record chart.