UTAH VALLEY HOSTS WAC NEWCOMER TARLETON ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY AT UCCU CENTER

• Utah Valley returns to conference play this week in hopes of keeping its unbeaten league record in tact as the Wolverines welcome WAC newcomer Tarleton to the UCCU Center on Friday and Saturday. Tip-off for both games is set for 6 p.m. MT
   
• Turnovers proved costly as Utah Valley dropped a hard-fought game at St. John's, 96-78, on Saturday afternoon at Carnasecca Arena in Queens, N.Y. Trey Woodbury led all scorers with 23 points on 10 of 14 from the field and 3 of 5 from deep. Woodbury added five rebounds and a team-high four assists. Jamison Overton scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half and Evan Cole added 17 points and five boards. Aimaq finished with his ninth double-double of the season, chipping in 10 points to go along with 13 rebounds.
   
• Fardaws Aimaq has been named to the 2020-21 Lou Henson National Player of the Year Award mid-season watch list. The Lou Henson National Player of the Year Award, which is presented annually to the top mid-major player in Division I college basketball, honors the former Illinois and New Mexico State head coach who won 775 games in 41 seasons.
   
• Aimaq continues to lead the nation in rebounds per game at 14.9 a contest. He also leads the nation in defensive rebounds per game (10.09) and ranks second in offensive boards per game (4.82). The Vancouver, B.C. native also ranks fourth nationally with nine double-doubles.  With 164 total rebounds, Aimaq is already just 75 rebounds shy of breaking into the top-10 all-time UVU single season rebounds chart.
   
• Utah Valley head coach Mark Madsen announced last week that former UVU standout Ronnie Price, who enjoyed a 13-year NBA career, has joined the men's basketball staff as its Director of Player Development. Following his career at Utah Valley, Price signed with the Sacramento Kings, becoming the first player to go directly from Utah Valley to the NBA. He played 12 seasons in the NBA from 2005-2017 with six teams, including the Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trailblazers, Orlando Magic, and the Los Angeles Lakers.
   
• 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
Friday and Saturday's games against Tarleton will be broadcast live on both the GoUVU YouTube Channel and the WAC Digital Network. Brandon Crow will be handling the play-by-play duties and former Wolverine Holton Hunsaker will be on the color commentary. 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 TARLETON
Tarleton enters this week's games against the Wolverines with a 3-7 overall record and a 0-4 mark in WAC play. The Texans are in their first season as a Division I program after moving up from the Division II ranks and joining the WAC this past year. The Texans picked up a 113-53 win over Howard Payne at home on Monday. Sophomore forward Konstantin Dotsenko scored a career-high 25 points and junior guard Montre Gipson added 23 in the win over Howard Payne. The Texans shot a season-high 56 percent and knocked down a season-high 13 shots from long range in the win. Gipson leads the Texans in scoring at 17.2 points per game. Junior Tahj Small and Dotsenko also average double figures at 10.2 and 10.1 points per game, respectively. As a team, Tarleton is averaging 75.4 points per game while limiting opponents to a 67.0 points per game average. Tarleton is coached by Billy Gillispie who is in his first season with the Texans.

SERIES HISTORY VS. TARLETON
Utah Valley and Tarleton will meet up on the basketball hardwood for the first time on Friday.

SO CLOSE
Utah Valley has dropped three of its six losses this season by single digits. The Wolverines lost by five points to Wyoming, eight points to Utah, and eight points to Weber State.