UTAH VALLEY HOSTS BYU ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT IN UCCU CROSSTOWN CLASH

• Utah Valley puts its six-game win streak on the line Wednesday as the Wolverines host 12th-ranked BYU in the UCCU Crosstown Clash. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
   
• With a 6-1 record, Utah Valley is off to its best start in team history, surpassing the 2016-17 team, which opened that season with a 4-1 record before dropping its sixth game.
   
• UVU has won six straight games, which marks the longest streak since the 2018-19 season (7 games) and the longest of the Madsen era. The longest win streak in UVU history is 13 games, which the team set during the 2011-12 season.
   
• Fardaws Aimaq earned his second straight WAC Player of the Week honor. Aimaq wins the award for the second straight week after being named SoCal Challenge MVP following wins over Idaho and Nicholls State and then adding a home win against Denver on Saturday. On the week, he averaged 14.5 points per game and 15.3 rebounds per game with three double doubles, giving him a NCAA-best six on the young season.
   
• Fardaws Aimaq recorded his nation-leading sixth double-double of the season with 19 points and a game-high 14 rebounds to lead Utah Valley to a 77-68 overtime win over Denver on Saturday afternoon at the UCCU Center. Aimaq scored his 19 points on 8 of 13 shooting from the field and a 3 of 6 mark from the free throw line. He also had three assists and three blocks in the win. Justin Harmon scored a career-high 15 points, while Le'Tre Darthard also had a career high with 13 points with a career-high six assists, a career-high four steals and three rebounds. Connor Harding was also in double figures with 11 points. Tim Fuller had eight points, while Nield had six points with three assists.
   
• Utah Valley won the SoCal Challenge championship in Orange County last week, defeating Idaho, 83-45, before downing Nicholls State, 74-63, in the title game to claim the championship skimboard trophy. Fardaws Aimaq was named the SoCal Challenge MVP and Connor Harding was named to the all-tournament team. Aimaq averaged a double-double over the two games at 12.0 points and 16.0 rebounds per game.
   
• As of Nov. 29, Fardaws Big Maple Aimaq leads the nation in total rebounds (96), double-doubles (6), and defensive rebounds per game (10.0). He also ranks second nationally in rebounds per game (13.7), sixth in total field goals made (56), 15th in offensive rebounds per game (3.71), 17th in free throw attempts (45), 18th in total points (142), 26th in points per game (20.3), and 39th in total field goal attempts (100). Daws ranks in the top-20 nationally in eight statistical categories.
   
• The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced that Utah Valley center Fardaws Aimaq has been named to the 2022 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award Watch List. Named after Class of 1995 Hall of Famer and three-time NCAA Champion Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the annual honor in its eighth year recognizes the top centers in men's college basketball.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Wednesday night's game against BYU will be broadcast live on BYUtv and ESPN+. Dave McCann will be on the call with Blaine Fowler handling the analyst duties. The game will also be broadcast over the air waves in Utah County game as Jim McCulloch, the radio Voice of the Wolverines, is in his 12th season with the team. 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 BYU
BYU is ranked No. 12 in the AP Top-25 poll and No. 13 in the Coaches' Poll. The rankings are the highest for BYU since being No. 10 in the final poll of the 2010-11 season. The Cougars are a perfect 6-0 this season with key wins over San Diego State, Oregon, and Utah. The team most recently picked up a 75-64 win at Utah on Saturday night.  Te'Jon Lucas tied a career-high and Caleb Lohner recorded his first career double-double with 18 points and a career-high 12 rebounds in the win over the Runnin' Utes. Alex Barcello leads the team in scoring at 18.5 points per game, followed by Lucas at 11.3 points a contest. Lohner leads the Cougars on the boards, pulling down 7.2 rebounds a game. As a team, BYU is averaging 78.2 points a game while limiting opponents to a 59.5 points per game average. BYU ranks third nationally in three-point field goal defense, limiting teams to just a 22.1 percent clip from three. The team also ranks 13th nationally in rebound margin, outboarding its opponents by an average of 11.3 rebounds a game. BYU is coached by former Utah Valley head coach Mark Pope (2015-19).

SERIES HISTORY VS. BYU
Saturday's matchup against BYU will mark just the seventh time the two teams have met on the basketball hardwood. BYU holds an all-time 5-1 advantage in the series that dates back to the 2003-04 season. Utah Valley and BYU had played only one time in Orem with the Cougars taking an 85-58 palindrome win at the UCCU Center on Nov. 29, 2017. Utah Valley's lone win in the series came during the 2016-17 season when the Wolverines took a 114-101 win at the Marriott Center on Nov. 26, 2016 under then UVU coach Mark Pope. The Cougars took an 82-60 win over UVU last season in Provo on Nov. 28, 2020 in the last meeting between the two schools.

All-Time Results vs. BYU (5-1)
Nov. 28, 2020    BYU def. Utah Valley, 82-60    Provo, Utah
Nov. 09, 2018    BYU def. Utah Valley, 75-65    Provo, Utah
Nov. 29, 2017    BYU def. Utah Valley, 85-58    Orem, Utah
Nov. 26, 2016    Utah Valley def. BYU, 114-101    Provo, Utah
Nov. 13, 2015    BYU def. Utah Valley, 85-54    Provo, Utah
Nov. 29, 2003    BYU def. Utah Valley, 84-65    Provo, Utah

AIMAQ EARNS SECOND STRAIGHT WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR
Utah Valley center Fardaws Aimaq has been named the TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Nov. 22-28.

Aimaq wins the award for the second straight week after being named SoCal Challenge MVP following wins over Idaho and Nicholls State and then adding a home win against Denver on Saturday. On the week, he averaged 14.5 points per game and 15.3 rebounds per game with three double doubles, giving him a NCAA-best six on the young season.
 
The redshirt sophomore is a nominee for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year award. He currently leads the nation with 96 total rebounds and ranks second in the country in rebounds per game at 13.7 boards a contest. He leads the country in double-doubles (6) and fronts the nation in defensive rebounds per game (10.0).

UTAH VALLEY OFF TO BEST SEVEN-GAME START IN SCHOOL HISTORY
With a 6-1 record, Utah Valley is off to its best start in team history, surpassing the 2016-17 team, which opened that season with a 4-1 record before dropping its sixth game.

UTAH VALLEY EXTENDS WIN STREAK TO SIX GAMES WITH WIN OVER DENVER, FIFTH-LONGEST WIN STREAK IN THE NATION
Utah Valley won its sixth straight game with a 77-68 overtime win at home over Denver on Saturday night, which marks the longest streak since the 2018-19 season (7 games) and the longest of the Madsen era. The longest win streak in UVU history is 13 games, which the team set during the 2011-12 season.

THREE-POINT STREAKING
Utah Valley has now hit a three-point field goal in 191 straight games. The last time UVU played in a game without hitting a shot from beyond the arc was on Feb. 7, 2015 at Seattle U.

WOLVERINES RECEIVING VOTES IN MID-MAJOR TOP-25
For the first time this season, Utah Valley is receiving votes in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 poll. UVU enters the poll with four votes.

UTAH VALLEY CLAIMS SOCAL CHALLENGE CHAMPIONSHIP
Utah Valley won the SoCal Challenge championship in Orange County this past week, defeating Idaho, 83-45, before downing Nicholls State, 74-63, in the title game to claim the championship skimboard trophy. Fardaws Aimaq was named the SoCal Challenge MVP and Connor Harding was named to the all-tournament team. Aimaq averaged a double-double over the two games at 12.0 points and 16.0 rebounds per game. The Wolverines went 3-0 at the event with an off-site 86-74 overtime win at Pepperdine before winning games against Idaho and Nicholls State at the JSerra Pavilion in San Juan Capistrano, Calif.

DAWS RANKS IN THE TOP-20 NATIONALLY IN EIGHT STATISTICAL CATEGORIES
As of Nov. 29, Fardaws Big Maple Aimaq leads the nation in total rebounds (96), double-doubles (6), and defensive rebounds per game (10.0). He also ranks second nationally in rebounds per game (13.7), sixth in total field goals made (56), 15th in offensive rebounds per game (3.71), 17th in free throw attempts (45), 18th in total points (142), 26th in points per game (20.3), and 39th in total field goal attempts (100). Daws ranks in the top-20 nationally in eight statistical categories.

UTAH VALLEY HAS WON 44 OF ITS LAST 56 GAMES AT HOME
UVU holds an impressive 43-11 (79 percent) record at home since a win over Seattle U on March 4, 2017. Utah Valley holds an all-time 192-55 (77.7 percent) record in its 15th season this year at the UCCU Center. The Wolverines are averaging 13.7 wins a season on their home hardwood. UVU finished the 2018-19 season with a school-record 16-1 mark. The team went 14-1 at home during the 2017-18 season and was 6-7 at home in 2019-20. UVU went 8-4 at home last season.