UTAH VALLEY OPENS 2021-22 SEASON ON THE ROAD AT BOISE STATE ON TUESDAY NIGHT

• Utah Valley opens the 2021-22 season on the road as the team travels to the CIty of Trees to take on Boise State on Tuesday night at ExtraMile Arena. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
   
• Utah Valley returns 10 players, including three starters from last year's squad that won a share of the WAC regular season title. Utah Valley went 11-11 overall and 9-4 in WAC play to claim just the second WAC title in team history. The team welcomes six new players to the team, including four transfers.
   
• The Wolverines welcome back reigning WAC Player of the Year and WAC Defensive Player of the Year Fardaws Aimaq. Aimaq became the first player in 40 years to average 15 or more rebounds per game last season as he averaged 15.0 boards, 13.9 points, and 1.7 blocks per game. In addition to his WAC Player of the Year and WAC Defensive Player of the Year honors, Aimaq was named to the NABC All-District First Team, the Lefty Driesell Defensive All-America Team, First Team All-WAC, WAC All-Defensive Team, WAC All-Newcomer Team. He also won the WAC's Joe Kearney Award, the Riley Wallace Award, and was named to the NetScouts All-International Team. Aimaq was also a finalist for the Lou Henson Player of the Year award.
   
• 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.
   
• Fardaws Aimaq has been named the Western Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year by the media and Utah Valley was picked to finish fourth by the coaches and fifth by the media in the league's preseason polls. Aimaq was named to the preseason All-WAC first team and Trey Woodbury was selected to the preseason All-WAC second team in both the media and the coaches.
   
• Mark Madsen enters his third 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 11-11 during his second season with UVU and helped the team to just its second WAC regular season title, and its first championship since 2014. 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. Madsen received a five-year extension on his contract in the offseason.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Tuesday night's game at Boise State will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network, which is available at www.TheMW.com/Watch. The game will also be broadcast over the air waves in Utah County game as Jim McCulloch, the Voice of the
Wolverines, is in his 13th season with the team. Jason Erickson 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 BOISE STATE
Boise State returns three starters and 12 letterwinners from a team that finished 19-9 last season and finished fourth in the Mountain West Conference with a 14-6 record. The team earned a spot in the National Invitational Tournament last year, defeating SMU 85-84 in the first round before falling to Memphis in the second round, 59-56. Fifth year senior Abu Kigab returns after ranking second on the team in scoring at 11.8 points per game. He also ranked second on the team in rebounding last season at 5.4 boards a contest. Guard Marcus Shaver Jr. also returns after averaging double figures last season at 10.6 points a game to go along with 4.5 rebounds per game. Boise State is coached by Leon Rice who enters his 12th season with the Broncos. Rice has taken the Broncos to six postseason tournaments – including the first two at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament.

SERIES HISTORY VS. BOISE STATE
Utah Valley and Boise State will meet up on the basketball hardwood for the sixth time on Tuesday night. It will be the first meeting since the 2007-08 season when the teams played a two-game series.  Boise State won the last matchup between the two teams, taking an 87-77 win in Orem on Dec. 13, 2007. The Broncos also won the last meeting in Boise with a 73-72 in overtime on Nov. 9, 2007. Utah Valley's lone win in the series was a 74-55 win in Orem on Nov. 27, 2004. Boise State owns an all-time 4-1 advantage in the series.

All-Time Results vs. Boise State (1-4)
Dec. 13, 2007    Boise State def. Utah Valley, 87-77        Orem, Utah
Nov. 09, 2007    Boise State def. Utah Valley, 73-72 (OT)    Boise, Idaho
Dec. 17, 2005    Boise State def. Utah Valley, 79-62        Orem, Utah
Nov. 27, 2004    Utah Valley def. Boise State, 74-55        Orem, Utah
Nov. 24, 2003    Boise State def. Utah Valley, 80-68        Boise, Idaho