UTAH VALLEY TRAVELS TO PLAY SEATTLE U ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT CLIMATE PLEDGE ARENA

• After opening Western Athletic Conference play with three straight games at home, Utah Valley now heads out on the road to continue league play against Seattle U on Wednesday, Jan. 12 at Climate Pledge Arena in the Evergreen State. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. (MT).
   
• Fardaws Aimaq recorded his nation-leading 13th double-double with 20 points and 17 rebounds to lead Utah Valley to a 79-71 win over in-state foe Dixie State on Saturday afternoon in the Old Hammer Rivalry game at the UCCU Center. Aimaq led four other Wolverines in double figures as Connor Harding had 14 points, Blaze Nield tallied 13, Tim Fuller had 12, and Asa McCord scored a career-high 11 points.
   
• Fardaws Aimaq has earned multiple honors already this season. He already has three WAC Player of the Week honors, two Lute Olson National Player of the Week wards, and an ESPN Player of the Week award.
   
• As of Jan. 10, Utah Valley ranks No. 89 in the  NCAA NET ranking. The Wolverines hold the third-best ranking in the WAC just behind New Mexico State at No. 74 and Grand Canyon at No. 83.
   
• Utah Valley's 68-52 road win over Pac-12 foe Washington on Dec. 21 marks the program's third win over a team from a Power 6 conference. All three of UVU's Power 6 wins are road wins over Pac-12 conference opponents. UVU's previous P6 wins included at 75-71 win at Arizona State (12/10/05) and a 70-68 win at Oregon State (12/1/10).
   
• As of Jan. 10, Fardaws Big Maple Aimaq leads the nation in double-doubles (13) and defensive rebounds per game (10.73). Aimaq also ranks second in total rebounds (207) and rebounds per game (13.8). Aimaq is also 13th nationally in field goals made (112), 14th in free throw attempts (92), 15th in total points (295), and 29th in points per game (19.7). As a team, UVU ranks 12th nationally in defensive rebounds per game (29.80), 14th in rebound margin (8.9), and 19th in rebounds per game (41.20).
   
• 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's game at Seattle U will be broadcast live on ESPN+, which is available on the ESPN app and at ESPNplus.com. Russell Brown and Mazvita Maraire will be on the call for the broadcast.  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 SEATTLE U
Seattle U enters Wednesday's game with a 10-4 overall record and a 1-0 mark in WAC play. The team opened league play on Jan. 6 with a 93-77 win at Chicago State. The Redhawks have now won two straight and three of their last four games. The team returns home where it holds an impressive 9-1 record. Wednesday's game will be at the newly renovated Climate Pledge Arena (previously Key Arena) where Seattle U holds a 4-1 record this season. Darrion Trammell scored a game-high 30 points in Seattle U's 93-77 win at Chicago State on Thursday night. Cameron Tyson and Emeka Udenyi each had 16 points and Vasja Pandža had 12. Trammell leads the team in scoring at 15.7 points a game, followed by Tyson at 14.8 points. Riley Grigsby also averages double figures at 14.0 points a contest. Tyson leads the team on the glass, pulling down a team-best 6.1 rebounds a game. Trammell ranks second nationally in steals per game at 3.0. Seattle U is one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country, averaging 10.7 threes a game, which ranks ninth nationally. As a team, SU averages 77.50 points a game, while limiting opponents to a 65.9 points per game average.

SERIES HISTORY VS. SEATTLE U
Utah Valley and Seattle U meet up on the basketball hardwood for the 23rd time on Wednesday night. The series is tied 11-11. Utah Valley has won six of the last nine meetings, including a 93-92 overtime win in the last game played between the two teams on Jan. 15, 2021 in Seattle. Utah Valley holds a 4-7 all-time record in games played in Seattle.

UTAH VALLEY DEFEATS DIXIE STATE, 79-71, IN OLD HAMMER RIVALRY
Fardaws Aimaq recorded his nation-leading 13th double-double with 20 points and 17 rebounds to lead Utah Valley to a 79-71 win over in-state foe Dixie State on Saturday afternoon in the Old Hammer Rivalry game at the UCCU Center. Aimaq led four other Wolverines in double figures with 20 points. Connor Harding had 14 points, Blaze Nield tallied 13, Tim Fuller had 12, and Asa McCord scored a career-high 11 points. As a team, Utah Valley shot an impressive 63 percent (29-46) from the field, including a 46.7 percent (7-15) mark from long range. UVU outrebounded the Trailblazers 35-29. The Wolverines had 24 assists on 29 made baskets.

UTAH VALLEY HAS MADE ONE OF THE BIGGEST JUMPS IN THE NATION IN THE KENPOM RANKINGS THIS SEASON
Utah Valley started the season with a KenPom.com ranking of 221. Since then, the Wolverines have climbed 95 spots to 126 as of Jan. 10--a staggering 175.40 percent increase. It is the fifth-biggest jump in the country this season. It is the biggest jump in the WAC and biggest jump among Division I teams in the state of Utah.

DAWS LEADS NATION IN DOUBLE-DOUBLES AND DEFENSIVE BOARDS PER GAME
As of Jan. 10, Fardaws Big Maple Aimaq leads the nation in double-doubles (13) and defensive rebounds per game (10.73). Aimaq also ranks second in total rebounds (207) and rebounds per game (13.8). Aimaq is also 13th nationally in field goals made (112), 14th in free throw attempts (92), 15th in total points (295), and 29th in points per game (19.7). As a team, UVU ranks 12th nationally in defensive rebounds per game (29.80), 14th in rebound margin (8.9), and 19th in rebounds per game (41.20).

NIELD ONE OF TOP DISHERS IN THE NATION
As of Jan. 10, Blaze Nield ranks 25th in the country with 77 assists this season. He ranks 36th nationally in assists per game at 5.1 a game. The UVU single season record for assists per game is held by Marcel Davis who averaged 5.1 assists per game during the 2015-16 season. Nield is on pace to tie that mark.

WOLVERINES RANK IN TOP-30 NATIONALLY IN SIX STAT CATEGORIES
As of Jan. 10, Utah Valley ranks in the top-30 in six different statistical categories. The Wolverines rank 12th in defensive rebounds per game (29.80), 14th in rebound margin (8.9), 19th in rebounds per game (41.20), 20th in three-point field goal percentage defense (28.0), 22nd in field-goal percentage defense (38.7), and 23rd in total rebounds (618).