UTAH VALLEY HOSTS LAMAR ON SATURDAY AT UCCU CENTER

• Utah Valley continues conference play at home on Saturday afternoon against WAC newcomer Lamar. Tipoff at the UCCU Center is set for 2 p.m.
   
• Fardaws Aimaq scored 13 points with 14 rebounds and a career-high six assists, while Le'Tre Darthard and Tim Fuller each added 13 points to lead Utah Valley to a 66-56 win over UT Rio Grande Valley on Thursday night at the UCCU Center. Harding was also in double figures with 12 points with five rebounds and had a pair of blocks. Jaden McClanahan had nine points with a career-high five steals.
   
• Utah Valley started the season with a KenPom.com ranking of 221. Since then, the Wolverines have climbed 103 spots to 118 as of Jan. 21. It is the sixth-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.
   
• 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. 21, Fardaws Big Maple Aimaq leads the nation in double-doubles (16) and defensive rebounds per game (10.89). Aimaq also ranks second in total rebounds (252) and rebounds per game (14.0). Aimaq is also ninth in free throw attempts (114), 11th in field goals made (132), 17th in total points (351), 20th in field goal attempts (267), 23rd in free throws made (79), and 29th in points per game (19.5). In all Aimaq ranks in the top-30 in 10 national stat categories.
   
• As a team, Utah Valley ranks 9th in the nation in defensive rebounds per game (29.67), 12th in rebound margin (8.6), 13th in total rebounds (740), 13th in rebounds per game (41.11), 22nd in field goal defense (39.0), 27th in free throw attempts (370), and 30th in three-point field goal percentage defense (29.2).
   
• 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
Saturday's game against UTRGV will be broadcast live on ESPN+, which is available on the ESPN app and at ESPNplus.com. Brandon Crow and Josh Kallunki will be on the call for the ESPN+ 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 LAMAR
Lamar heads into Saturday's game with a 2-16 overall record and a 0-7 mark in WAC play. The Cardinals have lost nine straight. The team's last win was a 67-64 victory over Lady of the Lake on Dec. 5. The team had to forfeit a pair of WAC games at home to New Mexico State and Grand Canyon due to issues with COVID. Lamar most recently dropped a 71-55 decision at Dixie State on Thursday night. Senior Lincoln Smith scored a team-high 14 points and had seven rebounds in the loss to the Trailblazers. Senior guard C.J. Roberts leads the team in scoring at 14.1 points a game, while Smith fronts the team on the boards, pulling down 5.7 rebounds a game. As a team, Lamar averages 62.9 points a game while allowing opponents a 72.8 points per game average.

SERIES HISTORY VS. LAMAR
Utah Valley and Lamar meet up on the basketball hardwood for the fourth time on Saturday. Lamar holds an all-time 2-1 advantage in the series. The Cardinals took a 74-68 win over UVU in the last meeting between the two teams on Nov. 21, 2019 in Orem. Utah Valley's lone win in the series was a 71-55 victory in Orem on Feb. 9, 2009.

All-Time Results vs. Lamar (LU leads 2-1)
Nov. 21, 2019    Lamar def. Utah Valley, 74-68        Orem, Utah
Feb. 09, 2009    Utah Valley def. Lamar, 71-55        Orem, Utah
Jan. 08, 2008    Lamar def. Utah Valley, 74-69        Beaumont, Texas

UTAH VALLEY STOPS SKID, DEFEATS UT RIO GRANDE VALLEY 66-56
Fardaws Aimaq scored 13 points with 14 rebounds and a career-high six assists, while Le'Tre Darthard and Tim Fuller each added 13 points to lead Utah Valley to a 66-56 win over UT Rio Grande Valley on Thursday night at the UCCU Center. Aimaq scored his 13 points on 4 of 12 shooting from the field and a 5 of 8 clip from the free throw line. He also set a career high with six assists. Darthard scored his 13 points on a 4 of 8 clip from the field, including a 1 of 2 mark from long range. Fuller scored his 13 on 6 of 11 shots from the field. Fuller was just one rebound shy of a double-double with nine and had two blocks. Harding was also in double figures with 12 points, connecting on 4 of 12 shots from the field, including a pair of threes. Harding also pulled down five rebounds and had a pair of blocks. Jaden McClanahan had nine points with a career-high five steals.

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 103 spots to 118 as of Jan. 21. It is the eighth-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. 21, Fardaws Big Maple Aimaq leads the nation in double-doubles (16) and defensive rebounds per game (10.89). Aimaq also ranks second in total rebounds (252) and rebounds per game (14.0). Aimaq is also ninth in free throw attempts (114), 11th in field goals made (132), 17th in total points (351), 20th in field goal attempts (267), 23rd in free throws made (79), and 29th in points per game (19.5). In all Aimaq ranks in the top-30 in 10 national stat categories.

NIELD ONE OF TOP DISHERS IN THE NATION
As of Jan. 21, Blaze Nield ranks 27th nationally in assist turnover ratio at 2.59. He also ranks 48th in the country with 83 assists this season. He ranks 69th nationally in assists per game at 4.6 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.
  
WOLVERINES ONE OF TOP REBOUNDING TEAMS IN NATION
As a team, Utah Valley ranks ninth in the nation in defensive rebounds per game (29.67), 12th in rebound margin (8.6), 13th in total rebounds (740), 13th in rebounds per game (41.11), 22nd in field goal defense (39.0), 27th in free throw attempts (370), and 30th in three-point field goal percentage defense (29.2)