• Utah Valley will open its 2022-23 home schedule against Division II foe Western Colorado  on Wednesday night at the UCCU Center. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
   
• Aziz Bandaogo scored 17 points with six rebounds and Cam Alford added 13 points to lead Utah Valley in a 75-58 road loss to Utah State in the team's season opener at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in Logan, Utah on Monday night. Harmon nearly had a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds. Harmon also had two steals. Trey Woodbury had eight points with three assists.
   
• Utah Valley returns eight players, including three starters from last year's team that won 20 games. Starters Le'Tre Darthard, Blaze Nield, and Tim Fuller return to the squad. Darthard ranked fourth on the team in scoring at nearly 10 points a game and led the Wolverines with 44 buckets from long range. Nield averaged 6.9 points and led the team in assists at 3.8 per game. Fuller averaged 6.8 points and pulled down 4.4 boards a game. Fuller also ranked second in the WAC and led UVU with a 58.1 percent mark from the field.
   
• Justin Harmon returns for his junior season after ranking second on the team in scoring last year at 10.0 points a game. Jaden McClanahan (3.7 ppg., 2.0 apg.), Tim Ceaser (3.5 ppg., 3.8 rpg.), and Jordan Battle (0.8 ppg., 1.1 rpg.) also return this season.
   
• Trey Woodbury returns for his senior season after leading the Wolverines in scoring at 15.6 points per game during the 2020-21 season. He was sidelined last season with an injury, but came back to play in UVU's two WAC Tournament contests in Las Vegas.
   
• Woodbury was named to the WAC's preseason All-WAC team by both the coaches and media. The Las Vegas native earned All-WAC honors in 2020-21.
   
• Utah Valley welcomes nine new players to the squad, including three transfers in Cam Alford (John A. Logan College), Tahj Small (Tarleton), and Aziz Bandaogo (Akron).
   
• Utah Valley was picked to finish seventh by the coaches and eighth by the media in the WAC preseason polls.
   
• Mark Madsen enters his fourth season as the head coach of the Wolverines. The two-time NBA champion, former Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach, and former Stanford basketball star led his team to its first 20-win season since 2018. He also guided the Wolverines to just its second WAC regular season title in 2010--the team's first championship since 2014. He is just the third head coach in UVU's Division I history. 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
Wednesday night's game against Western Colorado will be broadcast live on ESPN+, which is available at on the ESPN app and at ESPNplus.com.  The game will also be broadcast over the air waves in Utah County with Jim McCulloch on the call. The radio broadcast will be aired live on ESPN 960 AM radio. A live stream of the radio broadcast will also be available at ESPN960sports.com.

ABOUT WESTERN COLORADO
Western Colorado went 5-23 last season and finished 15th in the RMAC with a 4-18 conference record. The team returns three eight letterwinners, including three starters from last year's squad. Western Colorado is a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with teams that compete at the NCAA Division II level. Senior guard Avery Rembao returns to the team after averaging double figures last season at 11.9 points per game. He also pulled down 3.8 rebounds a game. Senior guard Jaelan McCloud also returns to the squad after averaging 7.6 points and 3.1 rebounds a season ago. The Mountaineers are coached by Bradd Schafer who is in his ninth season with the team. 

SERIES HISTORY VS. WESTERN COLORADO
Utah Valley and Western Colorado will meet on the basketball hardwood for just the second time on Wednesday night. Utah Valley won the only meeting between the two teams, 82-59, on Nov. 28, 2018 at the UCCU Center.

UTAH VALLEY DROPS SEASON OPENER AT UTAH STATE, 75-58
Aziz Bandaogo scored 17 points with six rebounds and Cam Alford added 13 points to lead Utah Valley in a 75-58 road loss to Utah State in the team's season opener at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in Logan, Utah.