UTAH VALLEY TRAVELS TO CHARLOTTE TO TAKE ON 49ERS

• Utah Valley heads out on the road for the second of four straight road games as the Wolverines travel to the Tar Heel State for a first-ever matchup against Charlotte on Wednesday night at Halton Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with tip-off is set for 5 p.m. (MT)
   
• Jaden McClanahan recorded an 11-point, 13-rebound double-double and Trevin Dorius scored a team-high 16 points with eight rebounds to lead Utah Valley to a 79-73 overtime road win over Sam Houston on Thursday night in Huntsville, Texas. Five Wolverines reached double digit scoring against the Bearkats led by Dorius' 16. K'mani Doughty had 15 points, Caleb Stone-Carrawell scored 13, McClanahan had 11, and Nate Tshimanga helped with 10 points.
   
• Utah Valley has started the season with a 2-0 record for the first time since the 2013-14 season. UVU has opened the season with a 2-0 record for just the fourth time in program history. The best start to a season in UVU history was a 4-0 start by the 2008-09 team.
   
• Utah Valley returns two letterwinners from last year's team that won a school-record 28 games, won a WAC regular season title, and made a run to the semifinals of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). Ethan Potter (1.8 ppg., 2.5 rpg.) and Jaden McClanahan (2.2 ppg., 0.9 apg.) are the lone returning players that saw action last season. Head coach Todd Phillips welcomes 11 newcomers to the team, including seven transfers and four true freshmen.
   
• Utah Valley University guard Drake Allen has been named to the Preseason All-WAC team as voted on by the league's head coaches.  Allen, a transfer from Southern Utah, heads into his junior season after a stellar sophomore campaign for the Thunderbirds during the 2022-23 season. He played all 37 games while averaging 11.0 points, 3.6 assists, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.4 steals a game last year. He shot nearly 50 percent from the field (151-of-303) and knocked down 27 threes during the season. Allen was named to the WAC All-Newcomer team for his efforts during the 2022-23 season.
   
• Utah Valley welcomes 11 new players to the squad, including seven transfers in K'mani Doughty (New Orleans), Drake Allen (Southern Utah), Tanner Toolson (BYU), Simon Akena (McCook CC), Nate Tshimanga (Troy), Caleb Stone-Carrawell (Austin Peay), and Trevin Dorius (Utah State). UVU also welcomes true freshmen Jackson Holcombe, Osiris Grady (4-star), Peter Amakasu, and McCaden Adams.
   
• Utah Valley was picked to finish fourth by the coaches and eighth by the media in the WAC preseason polls.
   
• Todd Phillips enters his first season as the head coach of the Utah Valley basketball team.  Phillips is no stranger to UVU as he spent the past four seasons as an associate head coach/assistant coach under previous head coach Mark Madsen. Phillips helped UVU to two WAC regular season titles (2020-21, 2022-23) and an impressive 70-51 record, including 48 wins over the last two seasons.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Wednesday night's game at Charlotte will be broadcast live on the ESPN+, which is available at ESPNplus.com or on the ESPN app.  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 with a live stream available at ESPN960sports.com. Brice Larson will host the pregame/halftime/postgame show  for the game on ESPN 960 AM. 

ABOUT CHARLOTTE
Charlotte enters Wednesday's game against Utah Valley with a 1-1 overall record. The team opened the season at home with a 69-52 win over Maine. The team then dropped a 71-59 decision to Liberty on Nov. 11. Junior forward Igor Milicic Jr. notched a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double in the loss to the Flames. Sophomore guard Nik Graves leads the team in scoring at 13.5 points a game. Milicic and redshirt sophomore center Dishon Jackson also average double figures at 11.0 and 10.0 points per game, respectively. Milicic fronts the team on the boards, pulling down 9.0 rebounds per game. Charlotte is averaging 64 points a game while allowing opponents 61.5 points a contest. Charlotte went 22-14 last season and made a postseason run to claim the 2023 College Basketball Invitational title. The 49ers return three starters and five of their top eight contributors from the CBI championship squad. 

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE 49ERS, AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Utah Valley and Charlotte will meet up on the basketball hardwood for the first time on Wednesday night. The Wolverines hold an all-time 1-4 record against the American, but hold a 5-3 record against current teams of the American Conference. 

All-Time Results vs. Current Teams in The American Athletic Conference (5-3)
Mar. 28, 2023    UAB def. Utah Valley, 88-86    Las Vegas, Nevada (NIT Semifinals)
Mar. 25, 2019    USF def. Utah Valley, 66-57    Tampa, Florida
Nov. 15, 2019    Utah Valley def. UAB, 66-55    Birmingham, Alabama
Dec. 02, 2017    Utah Valley def. UTSA, 88-80    Orem, Utah
Mar. 20, 2017    Utah Valley def. Rice, 85-79    Houston, Texas
Dec. 21, 2016    UTSA def. Utah Valley, 66-60    San Antonio, Texas
Dec. 03, 2016    Utah Valley def. UTSA, 75-71    Orem, Utah
Dec. 19, 2015    Utah Valley def. UTSA, 83-78    San Antonio, Texas

5-FOOT-10 MCCLANAHAN PULLS DOWN CAREER-HIGH 13 REBOUNDS IN WIN AT SAM HOUSTON
Senior guard Jaden McClanahan pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds in Utah Valley's win at Sam Houston on Nov. 9. At 5-foot-10, McClanahan is the shortest Wolverines to ever pull down 10 or more rebounds in a single game. 

THREE-POINT STREAKING
Utah Valley has now hit a three-point field goal in 255 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.

UTAH VALLEY TO PLAY IN JACKSONVILLE CLASSIC
Utah Valley will be one of the eight teams that will be participating in the Jacksonville Classic, Nov. 19 and 20, at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida. The Wolverines will be in the Bay Bracket along with Southern Miss, Cornell, and Cal State Fullerton. The Coast Bracket will feature Charlotte, UCF, South Dakota State, and George Mason. UVU will take on Southern Miss in the Jacksonville Classic opener on Nov. 19 at 10:30 a.m. MT. Fans can follow the Jacksonville Classic on social media (@JaxClassicMBB) for schedule announcements and travel information.

UCCU CENTER MAGIC
Utah Valley holds an impressive 70-16 (81.3 percent) record at home since a win over Seattle U on March 4, 2017. The Wolverines hold an all-time 221-62 (78 percent) record as the team heads into its 21st season at the UCCU Center. The Wolverines are averaging 10.9 wins a season on their home hardwood. UVU finished 14-1 at home last season. The team has won 18 of its last 19 games at home and 26 of its last 29 at the UCCU Center. Utah Valley's 14 wins at home during the 2022-23 season tied the program record for home wins in a season with the 2006-07, 2011-12, and 2018-19 seasons.

UTAH VALLEY OFF TO 2-0 START FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE 2013-14 SEASON
Utah Valley is off to its best start to a season in 10 years. The Wolverines are 2-0 to start the 2023-24 season, which is the best start since the team went 2-0 during the 2013-14 season. The Wolverines have started a season with a 2-0 record just three other times, including the 2013-14, 2008-09, and 2006-07 campaigns. The best start to a season in program history was the 2008-09 team, which started the year with a 4-0 record.