• Utah Valley (6-5) returns home from a two-game Pac-12 road swing to take on Conference USA foe Liberty (9-3) on Wednesday night at the UCCU Center. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
   
• Caleb Stone-Carrawell scored 12 points and Tanner Toolson added 11 in a 76-62 setback to Utah on Dec. 16 at the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Trailing by six points, 67-61, with 3:46 to play, Utah Valley got three straight defensive stops but would only manage one point offensively to cut it to five points, 67-62, with 2:43 to go. Utah then went on a 9-0 run over the final two minutes to secure the 76-62 win.
   
• With its win over Weber State on Dec. 5, Utah Valley has won 11 straight games at home and 21 of its last 22 at the UCCU Center. UVU's last loss at home was an 85-80 setback to Seattle U on Jan. 14, 2023. The 11 straight home wins is the eighth-longest home win streak in the nation. UVU is a perfect 4-0 at home this season.
   
• UVU opened WAC play with a 1-1 record with a win at home over Seattle U and a road loss to Utah Tech. UVU's next WAC game isn't until Jan. 4 against California Baptist at the UCCU Center.
   
• Utah Valley has 11 new players this season, including seven transfers. The team did not return a player with a single start from last season. The only returning players that saw time last season are Jaden McClanahan and Ethan Potter.
   
• 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's game against Liberty will be broadcast live on ESPN+. ESPN+ is available on the ESPN+ app or 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 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.  Jordan Bianucci will host the pregame/halftime/postgame show for the game on ESPN 960 AM. 

ABOUT LIBERTY
Liberty was the preseason favorite to win Conference USA this season in its first season in the league after making the transition from the Atlantic Sun Conference. The Flames have enjoyed seven straight 20-plus win seasons and have made six trips to the NCAA Tournament with their last appearance being in 2021. The team made it to the second round of the NIT last season before falling to Wisconsin. Liberty holds a 9-3 overall record this season and is ranked No. 53 in the latest NCAA NET rankings. Since falling to Grand Canyon, 69-64, at home on Dec. 9, the Flames have won two straight at home, including a 74-52 win over Tennessee State and a 99-26 win over St. Andrews on Saturday night. Liberty now heads out on the road where the team holds a 0-1 record this year. Liberty's lone road contest this season was an 83-58 setback to then-No. 13 FAU on Nov. 30. In Liberty's 99-26 win over St. Mary's on Saturday, redshirt sophomore forward Zander Yates scored a career-high 23 points in the game and junior guard Brody Peebles tallied a season-best 23 points. The 26 allowed points against St. Andrews is the second fewest points given up in program history. Redshirt senior forward Kyle Road leads the Flames in scoring this season at 13.6 points per game. Redshirt junior guard Kaden Metheny and Peebles also average double figures at 11.6 and 11.3 points per game, respectively. Junior guard Joseph Venzant leads Liberty on the boards, pulling down 8.3 rebounds a game. As a team, Liberty rans fifth nationally in scoring defense (59.2) and fifth in turnovers per game (9.0). The team also ranks seventh in the country in assist/turnover ratio (1.90) and eighth in three-pointers per game (11.0). 

SERIES HISTORY VS. LIBERTY, CONFERENCE USA
Utah Valley (6-4) and Utah (7-2) will meet up on the basketball hardwood for the first time on Wednesday night. Utah Valley holds an all-time 6-2 record against teams from Conference USA.

LAST TIME OUT: Utah 76, Utah Valley 62
Caleb Stone-Carrawell scored 12 points and Tanner Toolson added 11 in a 76-62 setback to Utah on Dec. 16 at the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Trailing by six points, 67-61, with 3:46 to play, Utah Valley got three straight defensive stops but would only manage one point offensively to cut it to five points, 67-62, with 2:43 to go. Utah then went on a 9-0 run over the final two minutes to secure the 76-62 win. Stone-Carrawell scored his team-high 12 points on 4 of 14 shooting, including a 1 of 5 mark from long range. He knocked down 3 of 4 shots at the free throw line. Stone-Carrawell pulled down four rebounds with one block and a steal. Toolson connected on 4 of 9 shots from the floor, including a pair of threes and a free throw for his 11 points. He tallied three rebounds with one steal. Trevin Dorius was just one point shy of a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds. He also had one block and a steal. Drake Allen scored nine points, while K'mani Doughty added seven. Osiris Grady came off the bench to score six points and dished out three assists in eight minutes of action. Jaden McClanahan also had six points on the day. 

UCCU CENTER MAGIC
Utah Valley holds an impressive 73-16 (82%) record at home since a win over Seattle U on March 4, 2017. The Wolverines hold an all-time 224-62 (78.3%) 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 21 of its last 22 games at home and 29 of its last 32 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. UVU is a perfect 4-0 at home this season.

EIGHTH-LONGEST HOME WIN STREAK IN THE NATION
With its win over Weber State on Dec. 5, Utah Valley has won 11 straight games at home dating back to the 2022-23 season. The Wolverines have also won 21 of their last 22 games at home. UVU's last loss at home was an 85-80 setback to Seattle U on Jan. 14, 2023. The home streak is the eighth-longest home win streak in the nation. UCLA holds the nation's longest home win streak at 29 games.