UTAH VALLEY TRAVELS TO THE LONE STAR STATE TO TAKE ON TARLETON STATE ON THURSDAY NIGHT

• Utah Valley wraps up regular season play this week as the team travels to the Lone Star state to play Tarleton State on Thursday and Abilene Christian on Saturday. The Wolverines will then head to Las Vegas for next week's WAC Tournament at Orleans Arena. Tip-off for Thursday night's game at TSU is set for 6 p.m. (MT)
   
• Drake Allen scored a team-high 18 points and Trevin Dorius recorded a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double to lead Utah Valley in a 78-65 setback to UT Arlington on March 2 at the UCCU Center. The Texans snapped UVU's five-game win streak.
   
• With 14 wins on the season, head coach Todd Phillips has won more games than any first-year head coach in Utah Valley's full Division I status era. He also has the best KenPom rating (164) for a first-year head coach in program history. UVU became a full Division I member in 2009 after a seven-year provisional period. Mark Pope won 12 games during his first season (2015-16) and Mark Madsen won 11 games in his first season (2019-20) with the squad.
   
• Ethan Potter has led UVU over its past nine games, averaging 14.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game, including his career-high 20-point performance in the 72-45 win over Abilene Christian on Feb. 10. Prior to his break-out 15-point game at SFA on Feb. 1, Potter was averaging 2.2 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.3 blocks per game.
   
• Jaden McClanahan and Drake Allen have each dished out a career-high 11 assists in a game this season. McClanahan did it most recently in a 71-62 win over Stephen F. Austin on Feb. 24. Allen has done it twice this season in UVU's 70-59 win over UTRGV on Feb. 22 and at Stephen F. Austin on Feb. 1. Allen and McClanahan are two of only four players in the WAC to dish out 10 or more assists in a single game this season. The UVU guards are the only two players in the WAC this season to record 10 or more assists in multiple games this season. Allen ranks second in the WAC in assists at 4.33 per game.
   
• Trevin Dorius matched a career-high with five blocks against UT Arlington on March 2. He also had five swats against WAC leader Grand Canyon on Feb. 3. The five blocks games are tied for the second most blocks pulled down in a single game this season in the WAC. Dorius leads the WAC in blocks at 1.9 swats per game. Dorius has recorded three or more blocks in five of his last eight games.
   
• Utah Valley held Division I opponents to under 50 points in back-to-back games for the first time in program history with its 74-45 win over Abilene Christian on Feb. 10 and its 69-46 win at California Baptist on Feb. 15 .It marks the third overall time in UVU history that the Wolverines have held an opponent to under 50 points in back-to-back games (regardless of opponent classification).
   
• As a team, Utah Valley leads the WAC in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.23. Drake Allen leads WAC in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.21. UVU also ranks second in assists per game at 15.34. Trevin Dorius ranks fifth in the WAC in rebounding at 7.62 boards a game. Dorius is also ranks tied for third in offensive boards per game at 2.86.
   
• Utah Valley used its eight different starting lineup this season on Feb. 10 against Abilene Christian. The Wolverines have now used the same starting lineup in the team's last five games, all of which have resulted in victories. UVU has used the same starting lineup of Drake Allen, Tanner Toolson, Jaden McClanahan, Ethan Potter, and Trevin Dorius for six straight games.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Thursday's game against Tarleton State will be broadcast live on ESPN+.  Scott Garner and Mike Hardge 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. Brice Larson will host the pregame/halftime/postgame show for the game on ESPN 960 AM. 

ABOUT TARLETON STATE
Tarleton State enters the week with a 22-7 overall record and a 15-3 mark in WAC play. The team is sits just a half game behind Grand Canyon (16-3) for the top spot in the WAC standings and seeks its first-ever WAC regular season crown. The Texans hold the nation's second-longest active win streak with 10 wins. The team has not dropped a game since falling at home to Southern Utah on Jan. 27. Tarleton State is 10-2 at home where the team will close out regular season play this week against UVU and Seattle U. The Texans tied a program record with its 15th conference win an 88-83 road win at Southern Utah on Saturday night. Jakorie Smith led TSU with 22 points. KiAndre Gaddy, Lue Williams, and Adam Moussa were also in double figures at 18, 15, and 13 points respectively. Smith leads the Texans in scoring at 16.2 points a game, followed by Williams at 13.7 points a contest. Devon Barnes (12.4) and Gaddy (12.0) also average double figures. Gaddy leads the team on the boards, pulling down 7.0 rebounds per game. As a team, Tarleton State averages 73.7 points a game while limiting opponents to a 68.3 points per game average. 

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE TEXANS
Utah Valley and Tarleton State will meet for the eighth time on the basketball hardwood on Thursday night. UVU holds a slight 4-3 all-time series lead. Tarleton won the last matchup against UVU, taking a 72-61 win in Orem on Feb. 8. Utah Valley's last win was a 72-58 victory last season at the WAC Tournament in Las Vegas. The Texans won the last game in Stephenville with a 77-58 win on Feb. 23, 2023.  

LAST TIME vs. TSU: TARLETON STATE 72, UTAH VALLEY 61 (2/8/24 - Orem)
Ethan Potter scored a career-high 19 points and pulled down a career-high eight rebounds to lead Utah Valley in a 72-61 setback to Tarleton State on Feb. 8 at the UCCU Center. 

UTAH VALLEY PUNCHES TICKET TO WAC TOURNAMENT IN LAS VEGAS
Utah Valley has secured its spot at next week's WAC Tournament. The Wolverines will be one of the eight teams in the WAC at the tournament at Orleans Arena. With a 9-9 league record, Utah Valley currently sits in a tie for fifth place in the WAC standings. If the tournament started today, UVU would take the sixth seed in the tournament and would play No. 7 seed Abilene Christian in the first round on Wednesday, March 13. Seeding at the tournament is based on the WAC's resume system. UVU is currently sixth in the WAC resume seeding system at -2.02 and sits just behind Stephen F. Austin at -1.82. The WAC Tournament will run March 13-16.