ABILENE, Texas—Utah Valley continues its Western Athletic Conference Texas road swing on Saturday, Jan. 3, traveling to Abilene Christian for a 2 p.m. MT matchup at Moody Coliseum.
The Wolverines enter the game riding a seven-game winning streak after earning a hard-fought 91–85 road victory at Tarleton State on Thursday night. Utah Valley improved to 12–3 overall and 2–0 in WAC play with the win, marking the best 15-game start in program history and surpassing the 11–4 starts by the 2018–19 and 2022–23 teams.
Utah Valley became the first visiting team to win at Tarleton State's new EECU Arena after the Texans opened the season 7–0 at home. The Wolverines shot 54.7 percent from the field, won the rebounding battle 40–28, and outscored Tarleton State 44–34 in the paint, responding to multiple second-half runs before closing the game at the free-throw line.
Jackson Holcombe led Utah Valley with 22 points at Tarleton State, pacing five Wolverines in double figures. Holcombe continues to anchor Utah Valley's balanced attack, leading the team at 16.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while shooting 59.6 percent from the field. He was named to the 2025–26 Lou Henson Award Watch List earlier this season.
Trevan Leonhardt directs the offense at the point, averaging 6.7 assists per game and ranking among the national leaders in total assists, while Tyler Hendricks ranks among the nation's top shooters at 50.6 percent from three-point range. Utah Valley enters the game ranking among the national leaders in assists per game, blocks per game, and field goal percentage while holding opponents to 65.5 points per contest.
Abilene Christian enters the matchup at 8–6 overall and 0–1 in WAC play after falling 79–64 to Utah Tech in its conference opener on Thursday night. The Wildcats are led offensively by Bradyn Hubbard, who averages a team-high 15.1 points per game. Rich Smith is coming off a career-high 22-point performance against Utah Tech, shooting 7-of-8 from the field while adding six assists.
Utah Valley has won six straight meetings against Abilene Christian and holds a 6–2 advantage in the all-time series, including a 73–60 road win in the most recent matchup on March 6, 2025, in Abilene.
Saturday's game will be broadcast live on ESPN+, with Grant Boone on play-by-play and Ron Holmes providing color commentary. Radio coverage will air on the Wolverine Sports Network/ESPN The Fan, with Jim McCulloch calling the game on site in Abilene and Brice Larson anchoring the pregame, halftime, and postgame coverage from the studio in Utah.
