Utah Valley continues WAC play at home on Wednesday against Abilene Christian. Tip off at the UCCU Center is set for 6 p.m.
Aziz Bandaogo came up just short of a triple double with a career-high 23 points, 13 rebounds, and a career-best seven assists to lead Utah Valley in an 85-80 setback to Seattle U on Saturday night at the UCCU Center. The loss is the first setback for the Wolverines since falling at Boise State on Nov. 26.
With its loss to Seattle U on Saturday night, Utah Valley’s win streak was snapped at 11 games. It was tied for the fourth-longest win streak in the nation. The 11-game streak began with an 88-78 win over Long Beach State on Dec. 3 and came to an end in an 85-80 loss to Seattle U on Jan. 14. UVU’s 11-game streak was the second longest win streak in school history. The 2011-12 team holds the longest streak in team history at 13 games.
Utah Valley’s six straight road wins is tied for the longest road win streak in the nation. The Wolverines have not lost a road game since falling at Boise State on Nov. 26. UVU’s six-game road win streak includes wins at BYU, Northern Arizona, Oregon, UT Arlington, UTRGV, and California Baptist.
With its 77-72 win at Oregon on Dec. 20, Utah Valley became one of four WAC teams to pick up a win over a team from a Power 5 Conference. Utah Valley (Oregon) joins Sam Houston (Oklahoma, Utah), California Baptist (Washington), and Tarleton (Boston College) to pick up wins over teams from a Power 5 league.
Utah Valley is the top shot blocking team in the nation at 6.6 blocks per game. The Wolverines sit ahead of Illinois (6.3 bpg.), Iona (6.2 bpg.), and Washington (6.2 bpg.)
Aziz Bandaogo ranks in the top-15 nationally in six statistical categories. He ranks third in blocks (53), fifth in rebounds (198), sixth in blocks per game (2.79), eighth in double doubles (9), ninth in rebounds per game (10.4), and 11th in defensive rebounds per game (7.58).
Le’Tre Darthard knocked down his 100th career three-pointer on Jan. 5 at UT Arlington. He now ranks ninth all-time at UVU with 109 career made threes. Darthard ranks fourth all-time at UVU with a 40.4 percent clip from long range. He also ranks fifth all-time at UVU with an 83.9 percent career mark from the free throw line.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Wednesday night’s game against Abilene Christian will be broadcast live on the ESPN+, which is available on the ESPN+ app and at ESPNplus.com. Brandon Crow and Josh Kallunki will be on the call. The game will also be broadcast over the Utah County airwaves on ESPN 960 AM with Jim McCulloch on the call.
ABOUT ABILENE CHRISTIAN
Abilene Christian enters Wednesday’s game with a 9-9 overall record and a 1-4 mark in WAC play. The Wildcats have dropped three straight, including a 72-63 setback at Tarleton on Saturday night. ACU forces a lot of turnovers, ranking seventh nationally at 18.94 turnovers forced per game and 16th in the country in steals at 9.6 a game. The team gets a lot of production from its bench as the Wildcats rank 13th nationally in bench points per game at 30.72. Senior forward Joe Pleasant recorded his first double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday’s loss at Tarleton. Redshirt senior guard Immanuel Allen and sophomore guard Ali Abdou Dibba led ACU with 14 points apiece at Tarleton. Allen leads the team in scoring this season at 11.9 points a game, while Tobias Cameron also averages double digits at 10.7 points a contest. Cameron leads the team on the boards, pulling down 4.8 rebounds a game. As a team, ACU averages 76.5 points per game while limiting opponents to a 67.8 points per game average.
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE WILDCATS
Utah Valley and Abilene Christian will meet for just the third time on the basketball hardwood. The two teams first met last season with ACU taking an 80-76 win in Orem on Dec. 30, 2021 in UVU’s WAC opener last season. ACU then defeated UVU in the second round of the 2022 WAC Tournament in Las Vegas, 82-74.
NATIONAL BLOCKS LEADER
As of Jan. 17, Utah Valley now leads the nation in both total blocks and blocks per game. The Wolverines lead the country with 126 blocks and lead the nation in blocks per game at 6.6. Illinois is second in the country at 6.3 blocks per game.
UTAH VALLEY HOLDS NATION’S LONGEST ROAD WIN STREAK IN THE COUNTRY
Utah Valley’s six straight road wins is tied for the longest road win streak in the nation. The Wolverines have not lost a road game since falling at Boise State on Nov. 26. UVU’s six-game road win streak includes wins at BYU, Northern Arizona, Oregon, UT Arlington, UTRGV, and California Baptist.
UTAH VALLEY HELD NATION’S FOURTH-LONGEST WIN STREAK IN THE NATION, SECOND-LONGEST IN SCHOOL HISTORY
With its loss to Seattle U on Saturday night, Utah Valley’s win streak was snapped at 11 games. It was tied for the fourth-longest win streak in the nation. The 11-game streak began with an 88-78 win over Long Beach State on Dec. 3 and came to an end in an 85-80 loss to Seattle U on Jan. 14. UVU’s 11-game streak was the second longest win streak in school history. The 2011-12 team holds the longest streak in team history at 13 games.
UTAH VALLEY HOLDS SECOND-BEST NCAA NET RATING IN THE WAC
As of Jan. 17, Utah Valley holds the second-best NCAA NET ranking in the Western Athletic Conference at No. 82. The Wolverines are second behind Sam Houston at No. 47. Grand Canyon is third (99), followed by Seattle U (114), Southern Utah (118), Stephen F. Austin (138), Tarleton (157), California Baptist (167), New Mexico State (177), Utah Tech (196), Abilene Christian (238), UTRGV (261), and UT Arlington (284).
UTAH VALLEY SITS ATOP WAC RESUME SEEDING SYSTEM
As of Jan. 17, Utah Valley leads the WAC in the latest WAC resume seeding system standings. The WAC will be seeding its teams at the WAC Tournament based on an algorithm that will rate performance against all teams faced in the regular season, not just conference play, that will rank teams for the conference postseason tournament. Using this resume seeding system, teams will receive more credit by playing stronger opponents than if they play weaker opponents. WAC Commissioner Brian Thornton and WAC Associate Commissioner of Basketball Drew Speraw worked with Ken Pomeroy of kenpom.com to put together this formula.
