- Utah Valley continues league play as the team travels to the Lone Star State to take on WAC newcomer UT Arlington on Thursday night at College Park Center. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. (MST)
- Trey Woodbury scored a game-high 20 points with six rebounds and five assists to lead Utah Valley to a 71-60 win over in-state foe Utah Tech on Saturday afternoon in the Old Hammer Rivalry at the UCCU Center. The win snapped Utah Tech’s six-game win streak. Utah Valley took a 14-point lead in the first half and held on to a 44-33 lead at the half. Utah Tech got as close as one point, 60-59, with four minutes to play in the second half but a Le’Tre Darthard three-pointer sparked an 11-1 run the rest of the way to secure the 71-60 win.
- With its 71-60 win over Utah Tech on Saturday, Utah Valley extended its win streak to eight games. It is the sixth-longest win streak in the nation. The win streak dates back to an 88-78 win over Long Beach State on Dec. 3. The Wolverines wrapped up the month of December with a perfect 8-0 record.
- Utah Valley’s 80-64 win over Sam Houston last week was the team’s highest-rated win of the season as the Bearkats held an NCAA NET rating of No. 20 at the time. Utah Valley has also defeated two other top-100 NET rated teams in Oregon (72) and BYU (93).
- 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 one of the top blocking teams in the nation as the squad ranks second in the country in blocks per game at 6.5.
- Aziz Bandaogo ranks in the top-20 nationally in six statistical categories. He ranks fifth in blocks (41), sixth in blocks per game (2.73), seventh in rebounds (147), 14th in double doubles (6), 15th in rebounds per game (9.8), and 16th in defensive rebounds per game (7.00).
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Thursday night’s game at UT Arlington will be broadcast live on the ESPN+, which is available on the ESPN+ app and at ESPNplus.com. Ron Thulin and Ty Ellis will be on the call for the game. The game will also be broadcast over the Utah County airwaves on ESPN 960 AM with Jim McCulloch on the call.
ABOUT UT ARLINGTON
UT Arlington enters Thursday’s game against Utah Valley with a 5-10 overall record and a 0-2 WAC record. UTA enters its second stint in the WAC as the team also spent the 2012-13 season in the league. Since picking up a 68-63 road win at San Francisco on Dec. 19, UTA has dropped three straight, including a 70-63 loss at Tarleton and a 66-62 setback at home to Stephen F. Austin last week to open league play. In Saturday’s loss to SFA, the Mavs held a 60-59 lead with 1:30 remaining in the game, but couldn’t hold on down the stretch in the loss to the Jacks. Sophomore forward Shemar Wilson led UTA with his fourth double-double of the season with 16 points and 13 rebounds in the loss to SFA. Wilson leads the team in scoring and rebounding this season at 10.2 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Wilson ranks 15th in the nation in offensive boards per game at 3.6 a contest. Junior guard Kyron Gibson nearly averages double figures at 10.2 points a game. As a team, UTA ranks third nationally in offensive rebounds per game at 24.73 a game.
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE MAVERICKS
Utah Valley and UT Arlington will meet for just the third time on the basketball hardwood and for the first time as conference opponents. UTA holds an all-time 2-0 advantage in the series, winning both at home and in Orem in the series. It will be nearly 13 years to the date that the last time the two teams met with the Mavs taking a 90-85 win over the Wolverines in Arlington on Jan. 5, 2010.
All-Time Results vs. UT Arlington (0-2)
Jan. 05, 2010 UT Arlington def. Utah Valley, 90-85 (OT) Arlington, Texas
Jan. 03, 2009 UT Arlington def. Utah Valley, 75-64 Orem, Utah
LAST TIME OUT: Utah Valley 71, Utah Tech 60 (Dec. 31, 2022 – UCCU Center)
Trey Woodbury scored a game-high 20 points with six rebounds and five assists to lead Utah Valley to a 71-60 win over in-state foe Utah Tech on Saturday afternoon in the Old Hammer Rivalry at the UCCU Center.
A DECEMBER TO REMEMBER
Utah Valley went a perfect 8-0 in the month of December. Utah Valley opened the month with an 88-78 win over Long Beach State on Dec. 3. The Wolverines then knocked off BYU, 75-60, and Northern Arizona, 80-75, on the road for wins number two and three. The Wolverines then returned home for finals week to knock off a pair of Non-DI opponents in SAGU American Indian College (100-54) and Antelope Valley (80-54). UVU then traveled to Eugene where it defeated Pac-12 foe Oregon, 77-72 before returning home to open WAC play with wins over Sam Houston (80-64) and Utah Tech (71-60).
