• Utah Valley continues WAC road play in the Lone Star State as the team travels to Edinburg to play UT Rio Grande Valley on Saturday night. Tip-off at UTRGV Fieldhouse is set for 5:30 p.m. (MT)
• Justin Harmon scored a season-high 21 points and Aziz Bandaogo notched a 13-point, 12-rebound double-double to lead Utah Valley to a 72-64 WAC road win over UT Arlington on Thursday night at College Park Center.
• With its 72-64 road win at UT Arlington on Thursday night, Utah Valley extends its win streak to nine 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. The nine straight wins is the third-longest win streak in program history.
• Le’Tre Darthard knocked down his 100th career three-pointer on Thursday night at UT Arlington. He now ranks ninth all-time at UVU with 101 made threes.
• 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 fourth in blocks (44), fifth in blocks per game (2.75), seventh in rebounds (159), ninth in double doubles (7), 13th in defensive rebounds per game (7.12), and 15th in rebounds per game
(9.9).
• Mark Madsen enters his fourth season as the head coach of the Wolverines. The two-time NBA champion, former Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach, and former Stanford basketball star led his team to its first 20-win season since 2018. He also guided the Wolverines to just its second WAC regular season title in 2010–the team’s first championship since 2014. He is just the third head coach in UVU’s Division I history. He was a two-time NBA champion as a player with the Lakers (2001 and 2002), and played for the Minnesota Timberwolves for six seasons.
ABOUT UTRGV
UT Rio Grande Valley enters Saturday’s game against UVU with an 8-7 overall record and a 0-3 mark in WAC play. After concluding non-conference play with a 100-90 win over Houston Christian on Dec. 18, UTRGV has dropped three straight to open league play, including a heartbreaking 66-64 setback at home to Seattle U on Thursday night. Senior forward Justin Johnson led the Vaqueros with a 19-point, 10-rebound double-double. Graduate center Dima Zdor scored 13 points, while junior forward Daylen Williams recorded a double-double with career-high 12 points and a career-best 15 points. Johnson leads the team in scoring this season at 20.1 points a game, followed by sophomore guard Will Johnston at 16.8 points a contest. Williams leads the team on the boards, pulling
down 6.1 rebounds per game. The Vaqueros shoot a lot of free throws. The team ranks third in the nation in free throw attempts at 26.3 a game. Justin Johnson is third in the nation in free throw attempts with 121 and is 15th in nationally with 77 made free throws. UTRGV also ranks 10th in free throws made per game at 18.2 a contest. The Vaqueros also scored a lot of points, ranking 21st in the country at 81.9 points a game.
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE VAQUEROS
Utah Valley and UTRGV will meet for just the 34th time on the basketball hardwood on Saturday. The Wolverines hold an all-time 29-4 advantage in the series. UVU has won three straight over the Vaqueros, but all have come in Orem. The Wolverines dropped an 80-72 decision to UTRGV the last time the two teams played in Edinburg on Feb. 13, 2020. UVU holds an all-time 11-3 record against UTRGV in Edinburg.
Last 10 Results vs. UTRGV (29-4)
Jan. 20, 2022 Utah Valley def. UTRGV, 66-56 Orem, Utah
Feb. 27, 2021 Utah Valley def. UTRGV, 73-64 Orem, Utah
Feb. 26, 2021 Utah Valley def. UTRGV, 78-74 Orem, Utah
Feb. 13, 2020 UTRGV def. Utah Valley, 80-72 Edinburg, Texas
Jan. 18, 2020 Utah Valley def. UTRGV, 72-70 Orem, Utah
Feb. 16, 2019 Utah Valley def. UTRGV, 76-64 Edinburg, Texas
Jan. 17, 2019 Utah Valley def. UTRGV, 82-61 Orem, Utah
Feb. 17, 2018 Utah Valley def. UTRGV, 84-72 Orem, Utah
Jan. 18, 2018 Utah Valley def. UTRGV, 84-76 Edinburg, Texas
Feb. 25, 2017 Utah Valley def. UTRGV, 88-68 Edinburg, Texas
