UTAH VALLEY TRAVELS TO PLAY IN-STATE FOE UTAH TECH ON THURSDAY NIGHT
- Utah Valley heads back out on the road this week as the team travels down I-15 to St. George to play in-state foe Utah Tech on Thursday night in the Old Hammer Rivalry at Burns Arena. Tip off is set for 7 p.m.
- Justin Harmon scored a team-high 17 points and Aziz Bandaogo recorded a 16-point, 15-rebound double-double to lead Utah Valley in a 77-72 win over New Mexico State on Saturday afternoon at the UCCU Center. Leading by just one point, 73-72, with 10 seconds left to play, Le’Tre Darthard went a perfect 4-for-4 at the free throw line to help lift the Wolverines to the 77-72 win.
 - Utah Valley has won 14 of its last 16 games over a nearly two-month period. During that stretch, Utah Valley rattled off 11 straight wins that began with an 88-78 win over Long Beach State on Dec. 3 and ended in an 85-80 loss to Seattle U on Jan. 14. The 11-game streak is the second longest streak in program history behind the 2011-12 team, which won 13 straight.
- Utah Valley’s road win streak ended at seven with its loss at SUU last week. The streak was tied for the third-longest road win streak in the nation at the time. Prior to the loss at SUU, the Wolverines had not lost a road game since falling at Boise State on Nov. 26. UVU’s seven-game road win streak included wins at BYU, Northern Arizona, Oregon, UT Arlington, UTRGV, California Baptist, and Grand Canyon. The Wolverines have now won seven of their last eight road games.
- Utah Valley is the top shot blocking team in the nation with 147 blocks and a 6.4 blocks per game average. The Wolverines sit ahead of Iona (6.3), Florida (6.0), Illinois (6.0), and Auburn (6.0). Utah Valley also ranks third nationally in defensive rebounds per game (29.65) and ninth in rebounds per game (39.91).
- Aziz Bandaogo ranks in the top-8 nationally in six statistical categories. He ranks fourth in blocks (64), fourth in rebounds (247), sixth in blocks per game (2.78), fourth in double-doubles (12), sixth in defensive rebounds per game (7.87), and eighth in rebounds per game (10.7).
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Thursday’s game at Utah Tech will be broadcast live on the ESPN+, which is available on the ESPN+ app and at ESPNplus.com. The game will also be broadcast over the Utah County airwaves on ESPN 960 AM with Jim McCulloch on the call.
ABOUT UTAH TECH
Utah Tech enters Saturday’s game with a 10-12 overall record and a 2-7 mark in WAC play. The Trailblazers dropped a pair of road games at Tarleton and Abilene Christian last week. Senior guard Cameron Gooden scored a game-high 26 points in the loss at ACU, marking the fourth time this season the he has reached the 20-point plateau. Gooden was just three points shy of his career-high 29 points set this season at Utah State. Gooden leads Utah Tech in scoring this season at 15.9 points a game. Isaiah Pope also averages double digits this season at 13.5 points a game. Tanner Christensen leads the Trailblazers on the boards, pulling down 7.3 rebounds a game. As a team, Utah Tech averages 75.50 points a game while limiting opponents to a 72.86 per game average.
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE TRAILBLAZERS
Utah Valley and Utah Tech will meet for the sixth time as NCAA Division I programs. Utah Valley took game one of the two-game WAC series, 71-60, in Orem on Dec. 31. The two teams have split their league matchups in each of the last two seasons. The two programs first played during the 1972-73 season and played each season in the Scenic West Athletic Conference/NJCAA Region 18 until 2002-03, which was Utah Valley’s final season of JUCO before moving into the NCAA Division I ranks during the 2003-04 season.
All-Time Results vs. Utah Tech (3-2)
Dec. 31, 2022 Utah Valley def. Utah Tech, 71-60 Orem, Utah
Feb. 19, 2022 Utah Tech def. Utah Valley, 80-75 (OT) St. George, Utah
Jan. 08, 2022 Utah Valley def. Utah Tech, 79-71 Orem, Utah
Feb. 13, 2021 Utah Tech def. Utah Valley, 93-89 Orem, Utah
Feb. 12, 2021 Utah Valley def. Utah Tech, 87-72 Orem, Utah
LAST TIME vs. UTAH TECH: Utah Valley 71, Utah Tech 60 (December 31, 2022 – Orem)
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 Dec. 31 in the Old Hammer Rivalry at the UCCU Center.
