2017–18 Utah Valley Wolverines men's basketball team

2017–18 Utah Valley Wolverines men's basketball
CBI, Quarterfinals
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
Record23–11 (10–4 WAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaUCCU Center
Seasons
2017–18 WAC men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
New Mexico State † 12 – 2   .857 28 – 6   .824
Utah Valley 10 – 4   .714 23 – 11   .676
Grand Canyon 9 – 5   .643 22 – 12   .647
Seattle 8 – 6   .571 20 – 14   .588
Texas–Rio Grande Valley 6 – 8   .429 15 – 18   .455
Cal State Bakersfield 5 – 9   .357 12 – 18   .400
UMKC 5 – 9   .357 10 – 22   .313
Chicago State 1 – 13   .071 3 – 29   .094
† 2018 WAC tournament winner

The 2017–18 Utah Valley Wolverines men's basketball team represented Utah Valley University in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wolverines, led by third-year head coach Mark Pope, played their home games at the UCCU Center in Orem, Utah as members of the Western Athletic Conference. They finished the season 23–11, 10–4 in WAC play to finish in second place. They defeated Cal State Bakersfield in the quarterfinals of the WAC tournament before losing in the semifinals to Grand Canyon. They were invited to the College Basketball Invitational where they defeated Eastern Washington in the first round before losing in the quarterfinals to San Francisco.

Previous season

The Wolverines finished the 2016–17 season 17–17, 6–8 in WAC play to finish in fifth place. They defeated Seattle in the quarterfinals of the WAC tournament[1] before losing in the semifinals to Cal State Bakersfield.[2] They received an invitation to the College Basketball Invitational where they defeated Georgia Southern[3] and Rice[4] before losing in the semifinals to Wyoming.[5]

Offseason

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Telly Davenport 3 G 6'4" 195 Sophomore Idaho Falls, ID Transferred to College of Southern Idaho
Jordan Poydras 10 G 6'3" 185 Senior Los Angeles, CA Graduated
Ivory Young 13 G 6'3" 185 Senior Houston, TX Graduated
Jared Stutzman 24 G 6'6" 205 Freshman Idaho Falls, ID Transferred to Idaho State
Andrew Bastien 42 F 6'9" 235 Senior Tustin, CA Graduated

Incoming transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Ben Nakwaasah 10 G 6'2" 175 Junior Richardson, TX Junior college transferred from Jacksonville College
Jerrelle DeBerry 15 G 6'5" 205 Senior Milwaukee, WI Transferred from Kent State. Under NCAA transfer rules, DeBerry will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have one year of remaining eligibility.
Baylee Steele 44 F/C 6'11" 235 Junior Norwalk, IA Transferred from Eastern Michigan. Under NCAA transfer rules, Harris will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.

Recruiting class of 2017

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Richard Harward
#70 C 		Orem, UT Orem High School 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Aug 11, 2014 
Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 62
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 6, 2017.

Roster

2017–18 Utah Valley Wolverines men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
C 0 Akolda Manyang 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) RS Sr Potter House Christian
Oklahoma 		Rochester, MN
G 1 Cory Calvert (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Jr Chaparral
BYU 		Parker, CO
G 2 Jake Toolson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS So Highland
BYU 		Gilbert, AZ
G 3 Brandon Randolph 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Sr Inglewood
Xavier 		Inglewood, CA
G 5 Hayden Scheneck 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS So Weber
Salt Lake CC 		Eden, UT
G 10 Ben Nakwaasah 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Richardson
Jacksonville College 		Richardson, TX
G 11 Connor Toolson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Lone Peak
Jacksonville College 		Highland, UT
F 12 Joonas Tahvanainen 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So HBA-Marksy Helsinki, Finland
G 13 McKay Johnson (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS So Viewmont
Salt Lake CC 		Centerville, UT
G 14 Daniel Nyman (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS So American Fork
Snow College 		Highland, UT
G 15 Jerrelle DeBerry Current redshirt 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Quality
Kent State 		Milwaukee, WI
G 21 Zach Nelson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Sr Yuba City Yuba City, CA
C 22 Isaac Neilson 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) RS Sr Mission Viejo
BYU 		Mission Viejo, CA
G 25 Kenneth Ogbe 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Sr Urspring Academy
Utah 		Ehingen, Germany
C 44 Baylee Steele Current redshirt 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Jr Norwalk
Eastern Michigan 		Norwalk, IA
C 55 Richard Harward 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Fr Orem Orem, UT
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

The Wolverines notably promoted their first two regular-season games as the "Toughest 24 Hours in College Basketball History", complete with a Twitter hashtag of #Toughest24, which involved the Wolverines visiting Pope's alma mater of Kentucky on November 10, followed the next day by a visit to Duke.[6] With Duke ranked No. 1 in the preseason AP Poll and Kentucky ranked No. 5, this marked the first time in the AP Poll era (1948–49 to present) that a team opened its season with road games against two top-5 opponents.[7]

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
November 1, 2017*
7:00 pm 		Dixie State W 81–70 
 19 – Manyang   10 – Manyang   3 – Tied  UCCU Center (1,488)
Orem, UT
Non-conference regular season
November 10, 2017*
5:00 pm, SECN 		at No. 5 Kentucky L 63–73  0–1
  12 – Ogbe   9 – Neilson   7 – Randolph  Rupp Arena (19,807)
Lexington, KY
November 11, 2017*
5:00 pm, ACCN Extra 		at No. 1 Duke L 69–99  0–2
  17 – Manyang   12 – Manyang   6 – Manyang  Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314)
Durham, NC
November 14, 2017*
7:00 pm, Pluto TV 243 		at Idaho State L 71–84  1–2
  27 – J. Toolson   7 – Manyang   4 – Tied  Holt Arena (1,387)
Pocatello, ID
November 18, 2017*
3:00 pm 		UC Davis W 80–71  2–2
  21 – Ogbe   8 – Manyang   6 – Randolph  UCCU Center (2,726)
Orem, UT
November 20, 2017*
6:00 pm 		Eastern Oregon W 97–52  3–2
  20 – Manyang   11 – Manyang   6 – C. Toolson  UCCU Center (2,329)
Orem, UT
November 25, 2017*
1:00 pm, FS NO, Pluto TV 240 		at North Dakota L 75–83 OT 4–2
  24 – Manyang   10 – J. Toolson   2 – Tied  Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,669)
Grand Forks, ND
November 29, 2017*
7:00 pm, BYUtv 		BYU
Old Oquirrh Bucket 		L 58–85  4–3
  16 – Randolph   5 – Manyang   2 – Randolph  UCCU Center (7,574)
Orem, UT
December 2, 2017*
7:00 pm 		UTSA W 88–80  5–3
  19 – Tied   12 – Neilson   6 – Randolph  UCCU Center (2,762)
Orem, UT
December 6, 2017*
7:00 pm 		Weber State
Old Oquirrh Bucket 		W 83–56  6–3
  25 – Manyang   15 – Manyang   9 – J. Toolson  UCCU Center (3,389)
Orem, UT
December 9, 2017*
7:00 pm 		at Cal State Fullerton L 83–91  6–4
  17 – Ogbe   9 – Manyang   5 – Randolph  Titan Gym (914)
Fullerton, CA
December 14, 2017*
7:00 pm 		Bethesda W 106–44  7–4
  19 – J. Toolson   8 – 3 tied   7 – Randolph  UCCU Center (2,705)
Orem, UT
December 17, 2017*
9:00 pm, SPEC HI 		at Hawaii L 69–70  7–5
  18 – J. Toolson   8 – Manyang   3 – Randolph  Stan Sheriff Center (5,187)
Honolulu, HI
December 20, 2017*
7:00 pm 		Montana Tech W 84–56  8–5
  17 – Ogbe   7 – Tied   4 – Tied  UCCU Center (2,105)
Orem, UT
December 22, 2017*
11:00 am 		at Sam Houston State W 75–64  9–5
  21 – Manyang   10 – Manyang   8 – Randolph  Bernard Johnson Coliseum (610)
Huntsville, TX
December 28, 2017*
7:00 pm 		UC Riverside W 90–82  10–5
  20 – Tied   8 – Neilson   6 – Nakwaasah  UCCU Center (2,936)
Orem, UT
December 30, 2017*
7:00 pm 		Cal State Fullerton W 87–78  11–5
  23 – Ogbe   9 – Manyang   5 – Ogbe  UCCU Center (3,158)
Orem, UT
WAC regular season
January 6, 2018
7:00 pm 		Cal State Bakersfield W 75–42  12–5
(1–0) 		 15 – J. Toolson   7 – J. Toolson   4 – Tied  UCCU Center (3,178)
Orem, UT
January 11, 2018
7:00 pm 		UMKC W 95–59  13–5
(2–0) 		 18 – Ogbe   9 – Neilson   6 – J. Toolson  UCCU Center (2,733)
Orem, UT
January 13, 2018
7:00 pm 		Chicago State W 83–58  14–5
(3–0) 		 22 – Manyang   9 – Manyang   6 – Nakwaasah  UCCU Center (3,741)
Orem, UT
January 18, 2018
6:00 pm 		at Texas–Rio Grande Valley W 84–76  15–5
(4–0) 		 23 – C. Toolson   12 – Manyang   12 – Randolph  UTRGV Fieldhouse (828)
Edinburg, TX
January 20, 2018
4:00 pm, ESPN3 		at New Mexico State L 59–86  15–6
(4–1) 		 13 – Ogbe   4 – Tied   3 – Randolph  Pan American Center (6,046)
Las Cruces, NM
January 27, 2018
3:00 pm, ESPN3 		Grand Canyon W 68–56  16–6
(5–1) 		 14 – Manyang   6 – Manyang   4 – Tied  UCCU Center (4,881)
Orem, UT
February 3, 2018
7:00 pm 		at Seattle L 54–55  16–7
(5–2) 		 15 – Randolph   9 – Neilson   6 – Randolph  KeyArena (3,242)
Seattle, WA
February 8, 2018
6:00 pm 		at Chicago State W 97–57  17–7
(6–2) 		 18 – Tied   11 – Manyang   4 – 3 tied  Jones Convocation Center (163)
Chicago, IL
February 10, 2018
6:00 pm 		at UMKC L 70–77  17–8
(6–3) 		 22 – Manyang   9 – Manyang   9 – Randolph  Municipal Auditorium (1,357)
Kansas City, MO
February 15, 2018
7:00 pm 		New Mexico State W 86–79  18–8
(7–3) 		 22 – Ogbe   7 – C. Toolson   5 – J. Toolson  UCCU Center (4,271)
Orem, UT
February 17, 2018
7:00 pm 		Texas–Rio Grande Valley W 84–72  19–8
(8–3) 		 16 – Tied   8 – J. Toolson   6 – Randolph  UCCU Center (4,271)
Orem, UT
February 22, 2018
8:00 pm 		at Cal State Bakersfield W 70–47  20–8
(9–3) 		 22 – C. Toolson   7 – Neilson   4 – J. Toolson  Icardo Center (2,644)
Bakersfield, CA
February 24, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Grand Canyon L 59–60  20–9
(9–4) 		 15 – Randolph   7 – C. Toolson   2 – Randolph  GCU Arena (7,179)
Phoenix, AZ
March 3, 2018
7:00 pm 		Seattle W 73–47  21–9
(10–4) 		 17 – C. Toolson   6 – C. Toolson   3 – C. Toolson  UCCU Center (4,271)
Orem, UT
WAC tournament
March 8, 2018
3:30 pm, ESPN3 		(2) vs. (7) Cal State Bakersfield
Quarterfinals 		W 81–74  22–9
  19 – J. Toolson   10 – Nelson   3 – Randolph  Orleans Arena (1,508)
Paradise, NV
March 9, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		(2) vs. (3) Grand Canyon
Semifinals 		L 60–75  22–10
  18 – Manyang   12 – Manyang   2 – Randolph  Orleans Arena (2,739)
Paradise, NV
CBI
March 13, 2018*
7:00 pm 		Eastern Washington
First round 		W 87–65  23–10
  20 – Manyang   11 – Manyang   5 – Tied  UCCU Center (997)
Orem, UT
March 19, 2018*
8:00 pm 		at San Francisco
Quarterfinals 		L 73–78  23–11
  20 – Ogbe   11 – Manyang   4 – Randolph  War Memorial Gymnasium (1,239)
San Francisco, CA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Mountain Time.

References

  1. ^ "Seattle vs. Utah Valley – Game Recap – March 9, 2017 – ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
  2. ^ "Utah Valley vs. CSU Bakersfield – Game Recap – March 10, 2017 – ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
  3. ^ "Utah Valley buries lethargic Georgia Southern in CBI". savannahnow.com. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
  4. ^ "Rice falls to Utah Valley in CBI quarterfinals". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
  5. ^ "LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) Justin James scored 16 points and Wyoming scored the last six points of the game to defeat Utah Valley 74–68 on Wednesday night in the semifinals of the College Basketball Invitational". SI.com. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
  6. ^ Lopresti, Mike (October 10, 2017). "Meet Utah Valley, team facing Kentucky and Duke on consecutive days to open the season". NCAA.com. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  7. ^ Strong, Sam (November 10, 2017). "Inside Utah Valley's preparation for 24 hours of Kentucky and Duke". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 10, 2017.