2017–18 Utah Valley Wolverines men's basketball team

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.

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
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
New Mexico State122 .857286 .824
Utah Valley104 .7142311 .676
Grand Canyon95 .6432212 .647
Seattle86 .5712014 .588
Texas–Rio Grande Valley68 .4291518 .455
Cal State Bakersfield59 .3571218 .400
UMKC59 .3571022 .313
Chicago State113 .071329 .094
2018 WAC tournament winner

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

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownReason for departure
Telly Davenport3G6'4"195SophomoreIdaho Falls, IDTransferred to College of Southern Idaho
Jordan Poydras10G6'3"185SeniorLos Angeles, CAGraduated
Ivory Young13G6'3"185SeniorHouston, TXGraduated
Jared Stutzman24G6'6"205FreshmanIdaho Falls, IDTransferred to Idaho State
Andrew Bastien42F6'9"235SeniorTustin, CAGraduated

Incoming transfers

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious School
Ben Nakwaasah10G6'2"175JuniorRichardson, TXJunior college transferred from Jacksonville College
Jerrelle DeBerry15G6'5"205SeniorMilwaukee, WITransferred 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 Steele44F/C6'11"235JuniorNorwalk, IATransferred 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

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
NameHometownHigh school / collegeHeightWeightCommit date
Richard Harward
#70 C
Orem, UTOrem High School6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)255 lb (116 kg)Aug 11, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/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
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
C0Akolda Manyang7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)245 lb (111 kg)RS SrPotter House Christian
Oklahoma
Rochester, MN
G1Cory Calvert (W)6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)190 lb (86 kg)RS JrChaparral
BYU
Parker, CO
G2Jake Toolson6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)205 lb (93 kg)RS SoHighland
BYU
Gilbert, AZ
G3Brandon Randolph6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)190 lb (86 kg)RS SrInglewood
Xavier
Inglewood, CA
G5Hayden Scheneck6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)195 lb (88 kg)RS SoWeber
Salt Lake CC
Eden, UT
G10Ben Nakwaasah6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)175 lb (79 kg)JrRichardson
Jacksonville College
Richardson, TX
G11Connor Toolson6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)185 lb (84 kg)JrLone Peak
Jacksonville College
Highland, UT
F12Joonas Tahvanainen6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)220 lb (100 kg)SoHBA-MarksyHelsinki, Finland
G13McKay Johnson (W)6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)195 lb (88 kg)RS SoViewmont
Salt Lake CC
Centerville, UT
G14Daniel Nyman (W)6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)185 lb (84 kg)RS SoAmerican Fork
Snow College
Highland, UT
G15Jerrelle DeBerry  6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)205 lb (93 kg)SrQuality
Kent State
Milwaukee, WI
G21Zach Nelson6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)220 lb (100 kg)RS SrYuba CityYuba City, CA
C22Isaac Neilson6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)245 lb (111 kg)RS SrMission Viejo
BYU
Mission Viejo, CA
G25Kenneth Ogbe6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)190 lb (86 kg)RS SrUrspring Academy
Utah
Ehingen, Germany
C44Baylee Steele  6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)245 lb (111 kg)JrNorwalk
Eastern Michigan
Norwalk, IA
C55Richard Harward6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)255 lb (116 kg)FrOremOrem, 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#ResultRecordHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsSite (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
November 1, 2017*
7:00 pm
Dixie StateW 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 KentuckyL 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 DukeL 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 StateL 71–84 1–2
 27  J. Toolson  7  Manyang  4  Tied Holt Arena (1,387)
Pocatello, ID
November 18, 2017*
3:00 pm
UC DavisW 80–71 2–2
 21  Ogbe  8  Manyang  6  Randolph UCCU Center (2,726)
Orem, UT
November 20, 2017*
6:00 pm
Eastern OregonW 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 DakotaL 75–83 OT4–2
 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
UTSAW 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 FullertonL 83–91 6–4
 17  Ogbe  9  Manyang  5  Randolph Titan Gym (914)
Fullerton, CA
December 14, 2017*
7:00 pm
BethesdaW 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 HawaiiL 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 TechW 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 StateW 75–64 9–5
 21  Manyang  10  Manyang  8  Randolph Bernard Johnson Coliseum (610)
Huntsville, TX
December 28, 2017*
7:00 pm
UC RiversideW 90–82 10–5
 20  Tied  8  Neilson  6  Nakwaasah UCCU Center (2,936)
Orem, UT
December 30, 2017*
7:00 pm
Cal State FullertonW 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 BakersfieldW 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
UMKCW 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 StateW 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 ValleyW 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 StateL 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 CanyonW 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 SeattleL 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 StateW 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 UMKCL 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 StateW 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 ValleyW 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 BakersfieldW 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 CanyonL 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
SeattleW 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