QUEENS, N.Y.-Per news released Wednesday morning, Utah Valley men’s basketball is to visit St. John’s of the Big East Conference Saturday afternoon at Queens, N.Y.
The Wolverines (5-5, 3-0 in WAC play) face a St. John’s squad (8-7, 3-6 in Big East play) coming off of a 74-70 win over Connecticut Monday.
UVU scores 77.8 points per game, ranking the Wolverines 78th nationally in scoring offense.
Defensively, UVU surrenders 76.6 points per game. This ranks the Wolverines 293rd nationally in scoring defense.
Senior guard Jamison Overton is the Wolverines’ leading scorer, averaging 18.9 points per game and he is tied for the team lead in steals (11) with junior guard Trey Woodbury.
Redshirt sophomore center Fardaws Aimaq (17.5 points per game, a national-best 15.1 rebounds per game, a team-best 19 blocks per game), Woodbury (15.4 points per game, a team-best 41 assists) and graduate student forward Evan Cole (11.9 points per game, 6.9 rebounds per contest) also score in double figures on-average for the Wolverines.
The Wolverines are coached by head coach Mark Madsen, who is 16-24 (.400) in his second season leading the program.
St. John’s scores 78.7 points per game, tying the Red Storm for 63rd nationally in scoring offense with Akron.
Defensively, the Red Storm surrenders 77.9 points per game, ranking St. John’s 308th nationally in scoring defense.
St. John’s statistical leader is sophomore guard/forward Julian Champagnie. He leads the Red Storm in scoring (20 points per game), rebounding (7.2 boards per game) and blocked shots (16).
The only other Red Storm standout to score in double figures on-average is junior guard Greg Williams Jr. (10.9 points per game).
St. John’s is led in assists (69) and steals (37) by freshman guard Posh Alexander.
The Red Storm is coached by Nolan Richardson disciple Mike Anderson, who is 25-22 (.532) in his second season leading the program.
Anderson is 394-222 (.640) as a Division I head coach. This includes stints at Alabama-Birmingham (2002-2006), Missouri (2006-2011) and Arkansas (2011-2019) ahead of his time with the Red Storm.
Saturday’s meeting is historic as it commemorates the first time the Red Storm and Wolverines have met on the hardwood.
