Abilene Christian takes on Utah Valley following Smith’s 22-point performance

By Canadian Press on January 2, 2026.

Utah Valley Wolverines (12-3, 2-0 WAC) at Abilene Christian Wildcats (8-6, 0-1 WAC)

Abilene, Texas; Saturday, 4 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Abilene Christian hosts Utah Valley after Rich Smith scored 22 points in Abilene Christian’s 79-64 loss to the Utah Tech Trailblazers.

The Wildcats are 5-1 in home games. Abilene Christian ranks third in the WAC with 10.2 offensive rebounds per game led by Joseph Scott averaging 2.0.

The Wolverines have gone 2-0 against WAC opponents. Utah Valley ranks fourth in the WAC with 10.1 offensive rebounds per game led by Jackson Holcombe averaging 2.3.

Abilene Christian averages 71.9 points, 6.4 more per game than the 65.5 Utah Valley gives up. Utah Valley scores 13.1 more points per game (83.5) than Abilene Christian gives up to opponents (70.4).

The Wildcats and Wolverines square off Saturday for the first time in conference play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Smith is averaging 8.6 points, 4.3 assists and 1.8 steals for the Wildcats. Bradyn Hubbard is averaging 14.7 points over the last 10 games.

Holcombe is averaging 16.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.5 blocks for the Wolverines. Tyler Hendricks is averaging 2.6 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Wildcats: 5-5, averaging 67.1 points, 27.2 rebounds, 12.0 assists, 10.8 steals and 2.6 blocks per game while shooting 42.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 72.0 points per game.

Wolverines: 9-1, averaging 81.6 points, 36.5 rebounds, 19.9 assists, 10.2 steals and 5.8 blocks per game while shooting 51.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 64.0 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press