After back-to-back road wins to close out the season, Utah Valley secured its first regular season championship in school history, finishing first in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) and earning the top seed heading into the tournament.
The Wolverines will now look to win its first-ever WAC tournament title, with an opportunity to punch their first ticket to the NCAA March Madness tournament in program history.
UVU will begin tournament play with the quarterfinals set to tip-off Wednesday, March 12 at 7 p.m. MT at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. They will face in-state rival No. 9 Utah Tech (7-25, 2-14) who defeated No. 8 Southern Utah Tuesday night to move on.
Utah Valley has won the last five games of six between the two while claiming two of those matchups this year in the regular season.
This marks the first postseason meeting between the two teams.
If they win, Utah Valley will move on to the semifinals on Friday, March 14 at 7 p.m. MT. The championship game is scheduled for Saturday, March 15 at 8:40 p.m. PT on ESPN2.
All games can be streamed on ESPN+.
WAC Awards
In just his second season at the helm, Head coach Todd Phillips led the Wolverines to a 23-7 overall record and a dominant 15-1 finish in the WAC, earning him WAC Coach of the Year honors.
While leading this team to a regular season championship and a 12-0 record at the UCCU Center, Phillips joins elite company as one of three coaches to ever win this award at UVU.
Mark Madsen won this award in the 2022-23 season, and Dick Hunsaker won it in 2013-14.
Along with Phillips’ success, this team produced four other award-winning players, including freshman phenom, Jackson Holcombe, transfers Domonick Nelson and Carter Welling, and sophomore, Tanner Toolson.
Nelson, who led the team in scoring, was awarded WAC Player of the Year and All-WAC first team, averaging 15.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
Welling provided a massive spark on both sides, averaging 12.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game, being awarded WAC Defensive Player of the Year, All-WAC Second Team and All-Defensive Team.
Holcombe became a go-to player off the bench with his presence on defense and ability to score at the rim, as he was named WAC All-Freshman Team.
Toolson, being named All-WAC Second Team, was highly recognized for ability to shoot from beyond the arc, ranking third in the WAC in three-pointers made at 57, shooting it at a 34.3% clip.
The Wolverines have all the talent and coaching to clinch its first birth into the NCAA Tournament in school history and look to start their journey by facing No. 9 Utah Tech in the first round of the WAC Tournament.
Coverage begins Wednesday, March 12, at 7 p.m. MT on ESPN+
