Utah Valley returns home with the opportunity to secure a WAC regular season title this week at the UCCU Center. The Wolverines host UT Arlington on Wednesday night and Stephen F. Austin on Friday night. Both games are set to tip-off at 6 p.m.
Utah Valley sits atop the WAC standings with an 13-3 record. The Wolverines control their own destiny as the team holds a one-game lead in the WAC standings over Sam Houston with two games to play. UVU also holds the top spot in the WAC resume seeding system. If the season ended today, UVU would take the No. 1 seed into the WAC Tournament in Las Vegas next week.
With a one-game lead over Sam Houston in the WAC standings and two games to play, a win over UT Arlington on Wednesday night would secure the Wolverines no less than a share of the WAC regular season title. A win over UTA and a Sam Houston loss at Stephen F. Austin on Wednesday evening would give UVU the outright title. A pair of wins this week would also give UVU the outright WAC title. One win this week secures UVU no less than a share of the WAC title. A win and a Sam Houston loss gives UVU the outright title. Two wins secures UVU the outright title.
If Utah Valley secures a WAC regular season title this week, it would be the third regular season WAC championship in program history. Utah Valley won its first WAC regular season title in 2014 and its second in 2021 under Mark Madsen.
Le’Tre Darthard scored a game-high 18 points and knocked down a pair of clutch free throws with 20 seconds to play to lead Utah Valley to a 66-62 road win over Abilene Christian on Saturday night at Moody Coliseum in Abilene, Texas. Justin Harmon scored 12 points and Aziz Bandaogo was also in double figures with 10 points to go along with five rebounds. Woodbury came off the bench to score nine points, while Tim Fuller added eight points with seven rebounds.
Utah Valley has hit the 20-win mark for a second straight season. This year’s team hit the 20-win mark faster than any team in UVU history in the program’s full Division I status era. The 2003-04 team hit the 20-win mark through 25 games during UVU’s Division I provisional status era. It’s only the second team in UVU history that the Wolverines have won 20-plus games in back-to-back seasons. With 22 wins, UVU is closing in on the UVU record of 25 wins set during the 2018-19 season.
Aziz Bandaogo’s five swats at Tarleton on Feb. 23 gave him 83 blocks on the season, which is the most blocks in a season in UVU history. The 83 blocks breaks Emanuel Olojapoke’s previous single season record of 81 blocks set during the 2019-20 season. Bandaogo now has 84 blocks on the season.
Utah Valley has won 19 of its last 22 games over a nearly three-month stretch. During that stretch, Utah Valley rattled off 11 straight wins that began with an 88-78 win over Long Beach State on Dec. 3 and ended in an 85-80 loss to Seattle U on Jan. 14. The 11-game streak is the second longest streak in program history behind the 2011-12 team, which won 13 straight. UVU also had a streak of five straight wins come to an end at Tarleton last week.
Utah Valley is the top shot blocking team in the nation with 187 blocks and a 6.4 blocks per game average. The Wolverines sit ahead of Iona (5.8), Illinois (5.7), Milwaukee (5.6), and Western Kentucky (5.5). Utah Valley also ranks second nationally in defensive rebounds per game (29.66) and sixth in rebounds per game (40.03). Utah Valley’s 187 blocks are the most swats ever recorded in a single season in program history, breaking the previous record of 157 set during the 2019-20 season.
Aziz Bandaogo ranks in the top-12 nationally in six statistical categories. He ranks third in blocks (84), fifth in blocks per game (2.90), sixth in defensive rebounds per game (7.72), eighth in total rebounds (306), eighth in rebounds per game (10.6), and 12th in double-doubles (14).
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Wednesday night’s game against UT Arlington will be broadcast live on the ESPN+, which is available on the ESPN+ app and at ESPNplus.com. The game will also be broadcast over the Utah County airwaves on ESPN 960 AM and 92.1 FM and 96.3 FM – HD 3 in Salt Lake City with Jim McCulloch on the call.
ABOUT UT ARLINGTON
UT Arlington enters Saturday’s game with an 11-18 overall record and a 6-10 mark in WAC play. The Mavericks hold a 4-7 record on the road this season. The team has won two of its last three games, including a buzzer-beating 71-69 overtime win over Utah Tech on Saturday night. Aaron Cash made a putback tip-in just before the buzzer on Saturday night to give the Mavs the win. Cash finished with a team-high 17 points to go along with seven rebounds in the win over the Trailblazers. Shemar Wilson and Kyron Gibson lead the team in scoring this season at 10.9 points apiece. Chendall Weaver is nearly averaging double figures at 9.6 points a contest. Wilson also leads the Mavs on the boards, pulling down 7.8 rebounds a game. Wilson ranks ninth nationally in offensive rebounds per game at 3.62. As a team, UTA is 13th in the nation on the offensive glass, pulling down 12.86 offensive boards per game. The Mavericks average 66.7 points a game while allowing opponents a 67.2 points per game average.
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE MAVERICKS
Utah Valley and UT Arlington will meet for just the fourth time on the basketball hardwood and for only the second time in Orem. The two teams will meet in Orem for the first time in over 14 years with UTA took a 75-64 win on Jan. 3, 2009 in the only game ever played between the two teams at the UCCU Center. Utah Valley won the first game of the two-game series this season taking a 72-64 win in Arlington on Jan. 5.
All-Time Results vs. UT Arlington (1-2)
Jan. 05, 2023 Utah Valley def. UT Arlington, 72-64 Arlington, Texas
Jan. 05, 2010 UT Arlington def. Utah Valley, 90-85 (OT) Arlington, Texas
Jan. 03, 2009 UT Arlington def. Utah Valley, 75-64 Orem, Utah
LAST TIME vs. UTA: Utah Valley 72, UT Arlington 64 (Jan. 5, 2023 – Arlington, TX)
Justin Harmon scored a season-high 21 points and Aziz Bandaogo notched a 13-point, 12-rebound double-double to lead Utah Valley to a 72-64 WAC road win over UT Arlington on Jan. 5 at College Park Center.
