United Athletic Conference

 

Utah Valley makes its return to The Orleans Arena for the second time in the month of March, as the Wolverines are among the last four teams remaining in the field of the 2023 National Invitation Tournament (NIT). Utah Valley will square off with No. 4 seed UAB on March 28 at 6:30 p.m. PT on ESPN2 in the second semifinal, with the winner colliding with either No. 2 seed North Texas or No. 2 seed Wisconsin on March 30 at 6:40 p.m. PT on ESPN2 in the NIT title game.

 

Utah Valley reached the semifinal round of the NIT with an 83-69 win at No. 2 seed New Mexico on March 15, an 81-69 victory at No. 3 seed Colorado on March 19 and a 74-68 win at home over No. 4 Cincinnati on March 22.

 

With 78 combined appearances dating back to the 1964 tournament, teams representing the WAC have posted a combined record of 96-80 (.545) all-time in the postseason NIT. WAC members have captured an NIT title on two occasions, with Brigham Young taking the 1966 crown and Tulsa winning the 2001 championship.

 

Utah Valley is the first WAC member to reach the semifinal round of the NIT since CSU Bakersfield in 2017, with the Wolverines and Sam Houston this season becoming the first members of the WAC to compete in the NIT field since CSU Bakersfield’s 2017 appearance.

 

Four other teams from the WAC took part in 2023 postseason tournament play. The 2023 Hercules Tires WAC Basketball Tournament champion and NCAA Tournament automatic qualifier Grand Canyon battled Gonzaga to the end, as the No. 14 seed Lopes ultimately dropped an 82-70 decision to the No. 3 seed Bulldogs on March 17 in the opening round of the NCAA West Region.

 

While Utah Valley claimed the conference’s automatic bid into the NIT as the regular-season WAC champion, Sam Houston picked up an at-large berth as a number three seed in the NIT. The Bearkats defeated Santa Clara 58-56 in the opening round on March 15 before falling at No. 2 seed North Texas 75-55 on March 19 in the NIT’s second round.

 

Southern Utah secured the fourth seed in the Discount Tire College Basketball Invitational (CBI) and Tarleton received the seventh seed in the CBI in Daytona Beach, Florida. No. 4 seed Southern Utah defeated No. 13 seed North Alabama 72-50 on March 18 and No. 12 seed Rice 81-79 on March 20 before falling to No. 8 seed Eastern Kentucky 108-106 in double-overtime of the CBI semifinal round on March 21. No. 7 seed Tarleton dropped a heartbreaking 72-70 result in overtime against No. 10 seed Radford on March 19.

 

In the first 12-team field at the championship in over 20 years, the 2023 Hercules Tires WAC Basketball Tournament in Las Vegas saw the best and brightest in the conference battling to become tournament champion. Grand Canyon joined UNLV in 1998 and Hawai’i in 2001 as the lowest seed to win the tournament, capturing the championship trophy out of the fifth seed. The 4-0 run by the Lopes was also the best in the event since the 1998 UNLV championship team.

 

Seven of the 11 games on the men’s side in the 2023 edition of the tournament were decided by five points or less, including two wins by Southern Utah by just a single point (76-75 over Utah Tech in quarterfinal and 89-88 over Utah Valley in semifinal rounds). Champion Grand Canyon shot a blistering 48.4 percent (45-of-93) on 3-point field goals as a team to pace the field, with the 45 made 3s believed to be a tournament record.

 

In the final WAC Resume Seeding System ranking update on March 4, Sam Houston earned the conference’s number one seed at 24-6 overall and 14-4 in the WAC (6.977 points) to narrowly edge out regular-season champion Utah Valley with a 24-7 overall record and a 15-3 showing in WAC play (6.964 points). Other teams with positive point values included No. 3 seed Southern Utah (20-11; 12-6 WAC; 3.148 points), No. 4 seed Seattle U (20-11; 11-7 WAC; 3.102 points), No. 5 seed Grand Canyon (20-11; 11-7 WAC; 2.771 points) and No. 6 seed Stephen F. Austin (19-12; 11-7 WAC; 1.131 points).

 

As a conference the WAC was ranked 11th among the 33 Division I men’s basketball leagues in the NET as of the season’s final ranking, checking in as the number two rated mid-major conference behind only the West Coast Conference. WAC members have combined for a 51.9 percent winning percentage in countable nonconference matchups thus far this season.

 

Utah Valley’s Aziz Bandaogo landed on both the USBWA District VIII All-District Team and the NABC District 6 All-District First Team to lead the WAC in all-district honors that were announced on March 14. Utah Valley head coach Mark Madsen was named Coach of the Year in both districts by the USBWA and the NABC. Southern Utah’s Tevian Jones and Seattle U’s Cameron Tyson captured first-team honors from District 6 of the NABC, while Sam Houston’s Qua Grant, Grand Canyon’s Ray Harrison and Utah Valley’s Trey Woodbury were recognized on the second team. Utah Valley’s Le’Tre Darthard joined Bandaogo on the USBWA District VIII All-District Team.

 

Sam Houston’s Qua Grant captured the top yearly honor in the WAC as part of the 2022-23 conference awards in men’s basketball that were voted on by member head coaches. Grant led five major award winners as the WAC Men’s Basketball Player of the Year. Other top award winners included Utah Valley’s Aziz Bandaogo (Defensive Player and Newcomer of the Year) and head coach Mark Madsen (Don Haskins Coach of the Year), Southern Utah’s Dee Barnes (Sixth Man of the Year) and UT Arlington’s Chendall Weaver (Freshman of the Year). WAC regular-season champion Utah Valley led the way with three players on the all-conference first team. Four other teams had two individuals recognized among the 16 players to claim All-WAC accolades.

 

In the latest NCAA DI national statistics rankings that were released on March 25, Utah Valley remained first in the country with 6.6 blocks per game, second in defensive rebounds per game (29.97) and fifth in field goal percentage (.390). UTRGV is first in free throw attempts (25.1 per game) and climbed to fourth place in NCAA DI in free throws made (17.5 per game). Stephen F. Austin ranked third in NCAA DI in turnovers forced per game (18.06). Sam Houston was fourth in scoring defense (59.3). Southern Utah was fourth nationally in scoring offense (83.0 points per game). Abilene Christian checked in fifth in turnover margin per game (5.0) and turnovers forced per game (17.67). Individually, UTRGV’s Justin Johnson was second in free throw attempts (274). Utah Valley’s Aziz Bandaogo ranked third in total blocks (105), fourth in blocks per game (2.92) and fifth in total rebounds (367).