OREM—Utah Valley University head coach Mark Pope has released the 2018-19 men's basketball schedule, which features a matchup against national power Arizona, a first-ever preseason multi-team tournament, and games against in-state rivals BYU, Utah State, and Weber State.
 
"We're really excited about this schedule," said Pope. "It's incredibly competitive. We always want to be as ambitious as we can with our non-conference schedule and we believe that we have put together a lineup that will challenge our guys and inspire them."
 
The Wolverines enter the 2018-19 season after winning a school-record 23 games last season. The team also won a national postseason tournament game for a second-straight season and finished with a top-100 ranking in both the RPI and on KenPom.com.
 
This season's schedule includes games against eight teams that went to a national postseason tournament last season, including two teams that won their conference tournament and earned a spot in last year's NCAA Tournament.
 
Utah Valley will open the season against Westminster on Nov. 6 at the UCCU Center, where the Wolverines hold the nation's fifth-longest active home win streak at 14 games. UVU held the nation's fifth-ranked home court advantage in the nation last season, according to KenPom.com. The Wolverines also hosted their first-ever national postseason game in school history last season, defeating Eastern Washington, 87-65, in the first round of the CBI.
 
"This UCCU Center has become a really special place for us," said Pope. "We have one of the nation's longest active win streaks because of our fans and the energy they bring us at every home game. We want to continue that trend and grow this fan base. We're excited to get back on the UCCU Center floor and show our students and fans a good time."
 
Utah Valley will open a five-game road stretch at BYU in the UCCU Crosstown Clash on Nov. 9 in Provo. The game will mark the fourth straight year that the two teams have played each other under head coach Mark Pope, who served as an assistant coach to head coach Dave Rose at BYU from 2011-15. In the two team's first meeting in 2015, BYU took a convincing 85-54 victory at the Marriott Center. The Wolverines responded in 2016 with a record-breaking 114-101 victory over the Cougars, setting the record for the most points ever scored by a BYU opponent at the Marriott Center. The win sent shockwaves throughout the state as the Wolverines were featured on ESPN's SportsCenter for the record-breaking performance. With Utah Valley favored to win at home against the Cougars last season, BYU got some revenge with a resounding 58-85 palindrome victory in the first-ever game played between the two schools in the UCCU Center.
 
"Playing five of our first six games on the road is going to be a real challenge," said Pope. "We're excited to play in our first preseason tournament in Las Vegas with three of the finest mid-majors in America."
 
Following the matchup at BYU, UVU will play games at Saint Mary's on Nov. 11 and at Utah State on Nov. 16 as part of the MGM Main Event that will take place the following week in at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas.  The Wolverines will take on Hartford on Nov. 19 and then either Long Beach State or Iona on Nov. 21 at the MGM Main Event.
 
Utah Valley will open a three-game home stand on Nov. 24 when the Wolverines welcome North Dakota to the UCCU Center. UVU will then host Western State on Nov. 28 before facing cross-state rival Denver in Orem on Dec. 1.
 
Coach Pope will then take his squad to the Grand Canyon State to play Arizona on Dec. 6 and Northern Arizona on Dec. 8. The Wolverines will then travel up I-15 to Ogden to play in-state rival Weber State on Dec. 15.
 
Utah Valley will wrap up its non-conference slate by playing two of its final three non-league games at home. UVU will host Idaho State on Dec. 19 before welcoming Sam Houston State to the UCCU Center on Dec. 22. The Wolverines will then wrap up non-league play at Fresno State on Dec. 29.
 
The Wolverines will then turn their attention to an extremely competitive Western Athletic Conference schedule. The WAC  has made one of the biggest three-year conference RPI jumps in the nation. The league has jumped up 11 spots in the RPI from No. 26 at the end of the 2015-16 season to the No. 15 spot at the end of last season. Five teams in the WAC played in national postseason tournaments last season with New Mexico State in the NCAA Tournament and UVU, Seattle U, UTRGV, and Grand Canyon in the College Basketball Invitational.
 
"We are in the fastest-growing league in the nation," said Pope. "The WAC continues to get better and better each year and its RPI numbers prove that. It's great that we don't have to rely on our non-conference schedule anymore to play great teams.
  
Utah Valley's 16-game WAC schedule begins on Jan. 3 at Grand Canyon. The game will be a rematch of last season's WAC Tournament semifinal matchup between the two teams.
 
UVU's WAC schedule will include home-and-home matchups against all eight conference opponents, including league-newcomer California Baptist, Grand Canyon, Chicago State, Kansas City, CSU Bakersfield, UT Rio Grande Valley, Seattle U, and 2018 WAC tournament champion and NCAA Tournament participant New Mexico State. The WAC Tournament will take place March 14-16 at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
 
UVU fans will get their first look at this year's team at Utah Valley's Midnight Madness event, which will take place Oct. 12 at 11:30 p.m. (MT) at Lockhart Arena.

TICKET INFORMATION
Season tickets go on sale Tuesday October 16 at GoUVU.com/tickets. Single game tickets will go on sale Monday October 22.