OREM, Utah—The Utah Valley University men's basketball team has accepted an invitational to play in the College Basketball Invitational. The Wolverines will host a first round matchup against CSUN on Tuesday at the UCCU Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. (MT).
 
The bid to play in the CBI marks Utah Valley's fifth appearance in a postseason national tournament. It marks the third-straight season that the Wolverines have played in the CBI as the team made a run to the final four of the tournament in 2017 and defeated Eastern Washington last season in a first-ever national postseason home game. UVU played in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) in 2014 and in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament in 2012.
 
Utah Valley enters Tuesday's matchup against CSUN with a 24-9 overall record. The 24 wins is a school record for wins in a single season, surpassing last year's total of 23 wins. UVU hits the postseason hardwood at home where the team holds a 13-1 record this season. The Wolverines hold a combined 29-2 record at the UCCU Center over the past two seasons.
 
Utah Valley holds one of the top shooting percentages in the country as the Wolverines rank 17th nationally in field-goal percentage with a 48.5 percent clip from the floor. UVU also ranks 21st in the country in three-point field goal percentage at 38.5 percent.
 
WAC Player of the Year Jake Toolson leads the team in scoring at 15.8 points per game. Senior guard Conner Toolson also averages double figures at 13.8 points a contest. The cousin duo accounts for nearly 40 percent of UVU's scoring this season. Conner Toolson recently earned WAC All-Tournament team honors after averaging 18.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game in a pair of games at the tournament.
 
CSUN travels to Orem with a 13-20 overall record. The team has dropped three straight, including a 71-68 setback to UC Santa Barabara in the first round of the Big West Tournament. Redshirt freshman forward Lamine Diane leads the team in scoring at 24.7 points a game and rebounding at 11.3 boards a game. Sophomore guard Terrell Gomez and junior guard Rodney Henderson Jr. also average double figure scoring at 19.1 and 10.8 points per game, respectively.
 
UVU and CSUN have met on the basketball hardwood two times with the Matadors winning each of those meetings, both of which took place in 2007. CSUN took a 76-64 win at home on Dec. 5, 2007 before defeating the Wolverines, 73-65, in Orem on Dec. 28, 2007.
 
The CBI is a single-elimination tournament up until the best-of-three Finals, with all games played at campus sites. After the First Round games, the Quarterfinal Round will take place on Monday, March 25, followed by the Semifinal Round on Wednesday, March 27 or Thursday, March 28. Prior to the semifinals, the remaining teams will be re-bracketed. The Finals series is a best-of-three in which one team will host two of the three games. Those games will be played on April 1, April 3, and April 5.
 
Past CBI champions include Tulsa, Oregon State, VCU, Oregon, Pittsburgh, Santa Clara, Siena, Loyola Chicago, Nevada, Wyoming, and North Texas. Teams from nearly every conference have participated in the event. Twenty-seven teams have used the CBI to springboard to the NCAA Tournament the following year, while another 19 have gone on to the NIT.
 
ESPN is again the official television home of the CBI. ESPNU will televise each game of the best-of-three Championship Series.
 
For more information, log onto www.CollegeBasketballInvitational.com.

Tuesday night's CBI game will be FREE to the public.
 
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About the Gazelle Group
The College Basketball Invitational is produced by the Gazelle Group of Princeton, N.J. The Gazelle Group is a sports marketing firm, specializing in event production and management, client representation, and sponsorship consulting. Gazelle produces numerous nationally-recognized events, such as the Empire Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project, Legends Classic presented by Old Trapper, the Sunshine Slam, and the Gotham Classic. For more information on the Gazelle Group, please visit gazellegroup.com.