• After picking up a 72-58 win over Tarleton on Thursday night, Utah Valley advances to the semifinals of the Hercules Tires WAC Tournament to take on in-state foe Southern Utah on Friday night at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. PT/9 p.m. MT
   
• Justin Harmon scored a season-high 23 points and Trey Woodbury added 21 to lead Utah Valley to a 72-58 win over No. 7 Tarleton in the quarterfinals of the Hercules Tires WAC Tournament on Thursday night. Aziz Bandaogo scored 12 points to go along with seven rebounds and three blocks. Le'Tre Darthard scored 11 points with four rebounds. Blaze Nield came off the bench to score five points with two rebounds.
   
• Utah Valley secured its third WAC regular season title this season. It marks the third overall WAC regular season championship for UVU (2014, 2021, 2023) and its second in the last three years under head coach Mark Madsen. Utah Valley finished atop the WAC standings with an 15-3 record.
   
• Utah Valley head coach Mark Madsen has been named a finalist for the 2022-23 Hugh Durham National Coach of the Year award. The Hugh Durham Award is presented annually to the top Division I mid-major coach in college basketball.
   
• Aziz Bandaogo has been named one of 15 finalists for the 2023 Lefty Driesell Defensive Player of the Year Award. He ranks in the top-15 nationally in six statistical categories. He ranks third in blocks (92), fifth in blocks per game (2.88), ninth in rebounds (331), 10th in defensive rebounds per game (7.50), 10th in rebounds per game (10.3), and 13th double-doubles (15).
   
• UVU earned numerous postseason WAC honors highlighted by Aziz Bandaogo earning WAC Defensive Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, and head coach Mark Madsen being named the WAC Coach of the Year. Bandaogo, Le'Tre Darthard, and Trey Woodbury earned First Team All-WAC honors.
   
• Utah Valley has hit the 20-win mark for a second straight season. This year's team made it to 20 wins faster than any team in UVU history in the program's full Division I status era. It's only the second time that the Wolverines have won 20-plus games in back-to-back seasons. With 25 wins, UVU has tied the program record for wins in a season.
   
• Aziz Bandaogo's 92 swats are the most blocks in UVU single season history. The 92 blocks breaks Emanuel Olojakpoke's previous single season record of 81 blocks set during the 2019-20 season.
   
• Utah Valley has won 22 of its last 25 games over a 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.
   
• Utah Valley is the top shot blocking team in the nation with 218 blocks and a 6.8 blocks per game average. Utah Valley also ranks second nationally in defensive rebounds per game (29.91) and seventh in rebounds per game (40.06). Utah Valley's 218 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.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Friday night's WAC Tournament semifinal game against Southern Utah will be broadcast live on the ESPN+, which is available on the ESPN+ app and at ESPNplus.com.  Ben Wilson and Scott Williams will be on the call. 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 and Josh Kallunki on the call. Brice Larson will host the pregame/halftime/postgame shows.

UTAH VALLEY'S WAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Utah Valley makes its ninth appearance at the WAC Tournament this week. Coach Mark Madsen makes his third appearance at the event (there was no tournament in 2020 due to COVID). The Wolverines hold an all-time 6-8 record at the tournament. UVU has the No. 2 seed for the fourth time and now holds a 3-3 record when it holds the No. 2 seed at the tourney. Utah Valley has made it to the semifinals of the tournament in five of the previous six tournaments. UVU has never made it to the tournament's championship game.

UTAH VALLEY'S ALL-TIME WAC TOURNAMENT RESULTS
March 13, 2014    #1 Utah Valley 83, #8 UTRGV 63    Quarterfinals - Las Vegas 
March 14, 2014    #5 Idaho 74, #1 Utah Valley 69    Semifinals - Las Vegas
March 12, 2015    #4 Bakersfield 55, #5 Utah Valley 40    Quarterfinals - Las Vegas
March 10, 2016    #5 UMKC 80, #4 Utah Valley 78    Quarterfinals - Las Vegas
March 09, 2017    #4 Utah Valley 65, #5 Seattle U 53    Quarterfinals - Las Vegas
March 10, 2017    #1 CSU Bakersfield 81, #4 UVU 80 (4OT)    Semifinals - Las Vegas
March 08, 2018    #2 Utah Valley 81, #7 CSU Bakersfield 74    Quarterfinals - Las Vegas
March 09, 2018    #3 Grand Canyon 75, #2 Utah Valley 60    Semifinals - Las Vega
March 14, 2019    #2 Utah Valley 71, #7 Kansas City 64    Quarterfinals - Las Vegas
March 15, 2019    #3 Grand Canyon 78, #2 Utah Valley 74    Semifinals - Las Vegas
March 12, 2021    #3 NM State 78, #2 Utah Valley 62    Semifinals - Las Vegas
March 08, 2022    #7 Utah Valley 69, #10 Chicago State 47    Opening Round - Las Vegas
March 09, 2022    #6 Abilene Christian 82, #7 Utah Valley 74    Quarterfinals - Las Vegas
March 09, 2023    #2 Utah Valley 72, #7 Tarleton 58    Quarterfinals - Las Vegas

ABOUT SOUTHERN UTAH
Southern Utah enters Friday night's game with an 21-11 overall record. The T-Birds finished third in the WAC this season with a 12-6 league record. Southern Utah just edged out in-state foe Utah Tech 76-75 in the WAC Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday night. SUU is making its first-ever trip to the WAC Tournament as the team is in its first season in the league. Sophomore center Jason Spurgin led SUU with 18 points in Thursday night's win over Utah Tech. Sophomore guard Drake Allen and senior forward Maizen Fausett each had 13 points, while senior guard Harrison Butler had 12. Senior guard Tevian Jones and graduate guard Cameron Healy were also in double figures with 10 points apiece. Jones leads SUU in scoring this season at 17.6 points a game followed by Fausett at 12.5 points a contest. Allen and Spurgin also average double figure scoring this season at 11.3 and 11.1 points per game, respectively. Butler leads the team on the boards, pulling down 6.7 rebounds a game. 

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE THUNDERBIRDS
Utah Valley and Southern Utah will meet for the 12th time on the basketball hardwood. It will be the first time that the two teams have met on a neutral floor. Utah Valley broke a five-game skid to the Thunderbirds on Feb. 11, taking a 90-83 win in Orem.

All-Time Results vs. Southern Utah (SUU leads 6-5)
Feb. 11, 2023    Utah Valley def. Southern Utah, 90-83    Orem, Utah
Jan. 26, 2023    Southern Utah def. Utah Valley, 79-67    Cedar City, Utah
Dec. 08, 2021    Southern Utah def. Utah Valley, 60-56    Cedar City, Utah
Dec. 09, 2020    Southern Utah def. Utah Valley, 81-71    Orem, Utah
Dec. 07, 2019    Southern Utah def. Utah Valley, 73-72    Cedar City, Utah
Dec. 05, 2015    Southern Utah def. Utah Valley, 68-54    Orem, Utah
Nov. 22, 2014    Utah Valley def. Southern Utah, 85-75    Cedar City, Utah
Dec. 20, 2008    Utah Valley def. Southern Utah, 78-72    Orem, Utah
Dec. 15, 2007    Utah Valley def. Southern Utah, 91-88 (2OT)    Cedar City, Utah
Dec. 22, 2006    Utah Valley def. Southern Utah, 64-55    Orem, Utah
Nov. 29, 2006    Southern Utah def. Utah Valley, 68-60    Cedar City, Utah

LAST TIME vs. SUU: Utah Valley 90, Southern Utah 83 (Feb. 11, 2023 - Orem, UT)
Le'Tre Darthard scored a career-high 31 points and Tim Fuller added a 14-point, 13-rebound double-double to lead Utah Valley to an 90-83 win over in-state WAC rival Southern Utah on Saturday night at the UCCU Center. 

UTAH VALLEY SECURES THIRD WAC TITLE IN PROGRAM HISTORY
Utah Valley claimed its third WAC regular season title in program history after finishing league play with a 15-3 record to finish a full game ahead of Sam Houston for the top spot in the WAC standings. The title is 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. UVU has won two WAC regular season titles over the past three years under head coach Mark Madsen. It is the second outright regular season title in school history.