• After picking up an 83-69 road win at New Mexico on Wednesday night, Utah Valley travels to Boulder, Colorado to play a first-ever matchup against Pac-12 foe Colorado in the second round of the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) on Sunday night. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. (MT) on ESPNU.
   
• Justin Harmon scored a career-high 32 points and Tim Fuller added a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double to lead Utah Valley to an 83-69 win over New Mexico in the first round NIT on Wednesday night at The Pit in Albuquerque. The win is the first-ever NIT win for the Wolverines.
   
• Utah Valley's 26 wins are the most in program history, breaking the previous record of 25 set during the 2018-19 season. UVU's 11 wins are tied with seven other teams for the most road wins in the country this season. The 11 road wins are the most in UVU history.
   
• Utah Valley secured its third WAC regular season title this year. 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 (99), fourth in blocks per game (2.91), sixth in rebounds (348), 11th in rebounds per game (10.2), 12th in defensive rebounds per game (7.35), and 14th double-doubles (15). Bandaogo's 99 swats are the most blocks in UVU single season history, surpassing Emanuel Olojakpoke's record of 81 blocks set during the 2019-20 season.
   
• 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.
   
• Utah Valley is the top shot blocking team in the nation with 229 blocks and a 6.7 blocks per game average. The Wolverines are the only team in the country with 200 or more blocks this season. Utah Valley's 229 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.

UVU MAKES SIXTH APPEARANCE IN A NATIONAL POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT
Utah Valley's selection to play in the National Invitational Tournament marks the team's sixth appearance in a postseason national tournament and first since 2019. It is the second time that the Wolverines have played in the NIT. UVU's lone appearance in the NIT was in 2014 when the team dropped a 77-64 decision at California in the first round. UVU's first-ever appearance in a national postseason tournament was in the CollegeInisder.com Tournament was a 72-69 loss to Weber State in Ogden. UVU picked up its first-ever national postseason wins in 2017 with victories over Georgia Southern and Rice en route to a loss at eventual champion Wyoming in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) Final Four. The 2019 first round CBI game against Eastern Washington is the only national postseason tournament home game in UVU history. This year's NIT appearance is the first national postseason appearance for the Wolverines under head coach Mark Madsen.

UVU Overall Record in Postseason National Tournaments: 5-5
National Invitational Tournament Record: 1-1
CollegeInsider.com Tournament Record: 0-1
College Basketball Invitational Record: 4-3
Mark Madsen National Postseason Tournament Record: 1-0

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Sunday night's NIT second round game at Colorado will be broadcast live on the ESPNU. Roxy Bernstein and Noah Savage 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 will on the call. Brice Larson will host the pregame/halftime/postgame shows.

ABOUT COLORADO
Colorado enters Sunday night's game with an 18-16 overall record. The Buffaloes finished eighth in the Pac-12 this season with an 8-12 league record. The team dropped an 80-69 decision to UCLA in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament. Colorado got past Seton Hall in the first round of the NIT, defeating the Pirates 65-64 on Wednesday night in Boulder. Graduate guard Ethan Wright led the Buffs with 18 points off the bench, including four three-pointers. Junior forward Tristan da Silva scored 14, while  sophomore guard Julian Hammond III was also in double figures with 10 points. da Silva leads the Buffs in scoring at 16.0 points a game, followed closely by sophomore guard KJ Simpson at 15.9 a game. As a team, Colorado averages 69.9 points a game while limiting opponents to a 66.7 points per game average. 

SERIES HISTORY VS. COLORADO, PAC-12
Utah Valley and Colorado will meet for first time on the basketball hardwood on Sunday night. Utah Valley holds an all-time 4-10 record against teams from the Pac-12 Conference. UVU has won each of its last two matchups against Pac-12 opponents, taking a 77-72 win at Oregon on Dec. 20, 2022 in Euguene and a 68-52 win at Washington on Dec. 21, 2021.

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.

Utah Valley WAC regular season titles
1.    2013-14 (outright)
2.    2020-21 (co-champs)
3.    2022-23 (outright)