UTAH VALLEY SET TO HOST CINCINNATI IN NIT QUARTERFINAL ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT

• Utah Valley will host American Athletic Conference foe Cincinnati in the quarterfinals of the NIT on Wednesday night at the UCCU Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2. Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m.
   
• Trey Woodbury scored a game-high 25 points and Justin Harmon added 18 to lead Utah Valley to a 81-69 road win over Colorado in the second round of the NIT on Sunday night at CU Events Center in Boulder, Colorado.
   
• In his last six games, Trey Woodbury is averaging 17.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 7.0 assists per game.
   
• Utah Valley's 27 wins are the most in program history, breaking the previous record of 25 set during the 2018-19 season. UVU's 12 road wins are the most road wins in the nation and 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 (101), fourth in blocks per game (2.89), fifth in rebounds (355), 11th in rebounds per game (10.1), 11th in defensive rebounds per game (7.34), and 14th double-doubles (15). Bandaogo's 101 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 232 blocks and a 6.6 blocks per game average. The Wolverines are the only team in the country with 200 or more blocks this season. Utah Valley's 232 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. Wednesday night's game against Cincinnati will be the third time UVU has hosted a postseason national tournament, but the first time the team has hosted an NIT game. 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: 6-5
National Invitational Tournament Record: 2-1
CollegeInsider.com Tournament Record: 0-1
College Basketball Invitational Record: 4-3
Mark Madsen National Postseason Tournament Record: 2-0

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Wednesday night's NIT second round game against Cincinnati will be broadcast live on the ESPN2. Mike Corey and Richie Schueler will be on the ESPN2 call. The game will also be broadcast over the Utah County and Salt Lake 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.

ABOUT CINCINNATI
Cincinnati enters Wednesday night's game with a 23-12 overall record. The Bearcats finished fourth in the American Athletic Conference this season with an 11-7 league record. The team dropped a 69-48 decision to Houston in the semifinals of the AAC Tournament. Cincinnati defeated Virginia Tech 81-72 in the first round of NIT at home. The Bearcats then picked up a 79-65 road win over Hofstra in the second round to advance to Wednesday night's quarterfinal matchup against Utah Valley. Redshirt senior guard Landers Nolley II led Cincinnati with 20 points in the win over Hofstra on Saturday afternoon. Senior forward Ody Oguama had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Nolley II leads the team in scoring at 16.7 points a game. Graduate guard David DeJulius and Redshirt sophomore Viktor Lakhin also average double figures at 14.7 and 11.7 points per game, respectively. Lakhin leads the team on the boards, pulling down 7.0 rebounds a game. Cincinnati ranks 17th nationally in assist/turnover ratio at 1.46. The team also ranks 27th nationally in assists per game at 15.7 a game. DeJulius ranks third in the country in assist/turnover ratio at 3.19. 

SERIES HISTORY VS. CINCINNATI, AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Utah Valley and Cincinnati will meet on the basketball hardwood for just the second time on Wednesday night. Utah Valley holds an all-time 0-1 record  against the Bearcats and a 0-3 mark against teams from the American Athletic Conference. Cincinnati took a 92-72 win at home over the Wolverines on Dec. 11, 2010 in the lone matchup between the two teams. 

LAST TIME ON THE FLOOR: Utah Valley 81, Colorado 69 (NIT Round 2)
Trey Woodbury scored a game-high 25 points and Justin Harmon added 18 to lead Utah Valley to a 81-69 road win over Colorado in the second round of the NIT on Sunday night at CU Events Center in Boulder, Colorado.

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)