UTAH VALLEY SET TO TAKE ON UAB IN SEMIFINALS OF NIT ON TUESDAY NIGHT IN LAS VEGAS

• Utah Valley punched its ticket to the NIT Final Four in Las Vegas with a 74-68 quarterfinal win over Cincinnati on Wednesday night in Orem. The Wolverines will take on UAB in the NIT semifinals on Tuesday night at Orleans Arena. The game is set to tip-off at 7:30 p.m. (MT) and will be broadcast on ESPN2.
   
• The winner of the Utah Valley/UAB game will move on to the NIT Championship game on Thursday, March 30 at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. 
   
• Trey Woodbury and Justin Harmon each scored 17 points and Aziz Bandaogo recorded a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double to lead Utah Valley to a 74-68 win over Cincinnati in the quarterfinals of the NIT on Wednesday night at the UCCU Center.
   
• In his three NIT games, Trey Woodbury is averaging 17.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 7.0 assists per game. Justin Harmon is averaging 22.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game in his three NIT games.
   
• Utah Valley's 28 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-10 nationally in six statistical categories. He ranks third in blocks (105), fourth in blocks per game (2.92), fifth in rebounds (367), 11th in rebounds per game (10.2), 10th in defensive rebounds per game (7.42), and 10th double-doubles (16). Bandaogo's 105 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 237 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 237 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, SECOND NIT APPEARANCE
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. UVU's home game against Cincinnati on Wednesday night marked just the third time UVU has hosted a postseason national tournament and 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: 7-5
National Invitational Tournament Record: 3-1
CollegeInsider.com Tournament Record: 0-1
College Basketball Invitational Record: 4-3
Mark Madsen National Postseason Tournament Record: 3-0

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Tuesday night's NIT semifinal game against UAB will be broadcast live on the ESPN2. John Schriffen and Fran Fraschilla 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 UAB
UAB enters Wednesday night's game with a 28-9 overall record. The team's 28 wins are a school record. The Blazers finished third in Conference USA this season with a 14-6 league record. The team finished third behind FAU and North Texas. The team defeated North Texas 76-69 in the CUSA Tournament semifinals before falling 78-56 to FAU in the championship game. UAB has won three straight with NIT wins over Southern Miss, Morehead State, and Vanderbilt. The Blazers defeated Vanderbilt 67-59 on Wednesday night in Nashville to advance to Tuesday's semifinal game against Utah Valley. Senior guard Jordan Walker led UAB with 21 points in Wednesday night's win at Vanderbilt. He also had a career-best seven rebounds with seven assists in the win. Senior center Trey Jemison notched his 11th double-double of the season with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Walker leads the team in scoring this season at 22.5 points a game. Sophomore guard Eric Gaines and senior forward KJ Buffen also average double figures at 11.6 and 10.8 points per game, respectively. Jemison leads the Blazers on the boards, pulling down 8.5 rebounds a game. UAB is one of the top rebounding teams in the nation. The Blazers rank second nationally in rebounds per game (41.00). The team also boasts one of the top scoring offenses in the country, ranking 11th nationally at 81.1 points a game. 

SERIES HISTORY VS. UAB
Utah Valley and UAB will meet on the basketball hardwood for just the second time on Tuesday night. Utah Valley holds an all-time 1-0 record against the Blazers, taking a 66-55 win on Nov. 15, 2019 in Birmingham. UVU holds an all-time 5-2 record against teams from Conference USA.

LAST TIME ON THE FLOOR: Utah Valley 74, Cincinnati 68 (NIT Quarterfinals)
OREM—Trey Woodbury and Justin Harmon each scored 17 points and Aziz Bandaogo recorded a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double to lead Utah Valley to a 74-68 win over Cincinnati in the quarterfinals of the NIT on Wednesday 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.