OREM—With his 16 wins in regular season play this season, Utah Valley head coach
Todd Phillips has become the winningest first-year head coach in UVU's full status Division I program history.
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Phillips breaks the previous wins mark of 12 wins set during the 2015-16 season be then head coach Mark Pope. Mark Madsen has 11 wins in his first season in 2019-20.
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Phillips also wrapped up WAC play with the most league wins by a first-year head coach in UVU history with 11, breaking the previous record of six by Pope in 2015-16. He is the first coach in UVU history to finish WAC play with a winning record. The team's tie for fourth place in the WAC standings is the highest finish by a first-year coach in program history.Â
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The first-year head coach also holds the best KenPom (164) and NCAA NetRating (165) by a first-year head coach in UVU history.
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Utah Valley has won seven of its last eight games heading into Wednesday's WAC Tournament first round game against California Baptist. The Wolverines recently swept a Texas road trip with a 63-60 win at Tarleton State and a 74-67 win at Abilene Christian. UVU snapped TSU's 10-game win streak and halted ASU's seven-game win streak. Tarleton State's 10-game win streak was the second-longest win streak in the nation.
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Utah Valley takes the No. 5 seed into this week's WAC Tournament at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The Wolverines will take on No. 8 California Baptist in the first round of the tournament on Wednesday at 6 p.m. (PT). The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and over the airwaves on ESPN 960 AM radio.Â
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