OREM—Utah Valley will close out nonconference play at home on Saturday afternoon when it hosts Bethesda University of California at the UCCU Center. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the Utah Valley women's basketball team, which will face Idaho State at noon.
Utah Valley men's basketball enters the matchup riding a four-game winning streak after a 90–74 home victory over in-state rival Weber State on Wednesday night. The Wolverines improved to 9–3 overall with the win, extended their home winning streak to 17 games—the fourth-longest active streak in the nation—and secured head coach Todd Phillips' 50th career victory at Utah Valley.
Utah Valley placed five players in double figures against Weber State, led by Tyler Hendricks' career-high-matching 22 points and 18 points from Jackson Holcombe. The Wolverines shot 58.6 percent from the field, totaled 23 assists, and scored 50 points in the paint. Isaac Hawkins added a career-high 15 points off the bench on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting performance.
Through 12 games, Utah Valley continues to rank among the nation's most efficient teams, checking in inside the top 35 nationally in assists per game, blocks per game, effective field goal percentage, scoring defense, and scoring margin. The Wolverines rank 11th nationally in assists per game (19.7) and blocks per game (6.2), while Holcombe leads the nation in double-doubles (4) and Trevan Leonhardt ranks ninth nationally in assists per game (6.8).
Utah Valley sits at No. 53 in the latest NCAA NET rankings and No. 81 nationally in the KenPom ratings, owning the top NET ranking among current Western Athletic Conference programs. The Wolverines' résumé includes wins over UC Irvine, South Dakota State, Samford, Bowling Green, and UC Santa Barbara, along with competitive road performances at San Diego State and Bowling Green.
Holcombe was recently named to the 2025–26 Lou Henson Award Early Season Watch List, recognizing the nation's top mid-major player. The redshirt sophomore leads Utah Valley with 15.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game while shooting 58.3 percent from the field and anchoring the Wolverines on both ends of the floor.
Bethesda enters Saturday's contest as a National Christian College Athletic Association opponent, with Division I games counting as exhibitions for the Lion Angels but fully counting toward the records and metrics of their Division I opponents. Bethesda has faced several Division I programs this season, including UC Irvine, Utah Tech, Southern Utah, San José State, Occidental, and Cal State Fullerton.
Saturday's matchup marks the fourth all-time meeting between Utah Valley and Bethesda University of California, with the Wolverines holding a 3–0 advantage in the series. Utah Valley won the most recent meeting, 119–59, on Dec. 28, 2024, and has averaged 110.7 points per game across the three matchups.
