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OREM — Officially, Utah Valley didn't need a win over Tarleton State to clinch the outright Western Athletic Conference regular-season title Saturday night.
The Wolverines had already clinched following Grand Canyon's loss to Abilene Christian earlier in the day. A win Saturday would be icing on the cake.
What a cake it's been, too.
Utah Valley punctuated its third WAC regular-season title in the past five years with a 71-66 win over Tarleton State, led by a career-high 25 points from Dominick Nelson and 18 from Carter Welling. The win also capped a 23-7 regular season and 15-1 record in league play with wins in 18 of their last 19 games.
One of the hottest teams in the country, Utah Valley ranks as the 101st best team in NCAA Division I since Dec. 18, a 70-56 road win Dec. 18 over Idaho State that helped propel the run. KenPom currently rates the Wolverines No. 122 in the predictive metrics, and No. 109 in the NET.
ESPN's Joe Lunardi currently projects Utah Valley as a No. 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament — what would be their first in program history — and opening against third-seeded Texas A&M in Denver.
"This team has so much heart," said Utah Valley coach Todd Phillips, who took a team picked fifth in the WAC preseason coaches poll to a league title in just his second season in charge. "To come to Texas and win two tough road games shows what these guys are made of.
"This group is unselfish, they care about each other, and they just get the job done," he added.
𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.#GoUVU | #ValleyForgedpic.twitter.com/kA27EwDcAK
— UVU Men's Basketball (@UVUmbb) March 9, 2025
With an automatic berth to the NIT secured if the Wolverines do not earn the league's bid to the NCAA Tournament, Utah Valley opens the WAC tournament Wednesday in Las Vegas against the winner of No. 8 Southern Utah and No. 9 Utah Tech. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. MDT on ESPN+, with the WAC tournament final Saturday at 7:40 p.m. MDT on ESPN2.
Utah Valley women's basketball clinched the No. 5 seed in the WAC tournament with a 75-58 win over Tarleton State that featured a career-high 22 points from Halle Nelson.
The Wolverines (17-11, 9-7 WAC) will open the conference tournament Thursday against fourth-seeded Abilene Christian. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. MDT on ESPN+.
