After having a several very good teams with Mark Pope and Mark Madsen, Utah Valley gets its first shot at WAC tournament title Saturday night. UVU has been one of the most stable programs in the conference the last decade. Their 2023 team went to the Final Four in the NIT. This is the goal UVU fans are trying to aspire to. They have to beat the new WAC giant to get there.
Grand Canyon has become the new golden standard when it comes to conference tournament dominance. They won their first two games in this tournament relatively easily. The Lopes have won back-to-back WAC championships and their only loss in a WAC tournament under Bryce Drew came against a New Mexico State team that beat UConn in the NCAA Tournament. Those Aggies were the last program to defeat Dan Hurley in the NCAA Tourney.
For the Wolverines, postseason success has not come easy. Last season, UVU lost to an underwhelming Cal Baptist squad when they were the five-seed. The 2023 WAC regular-season championship blew a 23-point second half lead to Southern Utah and lost on a half-court buzzer beater.
Todd Phillips talked about what it means to make it to the WAC championship:
“I’ve been here for a long time, and to do what these guys have accomplished and to put ourselves in a position to make it to the NCAA Tournament is astounding,” he said. “What doesn’t get talked about is the character of this team. They were work hard, do things the right way, and never had any problems with guys getting in trouble.”
Guard Tanner Toolson’s whose brother Jake Toolson stared for the Wolverines from 2017-2019.
“I grew up watching Utah Valley with my brother being here,” he said. “We are proud of what we accomplished so far. We came here with one goal: to win this championship and go to the NCAA Tournament.”
There is another player with long connected ties to the UVU program. Toolson, the brother of former UVU star Jake Toolson, has been instrumental to the team’s success. Toolson is the second leading scorer and best on-ball defender. He is a wing that rebounds the ball well, spaces the floor and makes the right plays for his teammates. He has been a revelation for UVU in his second year of the program and is averaging 17 points and five rebounds of the course of his tourney games
“We have a bunch of dawgs,” Toolson said. “There is nobody in the country that wants it and works harder than us. I truly believe that. Our toughness and grit give us the ability,…
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