2023–24 Utah Valley Wolverines men's basketball team

2023–24 Utah Valley Wolverines men's basketball
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
Record16–16 (11–9 WAC)
Head coach
Associate head coachTodd Okeson (5th season)
Assistant coaches
  • Louis Wilson (1st season)
  • Rosbie Mutcherson (1st season)
Home arenaUCCU Center
(Capacity: 8,500)
Seasons
2023–24 WAC men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Grand Canyon † 17 – 3   .850 30 – 5   .857
Tarleton* 16 – 4   .800 25 – 10   .714
UT Arlington 13 – 7   .650 20 – 14   .588
Seattle 11 – 9   .550 23 – 14   .622
Utah Valley 11 – 9   .550 16 – 16   .500
Stephen F. Austin 10 – 10   .500 18 – 15   .545
Abilene Christian 10 – 10   .500 16 – 18   .471
California Baptist 8 – 12   .400 16 – 17   .485
Utah Tech* 7 – 13   .350 11 – 20   .355
Southern Utah 5 – 15   .250 10 – 21   .323
UT Rio Grande Valley 2 – 18   .100 6 – 25   .194
* Ineligible for the NCAA tournament due to transition from Division II
† 2024 WAC tournament winner

The 2023–24 Utah Valley Wolverines men's basketball team represented Utah Valley University (UVU) in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wolverines, led by first-year head coach Todd Phillips,[1] played their home games at the UCCU Center in Orem, Utah, and competed as members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). They finished the season 16–16, 11–9 in WAC play, to finish in a tie for fourth place. As the No. 5 seed in the WAC tournament, they lost to California Baptist in the first round.[2]

Previous season

The Wolverines finished the 2022–23 season 28–9, 15–3 in WAC play, to finish in first place.[3] As the No. 2 seed in the 2023 WAC tournament, they defeated No. 7 seed Tarleton State 72–58 in the quarterfinals.[4] In the semifinals, UVU lost to No. 3 seed Southern Utah 88–89.[5] In the National Invitational Tournament, UVU defeated New Mexico,[6] Colorado[7] and Cincinnati,[8] before falling in overtime to the UAB 88–86 in the semifinals.[9]

Offseason

Departures

Name Position Height Year Reason for departure
Justin Harmon G 6' 4" Senior Transferred to Illinois[10]
Le'Tre Darthard G 6' 4" Junior Transferred to Oklahoma[11]
Tim Ceaser F 6' 9" Junior Transferred to UNC Greensboro
Blaze Nield G 6' 1" Senior Graduated
Trey Woodbury G 6' 4" Senior Graduated
Tim Fuller F/C 6' 9" Senior Graduated
Cam Alford G 6' 1" Junior Transferred to Purdue Northwest
Tahj Small C 6' 5" Senior Graduated
Jordan Battle G 6' 2" Sophomore Transferred to Salt Lake CC
Aziz Bandaogo C 7' 0" Sophomore Transferred to Cincinnati[12]
Joao Das Chagas F 6' 10" Freshman Transferred to Arizona Western

Incoming transfers

Name Position Height Year Previous school
Tanner Toolson G 6' 5" Sophomore BYU[13]
K'Mani Doughty G 6' 5" Junior New Orleans
Caleb Stone-Carrawell F 6' 7" Senior Austin Peay[14]
Trevin Dorius C 7' 1" Senior Utah State[15]
Simon Akena G 6' 6" Junior McCook CC
Drake Allen G 6' 4" Junior Southern Utah[16]
Nate Tshimanga F 6' 10" Junior Troy

2023 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Osiris Grady
Guard 		Mount Pleasant, UT Wasatch Academy 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) May 30, 2023 
Star ratings: Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 81
Jaxson Roberts
Guard 		Draper, UT Corner Canyon High School 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) May 11, 2023 
Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Roster

2023–24 Utah Valley Wolverines men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Jackson Holcombe 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Timpanogos HS Orem, UT
G 2 K'Mani Doughty 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Florida Prep
New Orleans 		Brooklyn, NY
G 3 Drake Allen 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Westlake HS
Southern Utah 		Eagle Mountain, UT
G 5 Tanner Toolson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS So Union HS
BYU 		Vancouver, WA
G 10 Simon Akena Current redshirt 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Tibble Gymnasium
McCook CC 		Stockholm, Sweden
F 12 Osiris Grady 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Wasatch Academy Las Vegas, NV
G 13 Jaden McClanahan 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Salesian HS
Independence CC 		Vallejo, CA
G 14 Peter Amakasu 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Lehi HS San Diego, CA
G 15 Cache Fields 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Pinewood HS
Gavilan College 		Palo Alto, CA
G 20 Trevan Leonhardt 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Fr Davis HS Kaysville, UT
F 21 Nate Tshimanga 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Jr North Central Texas Academy Montreal, QC
G 24 McCaden Adams 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Pleasant Grove HS Pleasant Grove, UT
F 25 Caleb Stone-Carrawell 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Sr Cox Mill HS
Austin Peay 		Concord, NC
C 32 Trevin Dorius 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Sr Wasatch HS
Utah State 		Heber City, UT
F 35 Ethan Potter 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Layton HS Layton, UT
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: October 4, 2024

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
November 6, 2023*
5:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Carroll (MT) W 81–73  1–0
 UCCU Center (1,849)
Orem, UT
November 9, 2023*
5:30 p.m. 		at Sam Houston
C-USA/WAC 		W 79–73 OT 2–0
 Bernard Johnson Coliseum (1,187)
Huntsville, TX
November 15, 2023*
5:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Charlotte
Jacksonville Classic campus-site game 		L 45–62  2–1
 Halton Arena (2,784)
Charlotte, NC
November 19, 2023*
10:00 a.m., PassThaBall Live 		vs. Southern Miss
Jacksonville Classic Bay semifinals 		W 67–65  3–1
 Flagler Gymnasium (311)
St. Augustine, FL
November 20, 2023*
12:00 p.m., PassThaBall Live 		vs. Cornell
Jacksonville Classic Bay championship 		L 61–74  3–2
 Flagler Gymnasium (348)
St. Augustine, FL
November 24, 2023*
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Western Colorado W 81–73  4–2
 UCCU Center (1,326)
Orem, UT
November 29, 2023
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Seattle W 78–72  5–2
(1–0) 		UCCU Center (2,319)
Orem, UT
December 2, 2023
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Utah Tech
Old Hammer Rivalry 		L 53–65  5–3
(1–1) 		Burns Arena (2,501)
St. George, UT
December 5, 2023*
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Weber State W 70–54  6–3
 UCCU Center (1,651)
Orem, UT
December 9, 2023*
3:00 p.m., P12N 		at Oregon State L 71–74  6–4
 Gill Coliseum (2,867)
Corvallis, OR
December 16, 2023*
2:00 p.m., P12N 		at Utah L 62–76  6–5
 Jon M. Huntsman Center (8,349)
Salt Lake City, UT
December 20, 2023*
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Liberty
C-USA/WAC 		L 63–79  6–6
 UCCU Center (1,407)
Orem, UT
December 29, 2023*
7:00 p.m., MW Network 		at Boise State L 63–85  6–7
 ExtraMile Arena (10,764)
Boise, ID
January 4, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Cal Baptist W 65–58  7–7
(2–1) 		UCCU Center (1,553)
Orem, UT
January 6, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Southern Utah W 80–62  8–7
(3–1) 		UCCU Center (2,163)
Orem, UT
January 11, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at UT Arlington L 69–83  8–8
(3–2) 		College Park Center (1,112)
Arlington, TX
January 13, 2024
5:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		at UT Rio Grande Valley L 68–76  8–9
(3–3) 		UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,015)
Edinburg, TX
January 18, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Grand Canyon L 65–78  8–10
(3–4) 		GCU Arena (7,239)
Phoenix, AZ
January 20, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Utah Tech
Old Hammer Rivalry 		W 84–71  9–10
(4–4) 		UCCU Center (2,801)
Orem, UT
January 26, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPNU 		at Seattle L 61–62  9–11
(4–5) 		Redhawk Center (999)
Seattle, WA
February 1, 2024
5:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Stephen F. Austin L 72–77  9–12
(4–6) 		William R. Johnson Coliseum (2,208)
Nacogdoches, TX
February 3, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Grand Canyon L 67–86  9–13
(4–7) 		UCCU Center (2,381)
Orem, UT
February 8, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Tarleton L 61–72  9–14
(4–8) 		UCCU Center (1,985)
Orem, UT
February 10, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Abilene Christian W 74–45  10–14
(5–8) 		UCCU Center (2,474)
Orem, UT
February 15, 2024
8:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Cal Baptist W 69–46  11–14
(6–8) 		Fowler Events Center (2,230)
Riverside, CA
February 17, 2024
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Southern Utah W 78–75  12–14
(7–8) 		America First Event Center (1,613)
Cedar City, UT
February 22, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		UT Rio Grande Valley W 70–59  13–14
(8–8) 		UCCU Center (2,601)
Orem, UT
February 24, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Stephen F. Austin W 71–62  14–14
(9–8) 		UCCU Center (2,357)
Orem, UT
March 2, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		UT Arlington L 65–78  14–15
(9–9) 		UCCU Center (2,651)
Orem, UT
March 7, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Tarleton W 63–60  15–15
(10–9) 		Wisdom Gym (N/A)
Stephenville, TX
March 9, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Abilene Christian W 74–67  16–15
(11–9) 		Moody Coliseum (1,817)
Abilene, TX
WAC tournament
March 13, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		(5) vs. (8) California Baptist
First round 		L 63–74 OT 16–16
 Orleans Arena (1,064)
Paradise, NV
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Mountain.

Source:[17]

See also

References

  1. ^ Dallas, Kelsey (2023-04-07). "UVU has chosen its next head basketball coach". Deseret News. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  2. ^ "Utah Valley falls in overtime to California Baptist at WAC Tournament, 74-63". Utah Valley University Athletics. 2024-03-13. Retrieved 2024-10-04.
  3. ^ Ireland, Kyle (2023-03-11). "UVU Earns Automatic Bid To Play In NIT". KSL Sports. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  4. ^ "Utah Valley advances to WAC Tourney semifinals with 72-58 win over Tarleton". Utah Valley University Athletics. 2023-03-09. Retrieved 2024-10-04.
  5. ^ Holt, Chandler (2023-03-11). "Southern Utah Pulls Off Comeback Win, Advances To WAC Championship". KSL Sports. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  6. ^ "Utah Valley picks up historic 83-69 win at New Mexico in first round of NIT". Utah Valley University Athletics. 2023-03-15. Retrieved 2024-10-04.
  7. ^ "Utah Valley advances to NIT quarterfinals with 81-69 win at Colorado". Utah Valley University Athletics. 2023-03-19. Retrieved 2024-10-04.
  8. ^ "Utah Valley punches ticket to NIT Final Four with 74-68 win over Cincinnati". Utah Valley University Athletics. 2023-03-22. Retrieved 2024-10-04.
  9. ^ Holt, Chandler (2023-03-29). "Utah Valley Men's Basketball Knocked Out Of NIT". KSL Sports. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
  10. ^ Holesha, Ethan (2023-04-10). "Justin Harmon transferring to Illinois". The Champaign Room. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
  11. ^ Hoover, John E. (2023-05-03). "Oklahoma Welcomes Transfer Le'Tre Darthard". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
  12. ^ "Bandaogo looks ahead to Big 12, joins Cincinnati". ESPN.com. 2023-05-20. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
  13. ^ Judd, Brandon (2023-05-25). "Former BYU guard Tanner Toolson transferring to Utah Valley". Deseret News. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
  14. ^ Walker, Sean (May 25, 2023). "Wasatch Academy 4-star forward, BYU transfer among latest in Utah Valley rebuild". ksl.com. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  15. ^ "UVU Announces the Signing of Trevin Dorius". ESPN 960 Sports. 2023-05-16. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
  16. ^ Walker, Sean (April 26, 2023). "Southern Utah's Drake Allen is coming home, commits to Utah Valley". ksl.com. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  17. ^ "2023-24 Men's Basketball Schedule". Utah Valley University Athletics. Retrieved 2024-10-04.