Mark Madsens UVU Wolverines will play New Mexico in NIT

Publish date: 2024-07-17

After falling short in the Western Athletic Conference tournament, head coach Mark Madsen’s Utah Valley University men’s basketball team has accepted a bid to play in the 32-team National Invitational Tournament.

The Wolverines, a squad that finished 25-8 and won the WAC regular season title, will play at New Mexico on Wednesday, March 15. The game is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. The winner will face the winner of Colorado and Seton Hall.

Madsen, the WAC Coach of the Year, is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“We’ll take a day or two to cool off, process what happened tonight, and learn from it,” Madsen told KSL.com. “I’ll make adjustments as a head coach that will help put our guys in a better situation to finish off games like this.

“We absolutely are going to play in the NIT, and we want to win a championship. We need some time to decompress, and then we’ll be back at it working.”

UVU lost to Southern Utah, 89-88, in the WAC semifinals on Friday, March 10, after holding a double-digit lead in the second half.

This will be Utah Valley’s second appearance in the NIT. The first appearance came in a loss at California in 2014.

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Mark Madsens UVU Wolverines will play New Mexico in NIT