Monday’s NIT semifinal press conference at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas had only been going for a couple of minutes when one of the reporters at the event asked a form of the question that might be on the minds of a national television audience when the Utah Valley men’s basketball team takes the floor against UAB on Tuesday.

Just who is Utah Valley?

Wolverine assistant coach Todd Phillips got the honors of introducing the program, saying: “I think the thing that we would like you to know is it’s a great university. There are over 40,000 students there. It’s the biggest one in the state of Utah. Obviously we are young to Division I, so we are just an up-and-coming program. That’s what’s been so exciting for me as an assistant coach to be part of it and be part of these guys’ lives as it’s continued to grow. We have great facilities, great support, and our administration is top-notch to helping us to get to where we need to get.

“I think you’ll see Utah Valley in the future as we continue to grow and better, that you’ll see our name popping up there more and more.”

Although the Wolverines won the WAC conference this year and thus got an automatic bid to the NIT, it still didn’t get a lot of respect.

“We don’t even have a (seed) number by our name in the tournament here, so we’re excited about that,” Phillips said. “We get to kind of play the underdog role, which is fantastic for our guys.”

It is somewhat understandable that UVU would not be well-known.

It is still hunting for that first NCAA tournament bid and this is just the second time the Wolverines have played in the NIT (UVU lost to Cal, 77-64, in the first round in 2014).

UVU did make it to the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) Final Four in 2017 as one of four other postseason appearances, but this is certainly the biggest, highest profile run it has made.

Members of the WAC have also had limited success at the event over the years as the Wolverines look to become just the third program from the league to win it (joining BYU in 1966 and Cal-Bakersfield in 2001.

According to the conference, WAC teams have 78 combined appearances dating back to the 1964 tournament and have posted a combined record of 96-80 (.545) all-time in the postseason NIT.

Utah Valley is the first WAC member to reach the semifinal round of the NIT since CSU Bakersfield in 2017, with the Wolverines and Sam Houston this season becoming the first members of the WAC to compete in the NIT field since CSU Bakersfield’s 2017 appearance.

Phillips pointed out, however, that this is a great time to be an up-and-coming program in college basketball since there is clearly a lot of parity across the board.

“A big sell now is obviously that we can beat anybody on any given day,” Phillips said. “The great thing for us as a mid-major is we get to go play some really good programs at their place, and obviously we’ve proven we can beat them at their place. That’s a lot of fun to do.”

Just in the NIT, UVU added road wins over New Mexico of the Mountain West and Colorado of the Pac-12 to its collection, as well as a solid home victory over Cincinnati, which will join the Big 12 next year.

But the Wolverine players aren’t surprised they’ve been able to handle the rigors of the NIT. They have kept the same goal in mind all year long.

“We just want to win,” Wolverine junior guard Justin Harmon said. “This whole season, we’ve just been winning and we’re not really familiar with losing. We just love playing with each other. That’s what really helped us together after the tough loss that we had here a few weeks ago.”

There is a redemption storyline for UVU, which lost a heart-breaker to Southern Utah in the WAC semifinals at the Orleans Arena earlier in March.

Harmon and senior guard Trey Woodbury, however, indicated they might’ve liked to get a chance to play in the traditional home of the NIT semifinals and finals: Madison Square Garden in New York.

“Personally, it was one of my dreams to play in the Garden,” Harmon said. “But it’s cool wherever we play at. We’re looking to win. But it’s a real downer that we’re not playing at the Garden.”

Woodbury echoed similar sentiments, saying: “Yeah, it kind of sucks, but we’re excited to be here and the Orleans Arena is a great venue too. I’m excited to be home.”

Woodbury gets the chance to close out his career in his hometown of Las Vegas, which is a fun coincidence.

“It’s been full circle now,” Woodbury said. “It’s been a little bit crazy since we were just here a couple weeks ago. But I’m excited that I get to go out with a bang in Vegas.”

It will take a strong effort against a UAB team that is also enjoying a season of phenomenal success.

The 28 wins the Blazers have amassed is a school record (just as UVU’s 28 wins are a school record for the Wolverines).

UAB finished third in Conference USA this season with a 14-6 league record, coming in behind FAU (which reached the Final Four of the NCAA tournament) and North Texas (which is also an NIT Final Four team).

The Blazers are one of the top rebounding teams in the nation, ranking second nationally in rebounds per game (41.00). The team also boasts one of the top scoring offenses in the country, ranking 11th nationally at 81.1 points a game.

The semifinal game is set to tip-off at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas at 7:30 p.m. (MT) and will be broadcast on ESPN2.

The winner will advance to face the winner of the game between Wisconsin and North Texas in the NIT championship on Thursday.

Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald

Newsletter