There has been no shortage of drama swirling around Utah Valley’s final run through the Western Athletic Conference Tournament.
The top-seeded Wolverines are joining the Big West next season. Their departure from the WAC has led to a dispute over a $1 million exit fee that the conference says it’s owed. That came to a head on Tuesday – one day before the tournament began – when the WAC threatened to ban Utah Valley from the tournament if it didn’t put the funds in escrow with a Utah court.
The money was deposited in time, allowing the Wolverines to take the court, but a different kind of drama played out in the semifinals on Friday.
Utah Valley (25-7, 14-4 WAC) led No. 4 UT Arlington by 16 points in the second half, but the Mavericks battled back to tie the game with 47 seconds left. The Wolverines’ leading scorer, Jackson Holcombe, came through with two crucial free throws to put them back on top with 19 seconds left, and 6-foot-10 forward Isaac Hawkins blocked a shot on Arlington’s final possession to seal a 67-65 victory.
Utah Valley, which has won back-to-back regular-season titles, is looking for its first WAC Tournament championship. The Wolverines will face No. 2 California Baptist (24-8, 13-5) in the finals tonight.
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Holcombe, who ranks No. 5 in the conference with 15.6 points a night, led the way with 14 points against UT Arlington. Fellow guard, Trevan Leonhardt, added 12 points, seven rebounds, and four steals. He ranks No. 7 in the WAC with 13.8 points a night.
Cal Baptist rolled past No. 3 Utah Tech, 86-72, in the semifinals on Friday thanks to WAC Player of the Year Dominique Daniels Jr.’s second 40-point effort of the season. He put up 41 points, missing the WAC Tournament single-game record by just three points. The 5-foot-10 fifth-year senior is just nine points shy of setting Cal Baptist’s record for most points in a season.
Six-foot-4 guard Jayden Jackson added 19 points for the Lancers, while 6-foot-10 Oregon State transfer Thomas Ndong finished with eight points and seven rebounds.
Cal Baptist is in the WAC Tournament championship game for the first time in program history, and the Lancers are one win away from punching their first-ever ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
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Utah Valley vs. Cal Baptist Odds
Utah Valley is a 2.5-point college basketball betting odds favorite to win the WAC Tournament championship on BetMGM as of this writing. The Over/Under is 136.5 points.
The Moneyline is at -150 for the Wolverines and +125 for California Baptist.
Utah Valley vs. Cal Baptist On TV
The Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship game featuring Utah Valley and Cal Baptist will be televised on ESPN2.
Tip-off is scheduled for midnight ET.
Utah Valley vs. Cal Baptist Prediction
I predict Utah Valley wins 74-70.
Daniels is the most talented scorer in the WAC. He leads the conference with 23.2 points a game, and he has scored at least 20 points in eight of the Lancers’ past nine games. He has put up more than 30 points in a game seven times this season, including in three-straight contests early in the year.
Daniels set Cal Baptist’s program record for points in a game with a career-high 47 in a win over Utah Valley in January. Cal Baptist went 1-2 against the Wolverines in the regular season.
Utah Valley knows slowing him down is going to be a tall task, especially since the Lancers are trying to make history with their first NCAA Tournament bid. But the Wolverines also know they can lean on two of the best players in the WAC.
Holcombe and Leonhardt are both lanky, athletic guards that do a little bit of everything. They can both score from multiple levels, and they’re both shooting better than 50 percent. Holcombe, a 6-foot-7 sophomore, leads the team with 7.3 rebounds a game and 71 steals and has 115 assists on his resume. Leonhardt, a 6-foot-5 junior, leads the team with 191 assists and has 69 steals. They were both named first-team all-conference and they both made the WAC All-Defensive team.
