SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Back in familiar territory, the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (24-9, 13-5 WCC) will begin its second consecutive NIT appearance on the Hilltop as the No. 1-seeded Dons are set to host Utah Valley (25-8, 15-1 WAC) in a first round matchup at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center on Wednesday night.

The winner of Wednesday night's contest will face off against the winner of No. 4-seed San Jose State and Loyola Chicago (Mar. 19/8:00 p.m. PT/ESPN2) in a second round matchup this weekend.
 
GAME 34 DETAILS:
Date: Wednesday, Mar. 19, 2025
Time: 8:00 p.m. PT
Opponent: Utah Valley (25-8, 15-1 WAC)
Watch: ESPNU (Chris Sylvester, Jerod Haase)
Listen: KNBR 1050 (Pat Olson, Jim Brovelli)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Tickets: Purchase Here
 
DONS AT A GLANCE:

• Last weekend, San Francisco advanced to the WCC Championship semifinals for a fourth consecutive season as the No. 3-seeded Dons took down No. 6-seed Washington State last Sunday, Mar. 9 in an 86-75 victory in the quarterfinals. With the game within reach throughout the contest, USF ultimately fell to eventual WCC Champion No. 2-seed Gonzaga in an 85-76 semifinal defeat last Monday, Mar. 10. Malik Thomas had his highest scoring output in over two months with a game-high-tying 27 points and team-high eight rebounds on 9-of-18 from the field and 5-of-8 from beyond-the-arc against the Bulldogs.
• San Francisco received an invite to the National Invitational Tournament for a second consecutive season, this time around earning a No. 1 seed in the NIT, clinching home court advantage in the San Francisco region through the quarterfinals of the tournament. This marks the eighth time in program history that the Dons have made the NIT, which includes an NIT Championship in 1949. Wednesday night's contest will mark the green and gold's first NIT home game since 2014 (Mar. 19, 2014/ 71-63 loss vs. LSU).
• Excelling on the Hilltop this season, San Francisco posted its first undefeated season (16-0) at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center since the 1980-81 season and just the sixth time in program history.
• A win on Wednesday night would give USF its 25^th victory this season, which would mark the program's most since the 1981-82 season (25) and tie for the fourth-highest single-season win total in school history.
• Thomas continues to have hardware come his way as the senior guard was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Pacific District First Team on Tuesday morning.

SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES:

• Utah Valley has accrued a 25-8 record this season, winning its third WAC regular season championship in five seasons with a 15-1 conference record, earning a No. 1 seed in last week's WAC Tournament.
• In the conference tournament, UVU routed both Utah Tech and Seattle U in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, by an average margin of 15 points. On the verge of making the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history, the Wolverines ultimately lost to the only opponent that beat them in conference play, falling to No. 2-seed Grand Canyon in an 89-82 championship final last Saturday, Mar. 15 at Orleans Arena.
• Shining in the WAC Tournament, redshirt sophomore Tanner Toolson and sophomore Carter Welling were both named to the WAC All-Tournament Team, with Toolson averaging 20.7 points on 57.9 shooting and Welling averaging 15.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks across the Wolverines' three tournament games.
• Junior Dominick Nelson has led the offensive charge for Utah Valley this season, averaging a team-high 14.7 points on 44.2 percent shooting and 17.1 points per contest in conference play, starting in all 33 games for the Wolverines this campaign. Facilitating the offense, redshirt sophomore Trevan Leonhardt ranked second in the league in assists within WAC play, dishing out a team-high 5.4 assists per game.
• After spending 11 seasons at Salt Lake Community College, head coach Todd Phillips is in his second season at the helm of Utah Valley, and his sixth season overall at UVU, totaling a 41-24 career record and the Wolverines' second-best win percentage in program history. Phillips has been on the coaching staff in three of Utah Valley's four WAC regular season championship seasons.
• Set for its seventh Division I postseason berth in school history, Utah Valley will make its third overall NIT appearance and second in three seasons, having previously participated in the tournament in 2014 and 2023. The Wolverines look to continue their NIT success as they reached the semifinals in 2023, coming up just short of reaching the championship game as they fell to eventual runner-up UAB in an 88-86 overtime loss on Mar. 28, 2023.

SERIES HISTORY:
San Francisco and Utah Valley will meet for just the fourth time in program history as the green and gold hold a narrow 2-1 advantage in the all-time series. The Dons and Wolverines will meet exactly seven years after their last meeting, as the two teams last met on Mar. 19, 2018 in the 2018 CBI quarterfinals, which saw USF secure a 78-73 victory over UVU. In that win, current USF assistant coach Frankie Ferrari scored eight points, which included two three-pointers. Notably, San Francisco is undefeated (2-0) against Utah Valley on the Hilltop.
 
FOLLOW US:
For updates and more information on the San Francisco men's basketball program, follow the Dons @USFDonsMBB on Twitter, @USFDonsMBB on Instagram and @USFDonsMBB on Facebook.
 
MERCHANDISE:
Want to dress like the Dons? Get your official San Francisco Dons gear from the University of San Francisco bookstore today! Click here to purchase.
 
SPONSOR US:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our sponsor - Provident Credit Union - for their continued support of San Francisco Athletics. Interested in sponsoring the Dons? Please contact Frank Allocco, the Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director of External Relations, at fallocco@usfca.edu or at (415) 422-4561.