Protect The Den has Reached 22 Straight Wins
Utah Valley holds 5th longest home winning streak in the nation
The friendly confines of the UCCU Center.
Rally the Valley.
Home Sweet Home.
PROTECT THE DEN!
It’s a phrase you see all over the UCCU Center on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.
It’s a perfect phrase in every sense, especially over the last year and a half. Specifically, since March 2, 2024.
That is the last time the Utah Valley men’s basketball team lost a game at the UCCU Center, inside The Den.
Yes, UT Arlington came to Orem, and walked out of the UCCU Center with a 78-65 win over the Wolverines.
And that is where the story continues.
Since 2021-22, Utah Valley is 57-7 at the UCCU Center.
“I’d say it is the altitude,” Utah Valley head coach Todd Phillips said after the Wolverines won against Weber State on Dec. 17.
The Wolverines went 11-2 and 14-1 in Mark Madsen’s final two seasons as head coach in 2021-22 and 2022-23.
One of those 14 wins in 2022-23 was in the NIT Elite 8 over Cincinnati in front of the biggest crowd of the season.
Following Madsen’s departure following the NIT Final Four loss to UAB, Todd Phillips took over, and the Wolverines have continued the winning ways inside their home arena.
In Phillips’ first season as head coach in 2023-24, the Wolverines went 10-4 at the UCCU Center.
Utah Valley followed that up, going a perfect 12-0 at the UCCU Center in 2024-25, helping the Wolverines capture a second WAC regular season title in three years.
Some may say the winning streak is inflated due to playing multiple non-Division I opponents at the UCCU Center each season.
It is true.
Utah Valley doesn’t have the money to buy home games, so it makes it challenging to get high-quality home games.
Thus, the reason the Wolverines have to schedule two or three non-Division I games per season.
However, there have been some high-quality wins at the UCCU Center, outside of WAC games.
“I think we have a really good feel at home,” Phillips said. “Our guys shoot it well. I think the confines of that help us. Obviously, our crowd behind us is huge.”
In 2021-22, the Wolverines knocked off then-12th-ranked BYU in front of a sellout crowd at the UCCU Center.
In 2022-23, there was the win over Cincinnati in the NIT Elite 8.
In 2024-25, there was a 29-point win over UTEP in the WAC/Conference USA Scheduling Alliance.
Utah Valley also has a win over Weber State at the UCCU Center during the 2022-23 season.
And thus far in 2025-26, Utah Valley is a perfect 10-0 with wins over mid-major foes UC Irvine, Idaho State, and Weber State.
Along with those non-conference wins, Utah Valley also has conference wins over CBU, UT Arlington, Utah Tech, and Southern Utah.
Here are the seven losses at the UCCU Center since 2021-22.
ACU - Dec. 30, 2021 - Wildcats opened their WAC tenure with an 80-76 win.
GCU - Feb. 10, 2022 - Jovan Blacksher Jr. and Holland Woods couldn’t be stopped in the 79-69 win.
Seattle U - Jan. 14, 2023 - another barn burner between the Wolverines and Redhawks with the Redhawks pulling out the 85-80 win.
Liberty - Dec. 20, 2023 - Flames just threw a fireball at the Wolverines in a 79-63 win in the WAC/Conference USA Scheduling Alliance
GCU - Feb. 3, 2024 - WAC regular season champs just took it to the Wolverines in an 86-67 blowout win.
Tarleton State - Feb. 8, 2024 - Texans picked up a big road win to stay within contention of the WAC regular season title as part of a 25-win season.
UT Arlington - March 2, 2024 - Mavs ended Utah Valley’s home season with a 78-65 win.
Did you notice something? Out of those seven losses, only one was to a non-conference foe. Liberty is a member of Conference USA.
The rest are from WAC foes.
However, since that loss to UT Arlington on March 2, 2024, Utah Valley has not lost a home game at the UCCU Center.
“You start to get a little swagger to that, right? Don’t lose at home,” Phillips said. “I think the guys accept that mantra; they like that mantra, so they absorb it.”
Currently, in 2025-26, Utah Valley is averaging over 83 points per game against Division I opponents at the UCCU Center.
In its win over Utah Tech on Jan. 10, the Wolverines scored 61 points in the second half and shot 65 percent from the field after the break in a 92-76 win.
“I think a lot of it’s confidence,” Phillips said. “One, we don’t get a lot of home games, so just to win those, I think that’s huge. It bolsters guys coming off the bench; they just play better at home.”
The UCCU Center doesn’t sell out on a regular basis for Utah Valley men’s basketball home games.
The student section isn’t like the GCU Havocs or The Hurd at Utah State.
But for Utah Valley, that’s okay.
The loyal Wolverine fans who show up on Thursday nights and Saturday afternoons to Protect The Den make a difference.
At least it has for 22 straight home games, fifth-longest home win streak in Division I basketball.
Protect The Den.
A simple, yet profound statement.