Utah Valley Missed Out on Chance for First March Madness Appearance Due to Failed Alley-Oop

This one is going to hurt for a while.

Utah Valley’s Isaac Davis misses a potential game-tying shot in the WAC championship game against Cal Baptist. | ESPN2

As the clock struck midnight on the East Coast on Saturday night, two teams tipped off the last championship game of the day in Las Vegas with a massive prize on the line.

In the WAC title game, Utah Valley was up against Cal Baptist, with both programs looking reach the NCAA men’s tournament for the first time in history. It was a tightly contested game, with neither team ever leading by more than 10, and would ultimately come down to each team’s final possession.

The Lancers’ last possession came with around 20 seconds to play, down 61–60. Guard Dominique Daniels Jr., who finished with 23 points on the night including nine in the final two minutes, spotted up for a three-point attempt and hit nothing but net to put his team up 63–61. Bang.

Now, it was the Wolverines facing elimination with their final possession of the game. Guard Trevan Leonhardt brought the ball up the court and drove the lane after a pick by big man Isaac Davis. Both defenders stuck with Leonhardt, and he tossed the ball up to a rolling Davis right at the net. Davis got two hands on the ball, but failed to convert the alley-oop.

Cal Baptist was going dancing, and Utah Valley was going home.

BRUTAL

The Big West championship is decided by a missed Alley-oop dunk with time running out.
(2) Cal Baptist is going to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in their history and (1) Utah Valley will continue looking
pic.twitter.com/pSymcQHwBH

— NCAA Buzzer Beaters & Game Winners (@NCAABuzzerBters) March 15, 2026

"Anything can happen in March, that's what I kept telling myself those last three possessions,” Daniels said after the game. Indeed, whether it’s a perfectly timed streak of hot shooting or a once-in-a-hundred missed shot, March is the time for madness.

The loss marks the end of an era for Utah Valley basketball

Heading into the postseason, it was a question whether or not Utah Valley would even be eligible to play in the WAC tournament. The school is in the process of leaving the WAC for the Big West—a move that is set to become official later this summer—but there were still some details to be figured out before the exit could come to pass.

Just before the start of the conference tournament, where both Utah Valley’s men’s and women’s teams entered with a chance to win and reach the NCAA tournament, the WAC announced that the Wolverines could be banned from postseason play if they did not put $1 million in escrow in relation to the conference’s ongoing legal battle against the school regarding its exit.

The money was eventually put aside, and teams were able to play in the postseason. For a moment on Saturday, it appeared that the Utah Valley men’s team would exit the conference on the highest of notes, leaving as champions never to be defeated again. Instead, one bad bounce meant they wouldn’t be dancing at all.

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