Aggie Men Can Win Outright WAC Championship Thursday When They Host Hawai'i

GAME 29


Utah State (25-3, 12-1) vs. Hawai'i (13-13, 5-8)

Thursday, Feb. 26, 2009 • 7:00 p.m. (MT) • Logan, Utah

Dee Glen Smith Spectrum (10,270) • Aggie Radio Network

 

GAME DAY HEADLINES
Utah State is in its 104th season of basketball this year and has an overall record of 1,395-992 (.584). USU hasn't had a losing season since the 1992-93 campaign, a span of 15 years, when that team finished with a 10-17 record.

 

With a win against Hawai'i Thursday, Utah State will claim its first outright Western Athletic Conference regular season title. USU also won a share of the 2008 WAC regular season championship. Overall, it would be USU's second outright regular season league title under head coach Stew Morrill joining the 1999-2000 team that went 16-0 in the Big West Conference.

 

Utah State is ranked tied for 26th with Utah in the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll with 22 votes and 32nd in the latest Associated Press poll with 16 votes. Last week, USU was ranked 23rd in the coaches poll and 27th in the AP poll.

 

Utah State (25-3) is tied with Pittsburgh (25-2), Connecticut (25-2) and Oklahoma (25-3) for the most wins in the nation. USU is also one of just six teams in the nation with three or fewer losses joining Connecticut, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, Memphis (24-3) and North Carolina (24-3).

 

Utah State and Kansas (23-5) are the only teams in the nation to win at least 23 games in each of the last 10 years. Gonzaga (21-5) entered this year with nine straight 23-win seasons. USU has now recorded 10 straight 20-win seasons, extending its current school record. Overall, it is the 25th time in school history that Utah State has won 20 or more games and its 25 wins this year are tied for the third-most in school history.

 

Utah State has won 32 straight home games which is the second-longest active winning streak in the nation behind Kansas who has won 39 straight at home. Those 32 straight home wins are also a school record, breaking the previous mark of 31 straight home wins set from the 2000 to 2002 seasons.

 

Utah State is 157-12 (.929) in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum under Coach Morrill, which includes an 82-8 (.911) record against conference opponents and a 27-3 (.900) record against WAC teams. Overall, USU is 451-105 (.811) in 39 years in the building.

 

Utah State is 2-0 this year and 50-16 (.757) during the last 10 years following a loss, and has loss back-to-back games just 13 times.

 

Utah State has won 14 straight WAC games at home and 23 of its last 24 overall. USU has also won 16 of its last 17 games in WAC play.

 

UP NEXT
Utah State (25-3, 12-1) will return to Western Athletic Conference play this week and host Hawai'i (13-13, 5-8) on Thursday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m., in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. With a win against the Rainbow Warriors, Utah State will win its first outright WAC regular season championship. The game will not be televised.

 

ON THE AIR
Utah State basketball games are broadcast on KVNU (610 AM) and KLZX (95.9 FM) in Logan, Utah, KFAN (1320 AM) or ESPN Radio (1230 AM) in Salt Lake City and KLZX (105.3 FM) in Montpelier, Idaho, as well as on the internet at www.UtahStateAggies.com. Al Lewis serves as the play-by-play announcer while Rod Tueller serves as the analyst during home games.

 

ON THE INTERNET
All of Utah State's home games are available for fans to listen and watch live via the Internet at www.UtahStateAggies.com. Aggie fans will also be able to follow Utah State home games through its Web site via GameTracker, a program that documents each play and updates statistics. Fans can also listen to every road game live via USU's Web site.