Aggies Set for Battle with Texas A&M Friday in NCAA Tournament

Friday, March 19, 2010 • 2:45 p.m. (MT) • Spokane, Wash.

Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena (12,210) • Aggie Radio Network • CBS

 

GAME DAY HEADLINES
• Utah State is in its 105th season of basketball and has an overall record of 1,428-1,001 (.588). USU hasn't had a losing season since the 1992-93 campaign, a span of 17 years, when that team finished with a 10-17 record.

 

• Utah State is receiving votes in both polls this week and is currently ranked 32nd in the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll with five votes and 35th in the Associated Press poll with three votes.

 

• Utah State is making its 19th NCAA Tournament appearance in school history (1939, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1970, 1971, 1975, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1988, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010), which is the most by any member of the Western Athletic Conference. Under head coach Stew Morrill, USU is appearing in its seventh NCAA Tournament in the last 11 years, including its second straight. Those seven NCAA appearances by Morrill are the most by any coach in USU history.

 

• Utah State has earned an at-large NCAA Tournament bid for the second time in its five years in the WAC joining the 2006 team that also lost in the WAC Tournament championship game. USU also received an at-large berth in 1983 when it finished third in the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (20-9, 10-6), and lost to San Jose State in the quarterfinals of the PCAA Tournament.

 

• Utah State is playing in its 11th straight postseason, which is a school record, and tied for the 13th longest active streak in the nation. During the last 11 years, USU has appeared in the NCAA Tournament seven times (2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010) and the NIT four times (2002, 2004, 2007, 2008).

 

• Utah State is 6-20 (.231) all-time in the NCAA Tournament, which includes a 4-14 (.222) record in the first round. USU has lost six straight games in the NCAA Tournament and its last win was in the first round of the 2001 tournament when it defeated fifth-seeded Ohio State, 77-68, in overtime. In its last NCAA Tournament appearance in 2009, USU lost to sixth-seeded Marquette, 58-57, in the first round.

 

• Utah State is making its 28th postseason appearance all-time, having qualified for the NCAA Tournament 19 times and the NIT on nine occasions. USU's overall postseason record is 8-29 (.216).

 

• Utah State has won 23 or more games in each of the last 11 seasons and is one of just three teams in the nation to accomplish that feat along with Gonzaga and Kansas. USU's 27 wins this year are the fourth-most in school history. During the last 11 years, Utah State has averaged 25.4 wins per season.

 

NEXT UP
Utah State (27-7, 14-2) is the No. 12 seed in the South Region in Spokane, Wash., and will play fifth-seeded Texas A&M (23-9, 11-5) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, March 19, at approximately 2:45 p.m. (MT) at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The game will be televised nationally on CBS with Tim Brando (play-by-play) and Mike Gminski (color) calling the action.