Aggies to Play at Illinois State in NIT Wednesday

Utah State's men's basketball team will make its ninth straight postseason appearance when it plays at Illinois State (24-9, 13-5) in the first round of the 2008 MasterCard National Invitational Tournament on Wednesday [March 19]. The game will begin at 8 p.m. (MT) and be televised on ESPNU.

 

Utah State (24-10, 12-4) will be competing in the postseason NIT for the second straight season and for the fourth time in the last eight years. Overall, it will be USU's ninth appearance in the NIT and the Aggies have lost its last seven games in the tournament, including a 68-58 loss at Michigan last year. Utah State's two other NIT appearances this decade were at home as it lost to Hawai'i, 85-74, in 2004 and Montana State, 77-69, in 2002.

 

It will also be the second meeting between Utah State and Illinois State in the NIT as the Redbirds defeated USU in Logan in overtime, 93-87, in 1995. Overall, Utah State is 2-2 against Illinois State and has won two straight games against the Redbirds including a 68-53 win in Normal during the 2002-03 season and an 89-84 win in Logan during the 2003-04 campaign, which was the last meeting between the two teams.

 

In addition to the previous three NIT appearances this decade, the Aggies have played in the NCAA Tournament five times — 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2006 — for nine straight postseason appearances. Utah State's last postseason win was in the 2001 NCAA Tournament when it defeated Ohio State, 77-68, in overtime.

 

Utah State is coming off of a share of its first-ever Western Athletic Conference regular season championship and eighth league title in school history. USU, who went 12-4 in the WAC, tied with Boise State, Nevada and New Mexico State for first-place in the conference. Utah State then lost to eventual WAC Tournament champion Boise State, 88-78, in the semifinals.

 

Utah State is led by senior All-American guard Jaycee Carroll who is averaging 22.6 points and 6.0 rebounds, while shooting 53.3 percent from the field, 50.7 percent from three-point range and 92.3 percent from the free throw line. Carroll, who was named the WAC's player of the year last week, leads the nation in three-point shooting, is third in free throw shooting and 12th in scoring.

 

Two other players score in double-figures for Utah State as junior forward Gary Wilkinson is averaging 13.4 points and 6.9 rebounds and freshman forward Tai Wesley is averaging 10.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Wilkinson, who is in his first year at Utah State, was named to the WAC's second-team as well as the all-newcomer team.

 

The winner of the Utah State-Illinois State game will face the winner of the Dayton-Cleveland State contest.

 

Utah State is one of just three programs in the nation to win at least 23 games in each of the last nine seasons along with Gonzaga and Kansas.

 

All-time, Utah State is making its 26th postseason appearance having qualified for the NCAA Tournament 17 times and the NIT on nine occasions.

 

More Aggie sports news is available at the Athletics Web site homepage.