Aggies Will Face Washington In The NCAA Tournament March 16

March 13, 2006

LOGAN, Utah – GAME 32

 

UTAH STATE (23-8) vs. #17 WASHINGTON (24-6)

 

Thur., Mar. 16, 2006 • 8:00 p.m. MT • San Diego, Calif.

 

Cox Arena (12,414) • Aggie Radio Network • CBS Sports

 

GAME DAY HEADLINES

 

• Utah State is in its 101st season of basketball and has a 1,324-965 (.578) record.

 

• Utah State is making its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance and fifth in the last seven years under head coach Stew Morrill. Overall, USU has appeared in six of the last nine NCAA Tournaments.

 

• Utah State will be participating in its seventh straight postseason (5 NCAA, 2 NIT) and the Aggies have gone to the NCAA Tournament (1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006) or NIT (2002, 2004) eight times in the last nine years. USU is 6-18 (.250) in its previous 16 NCAA Tournament appearances.

 

• Utah State is 4-12 all-time in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. In its last NCAA Tournament in 2005, USU (14th seed) lost to Arizona (3rd seed) 66-53 in Boise, Idaho (Chicago Region).

 

• Utah State's last win in the NCAA Tournament was in 2001 when USU (12th seed) defeated Ohio State (5th seed) 77-68 in overtime in the first round of the East Region in Greensboro, N.C. That win by the Aggies was the school's first in 31 years as USU had lost nine straight NCAA games dating back to 1970.

 

• Utah State (23-8) is one of five teams across the country to win at least 23 games in each of the last seven years joining Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas and Syracuse.

 

• Utah State has earned an at-large NCAA Tournament bid for the first time since 1983 when the Aggies 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 has the fourth-best winning percentage (.781) in the country over the last seven years, trailing Duke (85.7), Gonzaga (82.2), and Illinois (79.3).

 

UP NEXT

 

Utah State (23-8) is the 12th-seed in the Washington, D.C. Region and will play fifth-seeded Washington (24-6), which is ranked 17th in the country, at approximately 8 p.m. (MT) on Thur., Mar. 16 at the Cox Arena in San Diego, Calif.