USU Leads the Nation in Three-Point Shooting for Second Straight Week

For the second straight week, Utah State University’s men's basketball team is the top three-point shooting team in the nation according to the latest NCAA statistics released Monday [Feb. 22, 2010].

 

Utah State also received votes in both national polls this week and is ranked 29th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll with 18 votes, and tied for 35th along with Oklahoma State in the Associated Press poll with four votes.

 

On the season, Utah State is shooting 42.7 percent from three-point range, which ranks first nationally. USU also ranks second in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.58), fifth in free throw shooting (.770), seventh in fewest turnovers committed per game (10.5), 11th in assists per game (16.6) and 11th in overall shooting (.487). Overall, USU is one of just two teams in the nation to rank among the top 11 nationally in all three shooting categories along with Brigham Young.

 

Overall this year, Utah State ranks among the top 22 nationally in 10 different statistical categories as it also ranks 12th in the nation in scoring margin (+13.0), 20th in scoring defense (60.5), 21st in rebounding margin (+6.1) and 22nd in winning percentage (.786).

 

Individually, junior forward Tai Wesley ranks 19th in the nation in field goal shooting at 56.2 percent and senior guard Jared Quayle ranks 19th with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.57-to-1.00.

 

Utah State (22-6, 11-2) has won 12 straight games and 16 of its last 18 overall, and is tied with Kansas for the third-longest active winning streak in the country behind Butler and Murray State who have both won 17 straight games.

 

Utah State will play just one game this week at Hawai'i (9-17, 2-10) on Thursday, Feb. 25, at 10 p.m. (MT) in its final road game of the regular season. USU will then host Fresno State (13-15, 6-7) on Monday, March 1, and New Mexico State (17-9, 9-3) Saturday, March 6, before playing in the WAC Tournament the following weekend in Reno, Nev.

 

Both home games next week will begin at 7 p.m. (MT), with its regular season finale against NMSU televised live on CW30.

 

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