Utah State Opens WAC Tournament Against San Jose State Thursday Afternoon

• Utah State is in its 103rd season of basketball and has an overall record of 1,369-987 (.581). USU has not had a losing season since the 1992-93 campaign, a span of 14 years, when that team finished with a 10-17 record.

• Utah State is one of just three teams to win at least 23 games in each of the last nine seasons along with Gonzaga and Kansas. During the last nine years, Utah State has averaged 24.6 wins and ranks fifth in the nation with a 75.7 (221-71) winning percentage.

• Utah State has now won at least 20 games for the ninth straight year, extending its current school record. Overall, it is the 23rd time in school history that USU has won at least 20 games. The previous school record for consecutive 20-win seasons was three from 1962-64.

• Utah State is looking for its seventh tournament championship as it won six postseason titles in 27 years as a member of the Big West Conference. Under head coach Stew Morrill, Utah State has advanced to the championship game of the conference tournament in seven of the last eight seasons, and has won four tournament championships (2000, 2001, 2003, 2005).

• Utah State is 30-23 (.566) all-time in conference tournaments, which includes a 13-14 (.481) record in the quarterfinals. Over the last eight years, Utah State has posted a 17-4 (.810) record in conference play and is 17-5 (.773) in conference tournaments under Morrill. Overall, Morrill is 24-16 (.600) in tournament play.

• Utah State is 12-8 (.600) against current members of the WAC in tournament play, which includes a 3-4 record against San Jose State. USU is 1-0 against the Spartans in WAC Tournament play as it defeated SJSU, 76-69, in the quarterfinals of the 2006 tournament.

• Utah State is leading the nation in overall shooting at 51.5 percent and in free throw shooting at 79.3 percent, and is fifth in the nation with 18.1 assists per game. USU also leads the WAC and ranks 18th in the nation in three-point shooting at 39.4 percent and is allowing 67.8 points per game to rank first in the WAC as well.

• Senior guard Jaycee Carroll is currently shooting 50.2 percent from three-point range which ranks first in the nation. Carroll also ranks third nationally in free throw shooting at 92.3 percent and is 12th in the nation in scoring with 22.7 points per game, all of which lead the WAC. Carroll also ranks ninth in the WAC in overall shooting at 53.2 percent.

LOOKING AT UTAH STATE

Utah State is 23-9 on the season and tied for first-place in the WAC with a 12-4 league record following its 78-58 win at Idaho Saturday [March 8]. USU is led by senior All-American guard Jaycee Carroll who is averaging 22.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game and shooting 53.2 percent from the field, 50.2 percent from three-point range and 92.3 percent from the free throw line, while junior forward Gary Wilkinson is averaging 13.4 points and 6.8 rebounds and shooting 57.9 percent from the field and 81.7 percent from the free throw line. Freshman forward Tai Wesley is also scoring in double-figures for USU as he is averaging 10.2 points and 4.4 rebounds and shooting 66.0 percent from the field. As a team, Utah State is averaging 73.9 points and shooting 51.5 percent from the field, 39.4 percent from three-point range and 79.3 percent from the free throw line, while its opponents are averaging 67.8 points and shooting 43.5 percent from the field, 36.0 percent from three-point range and 69.8 percent from the free throw line.