March 12, 2006
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UTAH STATE BASKETBALL NCAA TOURNAMENT QUICK NOTES
#12 Seed Utah State vs. #5 Seed Washington
San Diego, Calif.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Quickly
O - Utah State finished second in the WAC to 21st-ranked Nevada with a 23-8 overall record and 11-5 league mark. The Aggies also finished as the tournament runner-up, losing 70-63 in overtime against Nevada on the Wolf Pack's home court. USU split the regular season series with Nevada.
O - USU won seven of its last nine games.
O - Forward Nate Harris was a first-team all-WAC selection and was named to the WAC all-tournament team as well.
O - Guard Jaycee Carroll was named second-team all-WAC.
O - USU entered the WAC Tournament ranked third in the country in field goal percentage (50.1) and third in three-point field goal percentage (41.9).
Postseason Notable
O - USU is making its seventh straight postseason appearance as the Aggies played in the NCAA in 2000, 01, 03 and 05 and in the NIT in 02, 04.
O - USU is making its 23rd postseason tournament appearance, having played in 16 NCAA Tournaments and seven NIT tournaments through the years.
O - USU played in the first NCAA Tournament in 1939.
O - USU is making its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance as the Aggies were a 14th seed against Arizona last year (lost 66-53 at Boise, Idaho).
O - USU has reached the NCAA Tournament five times in the last seven years, including this season.
O - Utah State has earned an at-large bid NCAA Tournament bid for the first time since 1983 when the Aggies finished third in the Pacific Coast Athletic Association and lost in the quarterfinals to San Jose State. USU finished that year 20-9 overall and 10-6 in the league.
O - USU's NCAA seedings history:
1980 (11th seed)1983 (10th seed)1988 (10th seed)1998 (12th seed)2000 (12th seed)2001 (12th seed)2003 (15th seed)2005 (14th seed)2006 (12th seed)
O - USU vs. the 2006 NCAA field: 1-0 vs. Northwestern State 2-0 vs. Oral Roberts 1-2 vs. Nevada
WAC Tournament
O - USU defeated San Jose State 76-69 in the quarterfinals, Louisiana Tech 68-64 in the semifinals and lost to Nevada 70-63 in overtime in the finals on the Wolf Pack's home floor.
O - USU played in the conference tournament championship game for the sixth time in the last seven years.
O - Forward Nate Harris was named to the all-tourmament team.
Head Coach Stew Morrill
O - Stew Morrill guided Montana to the NCAA in 1991 and Utah State in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005 and now 2006. He led Colorado State to the NIT in 1996 and 1998. He is 1-5 as a coach in the NCAA Tournament and 0-4 in the NIT.
O - Morrill is 188-61 in eight years at Utah State and 408-200 in 20 years overall. He was 97-52 in five years at Montana (1987-91) and 121-86 in seven years at Colorado State (1992-98) before coming to Utah State.
O - Morrill has posted at least two 20-win seasons at each of the three schools he has coached and has won at least 20 games in eight of the last nine years of coaching (two at Colorado State and six at Utah State), including seven straight years.
The WAC at the NCAA
O - For the 19th time in 20 years, the WAC has sent at least two teams to the NCAA Tournament.
O - The WAC has sent a team to the second round in 10 straight years.
USU At The NCAA Tournament
1939 (First Round * West)
L 39-50 vs. Oklahoma at San Francisco, CA
W 51-49 vs. Texas at San Francisco, Calif.
1962 (Regional Semifinals * West)
W 78-73 vs. Arizona State at Corvallis, Ore.
L 62-73 vs. UCLA at Provo, Utah
L 71-75 vs. Pepperdine at Provo, Utah
1963 (First Round * West)
L 75-79 vs. Arizona State at Eugene, Ore.
1964 (Regional Semifinals * West)
W 92-90 vs. Arizona State at Eugene, Ore
L 58-64 vs. San Francisco at Corvallis, Ore.
L 78-88 vs. Seattle at Corvallis, Ore.
1970 (Regional Finals * West)
W 91-81 vs. Texas-El Paso at Provo, Utah
W 69-68 vs. Santa Clara at Seattle, Wash.
L 79-101 vs. UCLA at Seattle, Wash.
1971 (First Round * West)
L 82-91 vs. Brigham Young at Logan, Utah
1975 (First Round * West)
L 63-69 vs. Montana at Pullman, Wash.
1979 (First Round * West)
L 67-86 vs. Southern California at L.A., C.A
1980 (First Round * West * 11th Seed)
L 73-76 vs. Clemson at Ogden, Utah
1983 (First Round * Midwest * 10th Seed)
L 59-64 vs. Iowa at Louisville, Ky.
1988 (First Round * Midwest * 10th Seed)
L 77-80 vs. Vanderbilt at Lincoln, Neb.
1998 (First Round * West * 12th Seed)
L 68-82 vs. Maryland at Sacramento, Calif.
2000 (First Round * South * 12th Seed)
L 67-75 vs. Connecticut at Birmingham, Ala.
2001 (Second Round * East Region * 12th Seed)
W 77-68 (OT) vs. Ohio State at Greensboro, N.C.
L 50-75 vs. UCLA at Greensboro, N.C.
2003 (First Round * West Region * 15th Seed)
L 61-64 vs. Kansas at Oklahoma City, Okla.
2005 (First Round * Chicago Region * 14th Seed)
L 53-66 vs. Arizona at Boise, Idaho
USU's Probable Starters
F #4 Nate Harris (6-7, 225, Sr.) - Only three-time first-team all-conference selection in school history... Earned WAC all-tournament honors Saturday... Ranks in top 10 in NCAA in field goal percentage... Averages team best 17.2 points and 7.5 rebounds while shooting 62.2 percent from the field.
F #24 Durrall Peterson (6-3, 200, Jr.) - Junior college transfer has started 25 of 31 games in his first year... Averages 7.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per game... Has filled in as backup point guard while Chris Huber attended to his wife who had twins on Saturday.
C #3 Cass Matheus (6-10, 235, Sr.) - Starting center is averaging 9.2 points and 6.1 rebounds with 40 blocks on the year.
G #2 David Pak (6-2, 200, Sr.) - Point guard is averaging 7.7 points, and 4.6 assists per game... Averaged 11.0 points in three WAC Tournament games.
G #20 Jaycee Carroll (6-2, 175, So.) - Earned second-team all-WAC honors this year... Second on the team with a 16.1 scoring average... Ranks in top five in NCAA in three-point field goal percentage.
USU Quick Facts
Location: Logan, Utah
Founded: 1888
Enrollment: 21,490
Nickname: Aggies
School Colors: Navy Blue and White
Arena: Dee Glen Smith Spectrum (10,270)
Conference: Western Athletic Conference
President: Stan Albrecht
Athletic Director: Randy Spetman
Basketball Staff
Stew Morrill (Gonzaga, 1974)
Record at USU: 190-62 (eight years)
Career Record: 408-200 (20 years)
Assistants: Don Verlin, Tim Duryea, Don Holst
Media Relations
Director: Mike Strauss
Work: (435) 797-1361
Home: (435) 755-0597
Cell: (435) 770-3131
Assistant: Doug Hoffman
Work: (435) 797-3714
Home: (435) 787-1638
Cell: (435) 881-8011
Fax: (435) 797-2615
USU Web Site: www.UtahStateAggies.com
Utah State on the Web
www.UtahStateAggies.com
