No. 17/19 Utah State Men's Basketball Game Notes vs. Kansas State Add Comment    Mar 14, 2011

GAME 34
No. 12 Utah St. (30-3) vs. No. 5 Kansas St. (22-10)
Thursday, March 17, 2011 7:57 p.m. (MT) Tucson, Ariz.
McKale Center (14,545) Aggie Radio Network TruTV

GAME DAY HEADLINES  
Utah State is in its 106th season of basketball this year and has an overall record of 1,458-1,005 (.592). USU hasnt had a losing season since 1993, a span of 17 years.

Utah State is ranked in the top 25 (17th in coaches poll and 19th in AP poll) for the ninth straight week, which is its longest streak since the 1970-71 team was ranked for 11 straight weeks.

Utah State is making its 20th NCAA Tournament appearance in school history (1939, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1970, 1971, 1975, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1988, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011), which is the most by any member of the Western Athletic Conference, and ninth in the last 14 years.  Under head coach Stew Morrill, USU is appearing in its eighth NCAA Tournament in the last 12 years, including its third straight.  Those eight NCAA appearances by Morrill are the most by any coach in USU history and it is just the second time in school history that USU has played in three straight NCAA Tournaments (1962, 1963, 1964).

Utah State is playing in its 12th straight postseason, which is a school record, and tied for the 12th longest active streak in the nation.  During the last 12 years, USU has appeared in the NCAA Tournament eight times (2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011) and the NIT four times (2002, 2004, 2007, 2008).

Utah State is 6-21 (.222) all-time in the NCAA Tournament, which includes a 4-15 (.211) record in the first round.  USU has lost six straight games in the NCAA Tournament and its last win was in the first round of the 2001 tournament when it defeated fifth-seeded Ohio State, 77-68, in overtime.  In its last NCAA Tournament appearance in 2010, USU lost to fifth-seeded Texas A&M, 69-53, in the first round.

Utah State is making its 29th postseason appearance all-time, having qualified for the NCAA Tournament 20 times and the NIT on nine occasions.  USUs overall postseason record is 8-30 (.211).  

Utah States 30 wins are tied with Belmont, BYU and Duke for the second-most in the nation behind Kansas (32), Ohio State (32) and San Diego State (32).  USU is also one of just four teams in the nation with three or fewer losses joining Kansas (32-2), Ohio State (32-2) and SDSU (32-2).  

Utah States 30 wins are tied with the 2008-09 team for most in school history and its 30-3 record is the best-ever at USU.

Utah State has won eight straight games heading into the NCAA Tournament and 25 of its last 26 games overall.

UP NEXT
Utah State (30-3, 15-1) is the No. 12 seed in the Southeast Region in Tucson, Ariz., and will play fifth-seeded Kansas State (22-10, 10-6) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, March 17 at approximately 7:57 p.m. (MT) at the McKale Center.   The game will be televised nationally on TruTV (Comcast Ch. 44) with Kevin Harlan (play-by-play), Reggie Miller (analyst), Dan Bonner (analyst) and Sam Ryan (reporter) calling the action.  The game will also be aired live on KVNU 610 AM/95.9 FM in Cache Valley and 1320 AM along the Wasatch Front.

NCAA TOURNAMENT PRACTICE AND PRESS CONFERENCE TIMES ON WEDNESDAY
Utah States press conference with student-athletes and head coach Stew Morrill at the NCAA Tournament in Tucson, Ariz., will be on Wednesday, March 16 from 6:00 to 6:40 p.m. (PT), and its practice will be from 6:40 to 7:20 p.m.  Kansas States press conference will be from 4:30 to 5:10 p.m., and its practice will be from 5:10 to 5:50 p.m.

UTAH STATE TRAVEL PLANS
Utah State will leave Logan Tuesday afternoon and arrive at the Tucson International Airport via a charter at approximately 6 p.m. (PT).  USU will be staying at the Radisson East (6555 East Speedway Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85710).  USU Media Relations Director Doug Hoffman (Cell: 435.881.8011) and Associate Director Zach Fisher (Cell: 435.213.0318) will travel with the team.

UTAH STATE NATIONALLY RANKED FOR THIRD TIME IN LAST EIGHT YEARS
Utah State is ranked 17th in the nation in the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll released Monday and 19th in the latest Associated Press poll.  USU was ranked 17th in last weeks coaches poll and 23rd in the AP poll.  Utah States No. 17 ranking in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll is the highest-ever ranking for Utah State in that poll which expanded from 20 to 25 teams prior to the 1990-91 season.  USU was also ranked 17th in coaches poll earlier this year and during the 2008-09 season.  USUs No. 19 ranking in the AP poll is the highest since the 2003-04 season was also ranked No. 19.  Overall, it is the second time in the last three years and the third time in the past eight seasons that Utah State has been ranked in both polls.  The last time a Utah State team was ranked higher than 17th in any poll was at the end of the 1974-75 season when it was ranked 13th in the final United Press International Coaches poll.     

UTAH STATES RECORD AS A RANKED TEAM UNDER MORRILL
With its No. 17 national ranking this week, Utah State has now been ranked during three different seasons (2004, 2009, 2011) under Morrill.  In those three seasons, Utah State has played a total of 29 games as a top 25 team and went 8-3 as a ranked team during the 2003-04 season, 4-3 during the 2008-09 campaign and 12-1 thus far this year for a combined record of 24-7 (.774) as a top 25 team.

UTAH STATE WINS SEVENTH CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP UNDER MORRILL AND 16TH ALL-TIME
With its fourth-straight Western Athletic Conference regular season championship this year, Utah State has now won seven league titles under head coach Stew Morrill and 16 conference championships all-time in school history (1918, 1926, 1930, 1935, 1936, 1980, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011).

UTAH STATES FOUR STRAIGHT WAC CHAMPIONSHIPS A SCHOOL RECORD
Utah States four consecutive regular season Western Athletic Conference championships is a school record and the longest streak by a WAC team since Nevada won five straight league titles from 2004-08.  The previous school record for consecutive conference titles was two during the 1935-36 seasons in the Rocky Mountain Athletics Conference and the 1997-98 seasons in the Big West Conference.

UTAH STATE WINS EIGHTH POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP IN SCHOOL HISTORY
Utah State won its eighth postseason tournament championship, and second Western Athletic Conference tournament championship this past weekend.  It is also the sixth time under Morrill that USU has won a tournament title (2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2011) as the first four were when the Aggies were a member of the Big West Conference.

COMPUTER RANKINGS
As of Monday, Mar. 14, Utah State has an RPI of 15 and a strength of schedule of 120 according to RealTimeRPI.com, while the Western Athletic Conference is ranked 13th.

DID YOU KNOW?
Utah States second-round matchup with Kansas State is the only game with two top 25 teams playing one another as USU is ranked No. 17 in this weeks ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and No. 19 in this weeks Associated Press Poll, , while Kansas State is ranked No. 24 in the coaches poll and No. 21 in the AP poll.

UTAH STATE NOTCHES 12TH STRAIGHT 23 WIN SEASON
With its 71-55 win against Fresno State on Feb. 12, Utah State has now won 23 or more games in each of the last 12 seasons to extend its current school record.  The previous USU record for consecutive 20-win seasons was three from 1962 to 1964.  Overall, it is the 26th time in school history that USU has won 20 games.

UTAH STATE ONE OF THREE TEAMS NATIONALLY TO NOTCH 12 STRAIGHT 23-WIN SEASONS
Utah State is one of just three teams in the nation to win at least 23 games in each of the las

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Utah College Sports Wire