March 10, 2008

LOGAN, Utah - Utah State is once again the top shooting team in the nation as it ranks first in both field goal and free throw shooting according to the latest NCAA statistics released Monday. On the season, USU is shooting 51.5 percent from the field and 79.3 percent from the free throw line.

The last time a Division I team finished the season leading the nation in two of the three statistical shooting categories was 1999 when Northern Arizona was first in both field goal shooting (.523) and three-point shooting (.445). The last time a team led the nation in field goal and free throw shooting was 1986 when Michigan State shot 56.1 percent from the field and 79.9 percent from the free throw line.

Overall, there have been only three teams in the history of the NCAA (Auburn, 1960; Ohio State, 1970; and Michigan State, 1986) to lead the nation in both field goal and free throw shooting and only one team to lead the nation in both field goal and three-point shooting (Northern Arizona, 1999). No team has ever led the nation in all three categories.

As of Monday, Utah State also ranks fifth in the nation with 18.1 assists per game, 18th in three-point shooting at 39.4 percent and 20th with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.28.

Individually, senior All-American guard Jaycee Carroll (Evanston, Wyo.) is leading the nation in three-point shooting at 50.2 percent, is third in free throw shooting at 92.3 percent and 12th in scoring with 22.7 points per game. Fellow senior guard Kris Clark (Wilmington, N.C.) ranks ninth in the nation with 6.44 assists per game.

Utah State finished its regular season with a 23-9 record after winning its final five games to notch its ninth-straight 23-win season. USU is the top-seed in next week's WAC Tournament in Las Cruces, N.M., and will play either eighth-seeded San Jose State or ninth-seeded Louisiana Tech on Thursday, Mar. 13 at 2:30 p.m. (MT) in the first round of the tournament.