Dec. 4, 2006

LOGAN, Utah -

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

GAME 8
UTAH STATE (6-1) vs. UTAH (3-3)
Wed., Dec. 6, 2006 • 7:07 p.m. MT • Logan, Utah
Dee Glen Smith Spectrum (10,270) • Aggie Radio Network• KJZZ-TV

GAME DAY HEADLINES
• Utah State is in its 102nd season of basketball and has an overall record of 1,330-967 (.579).

• Against non-conference opponents, Utah State has won 40 straight regular season home games with its last loss coming against BYU (82-73) on Jan. 8, 2000. Overall, Utah State has won 16 straight home games against non-conference opponents and 40 of its last 42 overall. The last non-conference opponent to beat USU at home was Hawai'i (85-74) in the first round of the 2004 postseason NIT.

• Utah State has a modest four-game home winning streak and a 114-11 (.912) overall home record under head coach Stew Morrill. USU has also won 11 straight games at home against in-state competition and is 13-1 (.929) at home against teams from the state of Utah under Morrill.

• Utah State has won eight of its last nine games against its in-state rivals of BYU, Utah, and Weber State, and is 16-5 (.762) versus the state of Utah over the last seven years. During that time period, USU is 5-2 versus BYU, 4-2 versus Utah, and 7-1 versus Weber State. Overall, USU is 17-10 (.630) versus teams from the state of Utah under Morrill.

• Utah State has won six straight games after starting the season with an 88-71 loss at Northwestern State. Under Coach Morrill, it is the seventh time that USU has won at least six games in a row.

• Utah State is 42-13 (.764) in the month of December under Morrill, and has won 38 straight home games during the month. The last time USU lost a home game in December was on Dec. 5, 1999 to Colorado State (64-61).

• Utah State is 11-4 (.733) in games played on Wednesday under Morrill, including a 1-0 record this year. USU is also 7-4 in known games played on Dec. 6.

UP NEXT
Utah State (6-1) will host Utah (3-3) on Wed., Dec. 6 at 7:05 p.m. in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, and then play at Utah Valley State (4-3) on Sat., Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. Fans can listen to both games live on KVNU 610 AM in Logan and on 1320 AM or 1230 AM in Salt Lake City. Wednesday's game against Utah will also be televised live by KJZZ-TV.

LOOKING AT UTAH STATE
Utah State is 6-1 on the season after defeating Idaho State 83-46 at home on Saturday night. The Aggies are led by junior guard Jaycee Carroll who is averaging 22.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, while shooting 60.2 percent from the field, 46.3 percent from three-point range, and 91.9 percent from the free throw line, while junior forward Stephen DuCharme is averaging 10.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, and is shooting 88.2 percent from the field and 70.6 percent from the free throw line. Junior guard/forward Durrall Peterson is also scoring in double-figures for USU as he is averaging 10.3 points per game. As a team, USU is averaging 74.9 points and shooting 51.6 percent from the field, 36.7 percent from three-point range, and 74.4 percent from the free throw line, while its opponents are averaging 64.6 points and shooting 44.9 percent from the field, 36.0 percent from three-point range, and 67.6 from the free throw line.

SCOUTING UTAH
Utah has won three straight games and is 3-3 on the season after defeating Washington State 69-55 in its last contest. The Utes began the year with losses to Southern Utah (76-73), Santa Clara (83-72), and Colorado (60-59), before defeating Rice (80-64), Weber State (67-55), and Washington State. Utah is led by sophomore center Luke Nevill who is averaging 18.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, while junior guard Johnnie Bryant is averaging 16.2 points and 2.8 assists per game. As a team, Utah is averaging 70.0 points and shooting 52.0 percent from the field and 49.5 percent from three-point range, while its opponents are averaging 65.5 points and shooting 49.1 percent from the field and 45.6 percent from three-point range. Utah returns four starters and six lettermen from last year's team that went 14-15 overall and finished in sixth-place in the Mountain West Conference with a 6-10 league record.

UTAH STATE-UTAH CONNECTIONS
Utah State junior guard Nick Hammer is the son of Craig Hammer, who played basketball at the University of Utah during the 1981 and 1982 seasons. Craig was a team captain on the Utes 1981-82 team.

VERSUS THE MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE
Utah State is 288-371 (.437) against current members of the Mountain West Conference, while USU head coach Stew Morrill is 60-50 (.545) versus the league. At USU, Morrill is 12-8 (.600) versus the Mountain West Conference and 5-3 against Utah. All-time, Morrill is 10-12 against the Utes.

DID YOU KNOW?
Stew Morrill is one of just three coaches in Utah State history to have a winning record against Utah. In his first eight years at USU, Morrill is 5-3 against the Utes. The only other USU coaches to have a winning record against Utah was Rod Tueller (12-6) and Ladell Anderson (11-9).

NEXT WEEK
Utah State will play one game next week as it travels to Provo to face BYU on Sat., Dec. 16 at 4:05 p.m. The game will be televised live on the Mountain Network.

UTAH STATE-UTAH SERIES
Utah State and Utah will be meeting for the 219th time this week, extending the second-oldest rivalry in USU history (USU has played BYU 224 times). The Utes lead the all-time series 128-90, but the Aggies hold a 57-51 advantage at home. Utah defeated Utah State 67-66 last year in Salt Lake City, while USU won the last meeting in Logan 71-45 on Dec. 4, 2004. Overall, USU has won five of the last eight games played in the series, including four straight at home.

LAST MEETING AGAINST UTAH
Jaycee Carroll scored a game-high 18 points, including 12 in the second-half, but missed a 16-foot jumper at the buzzer as Utah State lost at Utah 67-66 on Nov. 30, 2005. Utah State trailed by five at 67-62 with 2:55 remaining before Cass Matheus made a short jumper in the lane to pull the Aggies within three. USU then got to within one on a 15-foot jumper by Carroll with 2:13 remaining for the final two points of the game. Nate Harris added 10 points, four rebounds and four assists for Utah State, while Matheus finished with nine points and four rebounds. Bryant Markson led four Utah players in double-figures as he had 17 points and six rebounds, while Johnnie Bryant added 14 points. Utah scored the first five points of the game before Utah State went on an 8-2 run to take its first lead at 8-7. Utah got the lead back to five at 31-26 late in the first half and went into the locker room up three at 31-28. In the first half, Utah State shot 47.6 percent from the field, while Utah shot 55.0 percent. After Utah scored the first bucket of the second half, Utah State scored six straight points to regain the lead at 34-33. USU's biggest lead of the second half came with 11:42 remaining on a lay-up by Chaz Spicer to push the score to 47-43 for the Aggies. Utah State's last lead of the game was at 59-57 with 6:47 remaining on a jumper by Carroll before Utah scored eight straight points to open a six-point advantage at 65-59 with 4:06 remaining. USU cut the lead to three at 65-62 on a three-point play by Harris with 3:43 remaining only to see Utah get the lead back to five on a lay-up by Bryant with 2:55 remaining, which turned out to be the winning basket. Overall, Utah State shot 55.6 percent in the second half (15-27), and 52.1 percent for the game. However, Utah shot 60.0 percent from the field in the second half (15-25), and 57.8 percent from the field for the game. Utah also out-rebounded USU 27-19. The 57.8 percent field goal percentage by Utah marked the first time in 38 games that USU had allowed an opponent to shoot better than 50 percent from the field.

THE BATTLE FOR THE OLD OQUIRRH BUCKET
Born prior to the 1974-75 season, the Old Oquirrh Bucket is the symbol of in-state basketball supremacy in Utah. The trophy is awarded every year to the in-state team which has the best won-loss record against in-state competition. Utah won the bucket last year, while USU won it during the 2004-05 season. In fact, over the last five years Utah has won the Old Oquirrh Bucket three times, while Utah State has won it twice. Overall, Utah State has won the Old Oquirrh Bucket seven times, while Utah has won it 14 times. This year, USU is 2-0 versus the state of Utah, while the Utes are 1-1.

UTAH STATE DURING ITS SIX-GAME WINNING STREAK
During its six-game winning streak, Utah State is averaging 75.5 points and shooting 52.0 percent from the field, 39.2 percent from three-point range, and 76.2 percent from the free throw line. Defensively, it is allowing 60.7 points, while its opponents are shooting 43.4 percent from the field and 34.7 percent from three-point range.

UTAH STATE OFF TO ANOTHER FAST START
With its 6-1 record, Utah State is off to its best start since the 2003-04 team began the year with a 20-1 record. Overall, it is the fourth time under Morrill and the 22nd time in school history that USU has began the year with a 6-1 record or better.

NATIONAL RANKINGS
As of Mon., Dec. 4, junior guard Jaycee Carroll is tied for 12th in the nation in scoring at 22.7 points per game. Junior forward Stephen DuCharme is shooting 88.2 percent from the field, which would lead the nation, but he does not have enough made field goals to qualify. Currently, DuCharme is averaging 4.67 made field goals per game and needs to average 5.0 made field goals per game to qualify for the NCAA and WAC stats. As a team, Utah State is 14th in the country in field goal shooting at 51.6 percent.

COMPUTER RANKINGS
As of Mon., Dec. 4, Utah State has an RPI of 83rd in the country and a strength of schedule of 257 according to the Pomeroy Ratings by Ken Pomeroy, while the WAC is currently ranked 10th out of 32 conferences. USU also has a sagrain rating of 87th in the country.

UTAH STATE STANDING ITS GROUND
Through seven games this season, Utah State has taken 17 charges, led by senior Durrall Peterson who has a team-high eight.

UTAH STATE PLAYING MUCH BETTER DEFENSE AS OF LATE
After allowing its first four opponents to average 72.0 points and shoot 51.3 percent from the field and 43.9 percent from three-point range, USU has played much better defense over its last three games. During its last three games, USU's opponents are scoring just 54.7 points, and shooting just 36.9 percent from the field and 24.4 percent from three-point range.

UTAH STATE CAUGHT STEALING SATURDAY NIGHT
Utah State had one of its best nights ever Saturday against Idaho State as it recorded a season-high 14 steals. In fact, those 14 steals are tied for the fifth-most in school history and the most by USU since it had 15 against San Jose State on Feb. 20, 1993.

DID YOU KNOW?
Utah State is one of just five teams in the country to win at least 23 games in each of the last seven seasons joining Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas and Syracuse. Overall, Utah State teams have won 20-plus games in a season 21 times.

CARROLL 23RD ALL-TIME IN SCORING AT UTAH STATE
With his 22 points against Idaho State Saturday night, junior guard Jaycee Carroll now ranks 23rd all-time in scoring in school history with 1,150 points. Carroll is now just 14 points shy of tying Jimmy Moore (1973-75) for 22nd-place on the all-time list with 1,164 career points.

CARROLL SCORES 20 IN SIX STRAIGHT GAMES
Junior guard Jaycee Carroll has now scored at least 20 points in each of his last six games, which is the longest streak by a Utah State player since Greg Grant scored 20-plus points in seven straight games during the 1985-86 season.

CARROLL HAS LED UTAH STATE IN SCORING IN EVERY GAME THIS YEAR
Junior guard Jaycee Carroll has led Utah State in scoring in all seven games this year. The last time a USU player led his team in scoring in seven straight games was during the 1997-98 season when Kevin Rice accomplished the feat. The last time a USU player led his team in scoring in each of the first seven games of the season was during the 1985-86 season when Greg Grant led his team in scoring in the first 20 games of the year.

CARROLL HAS MADE 10 STRAIGHT FROM CHARITY STRIPE
Junior guard Jaycee Carroll has made 10 straight free throws and 18 of his last 19 overall. The last time he missed a free throw was in the second half against Weber State on Nov. 25 in Logan. Overall, Carroll ranks first in the WAC and 27th in the nation in free throw shooting at 91.9 percent.

CARROLL FIRST IN THE WAC IN SCORING
Junior guard Jaycee Carroll currently ranks first in the Western Athletic Conference and 12th in the nation in scoring with 22.7 points per game. Carroll also ranks first in the league in free throw shooting (.919), is second in field goal percentage (.602), third in three-point shooting (.463), and 15th in rebounding (5.6).

CARROLL 15TH ALL-TIME AT UTAH STATE IN SCORING AVERAGE
Junior guard Jaycee Carroll has played in 71 career games at Utah State and has scored 1,150 points for an average of 16.2 points per game which ranks 15th all-time in school history.

CARROLL FIRST IN SCHOOL HISTORY IN THREE-POINT FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
Junior guard Jaycee Carroll ranks first all-time at Utah State in career three-point field goal percentage at 46.2 percent. He also ranks fourth all-time in school history in three-pointer made (191), and fourth in three-pointers attempted (413).

CARROLL NAMED PRESEASON ALL-WAC, UTAH STATE PICKED FOURTH
Junior guard Jaycee Carroll was named a preseason first-team all-WAC player by both the media and coaches for the second straight year, while Utah State is picked to finish in fourth-place in the league by both the media and coaches.

CARROLL AMONG SINGLE-SEASON BESTS
Junior guard Jaycee Carroll scored 521 points during his sophomore season, which was tied for the 36th-most in a single-season in school history. He also made 93 three-point field goals during the year to rank second all-time, while his 206 three-point attempts rank third on the single-season charts. Furthermore, Carroll owns two of the top-five single-season shooting percentages from three-point range, including 45.1 percent during his sophomore season, which ranks fifth all-time. During his freshman season, Carroll shot 47.6 percent from three-point range, to rank second in school history.

CARROLL RETURNS AS BEST THREE-POINT SHOOTER IN THE WAC
Guard Jaycee Carroll returns for his junior season as the top three-point shooter in the Western Athletic Conference after shooting a league-best 45.1 percent from behind the arc during his sophomore season. Carroll also ranked 12th in the nation in three-point shooting last season. Among those top-12 three-point shooters nationally, only five (including Carroll) return this year.

DID YOU KNOW?
Junior guard Jaycee Carroll has made at least one three-point basket in 63 of his 71 career games at Utah State.

SPICER SHOOTING WELL FROM FREE THROW LINE
Senior forward Chaz Spicer is shooting very well from the free throw line and has made 17 straight from the charity stripe. His last missed free throw was in the second half against Drake on Nov. 18. Overall, Spicer is shooting 80.8 percent from the free throw line, which ranks seventh in the WAC.

DUCHARME SHOOTING LIGHTS OUT FROM THE FIELD
Junior forward Stephen DuCharme has played extremely well for Utah State thus far this year, and is shooting an amazing 88.2 percent from the field. On the year, DuCharme has missed four field goals (30-34) in six games.

DUCHARME SETS SCHOOL RECORD WITH 17 STRAIGHT FIELD GOALS
Junior forward Stephen DuCharme set a new school record by making 17 straight field goals during a two-game stretch. DuCharme's streak began against Drake as he made all 10 of his field goal attempts. He then made all seven of his field goal attempts in his next game against Weber State. In his last game, against Weber State, DuCharme missed his first shot of the game to break his streak. The NCAA record for consecutive field goals made is 25 by Ray Voelkel of American who accomplished the feat over a nine-game span during the 1978-79 season.

DUCHARME TIES SINGLE-GAME RECORD
Junior forward Stephen DuCharme tied a Utah State single-game record by making all 10 of his field goal attempts against Drake on Nov. 18. Those 10 made field goals are tied for the second-most in school history without a miss along with Bill Floyd who went 10-of-10 from the field against New Mexico State during the 1984-85 season. The overall school record for most field goals made without a miss in a single game is 12 set by Mike Santos against Idaho State during the 1977-78 season.

USU HAS SIX PLAYERS SCORE IN DOUBLE-FIGURES AGAINST IDAHO STATE
Utah State had six players score in double-figures against Idaho State Saturday night, marking the first time that has happened since Feb. 28, 1998 when USU had seven players score in double-figures in a 102-78 home win against North Texas.

CONSECUTIVE GAMES WITH A THREE
Utah State has made at least one three-point basket in 125 straight games dating back to the 2002-03 season. The last time USU did not make at least one three-pointer in a game was on Dec. 14, 2002 at BYU. USU lost that game 66-56.

FROM THE STATE OF UTAH
Aggie players from the state of Utah include junior forward Nick Hammer (St. George, Utah/Snow Canyon HS), sophomore center Brayden Bell (Brighton, Utah/Brighton HS), freshman guard Aaron England (West Valley City, Utah/Cyprus HS), freshman guard Josh Taylor (Bountiful, Utah/Bountiful HS), and freshman guard Blake Tillotson (Sandy, Utah/Alta HS).

HOW ARE THEY DOING?
The following is a look at how Utah State's 2006-07 non-conference opponents are doing thus far this year. Centenary is 4-4 on the season and has won its last two games against Arkansas-Little Rock (69-59) and Nicholls State (84-71). Drake is 3-2 and is coming off an 80-78 road win at Iowa State in its last contest. Weber State is 4-4 on the season after losing to BYU at home in overtime (73-69). South Dakota State is 2-7 and won its last game at Denver (67-56, and Idaho State is 2-5 overall.

UTAH STATE AMONG THE BEST IN THE COUNTRY
Over the last eight years, Utah State has been one of the best basketball programs in the country, recording a 181-51 (.780) record. Those 181 wins are the eighth-most in the country, while the 78.0 percent winning percentage is fourth-best. USU has also been among the top-13 teams in the country in points allowed in six of the last seven years, and among the top-35 teams in the country in winning percentage in each of those seasons.

UTAH STATE HAS DOMINATED CONFERENCE PLAY SINCE 2000
Utah State has had tremendous success in league play over the last seven years recording a 95-25 (.792) record, which includes an 84-20 record in the Big West Conference and an 11-5 record in the WAC. Here is a look at how the current members of the Western Athletic Conference has done in league play dating back to the 1999-2000 season. Note: Utah State and Idaho's league record includes six years in the Big West Conference (2000-2005); Boise State's record includes two years in the Big West (2000-2001); Nevada's record includes one year in the Big West (2000); Louisiana Tech's record includes two years in the Sun Belt Conference (2000-01); and New Mexico State's record includes one year in the Big West (2000) and five years in the Sun Belt (2001-05).

SCOUTING UTAH STATE'S OFFENSE
Utah State shot a season-high 63.8 percent from the field and a season-high 52.9 percent from three-point range in its last game against Idaha State... USU ranks first in the WAC in shooting percentage (.516), third in free throw percentage (.744) and scoring margin (+10.3), fourth in scoring (74.9), and fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.367)... Over its last four games, Utah State is shooting 81.5 percent from the free throw line (66-81).

SCOUTING UTAH STATE'S DEFENSE
Utah State ranks third in the WAC in scoring defense (64.6), third in steals (7.14), fifth in three-point field goal percentage defense (.360), fifth in blocked shots (2.43), sixth in field goal percentage defense (.449), and eighth in rebounding (31.3)... In its last game against Idaho State, USU committed a season-low 12 fouls, and ISU was just six-of-seven from the free throw line, both of which were season-lows for a USU opponent... Utah State also held Idaho State to 46 points, which is a season-low for a USU opponent... Utah State has recorded 17 charges thus far this season.

UTAH STATE FOLLOWING A LOSS
Over the last eight years, Utah State is 36-8 (.818) following a loss, and has lost back-to-back games just eight times during. Of those eight back-to-back losses, five have occurred during the regular season and three during the postseason.

OVER THE LAST SEVEN YEARS UTAH STATE IS...

• 78-6 when holding its opponents below 60 points.
• 155-17 when leading at the half.
• 163-14 when shooting better from the field than its opponent.
• 137-24 when out-rebounding its opponent.
• 126-10 when shooting better from three-point range than its opponent.
• 104-16 when blocking more shots than its opponent.
• 65-10 when scoring 70-plus points in a game.

PLAYER NOTES
• 0 Mikel Watson - Has scored in double-figures four times this year, including a season-high 12 points against Drake... Recorded a season-high six assists and five rebounds against Weber State... Ranks sixth in the WAC in assists (3.43) and ninth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.00)... Averaging 9.1 points and 1.6 rebounds, while shooting 53.2 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from three-point range.

• 3 Nick Hammer - Scored a career-high 12 points in the season opener at Northwestern State, and recorded a career-high three steals against Idaho State... Averaging 2.7 points and 1.6 rebounds... Has not scored in his last four games, as he is 0-of-9 from the field during that stretch.

• 10 Kris Clark - Has started six straight games at the point... Recorded a season-high eight assists against Idaho State... Ranks eighth in the WAC in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.57), and is ninth in assists (3.14)... Averaging 0.9 points and 0.9 rebounds, while shooting 20.0 percent from the field.

• 11 Arvydas Vaitiekus - Played a season-high eight minutes against Idaho State and recorded a season-high two blocks and one rebound against the Bengals... Scored two points in two minutes against Drake.

• 20 Jaycee Carroll - Has scored in double-figures in all seven games this season, and in eight straight overall... Also has six straight 20 point games... Recorded his third career double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds against South Dakota State... Also had 24 points and 10 rebounds against Drake... Has scored in double-figures 59 times in his career and has 19 career 20-point games... Ranks first in the WAC in scoring (22.7), first in free throw percentage (.919), second in field goal percentage (.602), third in three-point field goal percentage (.463), and 15th in rebounding (5.6).

• 21 Chris Session - Scored a career-high 10 points against Idaho State... Also tied his season-high with seven rebounds against the Bengals... Has started six games this year and is averaging 6.4 points and 5.1 rebounds, while shooting 63.0 percent from the field and 73.3 percent from the free throw line... Played a career-high 28 minutes at Northwestern State... Leads the team in steals with eight.

• 23 O.J. Harrison - Played a season-high 15 minutes against Idaho State... Is averaging 8.3 minutes and 1.1 points per game off the bench, while shooting 16.7 percent from the field.

• 24 Durrall Peterson - Recorded his third double-figure scoring game of the year and 11th of his career with a season-high 17 points against Idaho State... Averaging 10.3 points and 3.6 rebounds, while shooting 40.4 percent from the field, 40.6 percent from three-point range, and 77.3 percent from the free throw line.

• 30 Chaz Spicer - Recorded a career-high 10 rebounds at South Dakota State... Scored a season-high 12 points against Drake... Played a career-high 28 minutes at Northwestern State in the season opener... Has scored in double-figures 12 times in his career and three times this season... Is averaging 8.7 points and 2.9 rebounds per game, while shooting 46.3 percent from the field, 50.0 percent from three-point range, and 80.8 percent from the free throw line, which ranks seventh in the WAC.

• 31 Michael Earl - Has started three games this year... Scored a season-high five points against Centenary and Drake... Also had a season-high eight rebounds against Centenary... Averaging 2.3 points and 2.1 rebounds per game, while shooting 40.0 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from the free-throw line.

• 40 Stephen DuCharme - Has scored in double-figures four times this year, including a season-high 22 points against Drake... Recorded a season-high eight rebounds against Weber State and at South Dakota State... Scored 16 points against Weber State... Shooting 88.2 percent from the field and 70.6 percent from the free throw line... Is averaging 10.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game to rank second on the team in both categories.

SCOUTING UTAH VALLEY STATE
Utah Valley State is 4-3 on the season after losing at Portland State 71-69 in its last game. The Wolverines began the year with home wins against Montana State (69-37) and Montana (74-57), before losing its first game of the year at California (60-47). They then defeated Great Falls (65-47) and Western Illinois (77-75), before losing at Southern Utah (68-60) and at Portland State. Utah Valley State, who is 3-0 at home this year, is led by sophomore guard Ryan Toolson who is averaging 14.1 points, while senior forward David Heck is averaging 13.1 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. As a team, UVSC is averaging 65.9 points and shooting 45.6 percent from the field and 39.8 percent from three-point range, while its opponents are averaging 59.3 points and shooting 41.1 percent from the field and 26.8 percent from three-point range. The Wolverines return four starters and five lettermen from last year's team that went 16-13 on the season.

UTAH STATE-UTAH VALLEY STATE SERIES
Utah State and Utah Valley State will be meeting for the first time ever this weekend in Orem. The two teams will also play in Logan on Wed., Jan. 10, 2007.

UTAH STATE ON THE ROAD
Utah State is 56-40 (.583) on the road under head coach Stew Morrill, which includes a 13-14 (.481) road record against non-league opponents.

UTAH STATE ON SATURDAY
Utah State is 77-24 (.762) in games played on Saturday under head coach Stew Morrill, including a 3-0 record this year. USU is also 8-5 in known games played on Dec. 9.

UTAH STATE SIGNS HIGH SCHOOL FOREIGN PLAYER
Utah State's head men's basketball coach Stew Morrill announced on Nov. 14 the signing of Modou Niang (pronounced Mo-do Knee-yan) to a national letter of intent to compete for the Aggies beginning in the 2007-08 season. Niang, a 6-10, 240-pound center from Senegal, is currently a senior at Hachioji (pronounced Ha-che-O-gee) High School in Tokyo, Japan and is averaging 29.0 points and 17.0 rebounds through four games. As a prep junior, Niang averaged 33.6 points, 14.8 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game as he was named a Tokyo (Kanto) all-star. During the 2005-06 season, Niang led his team to the Inter High School Championship semifinals and the Winter Cup Quarterfinals. He was also named a Tokyo (Kanto) all-star during his sophomore season.

RECAPPING THE IDAHO STATE GAME
Jaycee Carroll hit seven-of-eight field goal attempts en route to his sixth straight 20-point game, as the junior guard scored a game-high 22 points to lead Utah State to an 83-46 victory against Idaho State in Logan on Saturday. Utah State shot 63.8 percent from the field for the game, including a blistering 72.7 percent in the first half. USU also held Idaho State to just 34 percent from the field. The Aggies had five other players in double figures in addition to Carroll as Durrall Peterson scored 17 on six-of-nine shooting, Stephen DuCharme had 11 on four-of-four shooting, and Chaz Spicer, Mikel Watson and Chris Session all added 10 points. Idaho State was led by John Ofoegbu, who scored 15 points off the bench. Demetrius Monroe added a team-high six rebounds for the visitors, while USU was led by Session's seven boards. Utah State put the game out of reach early, going on a 19-6 run to close the first half. In fact, the Aggies scored the final eight points of the half to take a 47-26 advantage into the locker room. USU also had a run early in the game after ISU pulled within 10-9, as the Aggies scored 10 straight points, including two consecutive three-pointers by Carroll, who scored eight straight points in the stretch. In the second half, USU pushed the margin to 30 points before the first media time-out at 60-30 and made it a 40-point game with 4:07 left at 83-42. USU hit nine-of-17 three-point attempts as Peterson drained five-of-seven attempts and Carroll made four-of-five treys. The Aggies also shot well from the line, making 14-of-17 charity tosses.

RECAPPING THE SOUTH DAKOTA STATE GAME
Jaycee Carroll recorded his second double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Utah State rallied from a six-point deficit to record a 56-50 road win in Brookings, S.D. Wednesday night. Utah State, who has now won five straight games after losing its season-opener at Northwestern State, improves to 5-1 on the year, while South Dakota State falls to 1-7 with the loss. Stephen DuCharme added 11 points and eight rebounds for Utah State, while Chaz Spicer came off the bench to score eight points and grab a career-high 10 rebounds. After leading 30-19 at the break, Utah State was out-scored 28-11 during the first 12:33 of the second-half and trailed 47-41 before the Aggies finished the game on a 15-3 run to notch the six-point win. During the final 7:27 of the game, USU regained the lead on a 8-0 run highlighted by six straight points from Carroll. Neither team played well at the beginning of the game as USU scored just two points in the first 4:44 on a lay-up by DuCharme and lead 2-1 at the first media time-out. USU then extended its lead to 10 points at 17-7 with 8:31 remaining and led by 11 at the half despite committing 14 first-half turnovers. During the first 20-minutes, Carroll scored 14 points and added eight rebounds, while DuCharme had eight points and seven rebounds. As a team, USU shot just 38.7 percent from the field, but held South Dakota State to just 25.0 percent shooting. South Dakota State was led by Matt Cadwell who scored 14 points and added seven rebounds, while Garrett Callahan scored 10 points off the bench. Utah State finished the game by shooting a season-low 42.3 percent from the field and a season-low 16.7 percent from three-point range as it connected on just two-of-14 three-point attempts. However, USU held South Dakota State to 33.3 percent shooting from the field and 16.7 percent shooting from behind the three-point line, both of which are season-lows for an Aggie opponent. Utah State also finished the game with a season-high 44 rebounds to go along with its season-high 23 turnovers.

CARROLL NAMED WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
For his efforts at the BP Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska, Jaycee Carroll earned Western Athletic Conference player of the week honors it was announced on Mon., Nov. 20. Carroll, a 6-2, 175-pound, junior guard, was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament as he led Utah State to the team championship. The Aggies defeated Centenary (77-71), Drake (92-74), and Weber State (68-55). Carroll began the tournament by scoring 27 points against Centenary as he was eight-of-13 from the field and nine-of-10 from the free throw line. Carroll then recorded his second career double-double against Drake as he scored 24 points and added 10 rebounds. He then concluded the tournament by scoring 21 points against Weber State. Overall, Carroll scored 72 points in the tournament and was just two points shy of tying the all-time tournament record for most points scored with 74. Carroll finished the tournament by averaging 24.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.0 assists, while shooting 57.5 percent from the field (23-40), 45.5 percent from three-point range (10-22), and 88.9 percent from the free throw line (16-18). The honor is the second WAC player of the week award for Carroll, who won the award on Dec. 1, 2005 after his performances against Middle Tennessee and Weber State.

HEAD COACH Stew Morrill
Stew Morrill (Gonzaga, 1974) is in his ninth season at the helm of the Utah State men's basketball program and has posted seven straight 20-win seasons, not to mention guiding the Aggies to seven straight postseason appearances. In his ninth year at USU, he has an incredible 196-64 record, which is the best record by any coach at Utah State during that time span. Over the past seven years, Morrill has coached 13 first-team all-league players in Shawn Daniels (twice), Troy Rolle, Bernard Rock, Tony Brown, Desmond Penigar (twice), Mark Brown, Cardell Butler, Nate Harris (three times), and Spencer Nelson. In his first eight years at USU, he has had over an 80 percent graduation rate. He has been involved in postseason action 10 times in his career, including the NCAA Tournament at Utah State in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2006, and the National Invitation Tournament in 2002 and 2004. He has been named Coach of the Year three times, winning the award in 1991 at Montana, and in 2000 and 2002 at Utah State. He is only the fourth coach in the history of the Big West Conference to go undefeated in the league, as he led the 1999-2000 squad to a perfect 19-0 league record, joining Lou Henson, Jerry Tarkanian and Bob Thomason. Prior to coming to Utah State, Morrill had been the head coach at Colorado State University for seven seasons, recording a 121-86 record (1992-98). Prior to his stint at CSU, Morrill spent five seasons as the head coach at the University of Montana (1987-91), where he went 97-52. During his 20 years as a head coach, Morrill's teams have won at least 20 games 11 times and have won at least 17 games in 17 of his 20 seasons as a head coach. He was the second winningest coach at Colorado State behind only Boyd Grant.