Utah State Announces 2008-09 Men’s Basketball Schedule

h ­ Utah State University’s head men’s basketball coach Stew Morrill announced Wednesday the upcoming 2008-09 schedule as the Aggies will play a total of 31 games during the regular season, which includes five contests against in-state opponents and at least seven games against postseason teams from a year ago.

For the second year in a row, Utah State will play 17 games in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum as it went undefeated at home during the 2007-08 season. Overall, the Aggies have posted an incredible 142-12 (.922) home record during the last 10 years. USU’s five in-state games are also the most since it went 5-0 against teams from the state of Utah during the 2006-07 season. Overall, it will be the first time in school history that USU will play five different in-state teams during the same season.

Highlighting Utah State’s non-conference schedule will be games against in-state rivals Brigham Young and Utah as the Aggies play the Cougars in Salt Lake City at Energy Solutions Arena on Saturday, Dec. 6 and host the Utes on Monday, Dec. 22. BYU has played in the NCAA Tournament each of the last two years, while Utah advanced to the quarterfinals of the College Basketball Invitational last year.

Other postseason teams from a year ago on Utah State’s schedule include UC Santa Barbara (NIT), Boise State (NCAA) and Nevada (CBI).

“We are excited about our 2008-09 schedule and hope our team understands the challenges it presents,” said Morrill. “Our non-conference schedule features five in-state games which I believe is extremely positive. Those games are always special and should mean a lot to our fans and players. With our remaining non-conference schedule we have a nice mix of games against familiar teams and leagues that should prepare us for WAC play. In addition, our tournament is now a three-night, three-game event that leads us right into the opening weekend of conference competition.”

After playing exhibition games against Northwest Nazarene and Concordia University on Oct. 31 and Nov. 8, Utah State will open the season at home against Montana State-Northern on Friday, Nov. 14. USU will then play at UC Santa Barbara in its first road game of the year on Monday, Nov. 17 before returning home for three straight contests. The Aggies will begin their homestand against in-state rival Weber State on Tuesday, Nov. 25, followed by games against Cal Poly and UC Irvine on Saturday, Nov. 29 and Tuesday, Dec. 2, respectively.

Utah State will then play four consecutive games on the road, including three straight against in-state opponents, beginning with its matchup against BYU on Saturday, Dec. 6. USU will also play at Utah Valley on Saturday, Dec. 13, followed by its first-ever game at Southern Utah on Wednesday, Dec. 17. The Aggies will conclude their four-game road swing at Idaho State on Saturday, Dec. 20

Following its season-long four-game road swing, Utah State will return home for the remainder of its non-conference schedule with four more games in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, including its final in-state matchup of the year against Utah on Monday, Dec. 22. During the last eight years, Utah State has posted an impressive 20-8 (.714) record against in-state schools. USU will also host Houston Baptist, Howard and Wyoming in the Duel In The Desert, sponsored by Gossner Foods, on Monday, Dec. 29 through Wednesday, Dec. 31, with each team playing three games.

For the fourth straight year, Utah State will participate in the annual ESPN BracketBusters which will be played on Saturday, Feb. 21. In its previous three BracketBuster games, USU recorded home wins against Northwestern State in 2006 and UC Santa Barbara in 2008, along with a road win at Oral Roberts in 2007.

After claiming a share of its first-ever Western Athletic Conference regular season championship last season, Utah State will begin defense of its title at home against Idaho on Monday, Jan. 5 and will conclude league play on Saturday, Mar. 7 at home against San Jose State, while the 2009 WAC Tournament will be held in Reno, Nev., from Mar. 10-14. Note-able home games during conference play includes matchups with defending WAC Tournament Champion Boise State on Saturday, Jan. 17, while Nevada visits the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Thursday, Jan. 29 and New Mexico State comes to town on Thursday, Feb. 5.

“As far as the WAC goes, the annual challenges are always there with lots of optimism from all the members,” Morrill stated. “I’m always concerned about how we will stack up as every year is unique and very unpredictable. It should be fun.”

Utah State returns three starters and six lettermen from last year’s 24-11 team that advanced to its ninth straight postseason as it played at Illinois State in the National Invitation Tournament. During the last nine years, USU has averaged 24.7 wins, has the fifth-best winning percentage in the country at 75.3 percent (222-73), and is one of just three teams in the nation to win at least 23 games in each of those seasons along with Gonzaga and Kansas.

Among those returning for Utah State is senior forward Gary Wilkinson who earned second-team all-WAC honors and was named to the league’s all-newcomer team a year ago after averaging 13.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.

USU also welcomes back sophomore starters Tyler Newbold and Tai Wesley, who combined to average 15.3 points and 7.0 rebounds a year ago.

2008-09 Utah State Men’s Basketball Schedule

Date Opponent TimeFri., Oct. 31 NORTHWEST NAZARENE (Ex.) 7:05 p.m.Sat., Nov. 8 CONCORDIA (Ex.) 7:05 p.m.Fri., Nov. 14 MONTANA STATE-NORTHERN 7:05 p.m.Mon., Nov. 17 at UC Santa Barbara 8:05 p.m.Tues., Nov. 25 WEBER STATE 7:05 p.m.Sat., Nov. 29 CAL POLY 7:05 p.m.

Tues., Dec. 2 UC IRVINE 7:05 p.m.Sat., Dec. 6 &vs. Brigham Young 4:05 p.m.Sat., Dec. 13 at Utah Valley 7:05 p.m.Wed., Dec. 17 at Southern Utah 7:05 p.m.Sat., Dec. 20 at Idaho State 7:05 p.m.Mon., Dec. 22 UTAH 7:05 p.m.Mon.-Wed., Dec. 29-31 DUEL IN THE DESERT (Sponsored by Gossner Foods)Mon., Dec. 29 Wyoming vs. Houston Baptist 5:30 p.m. Utah State vs. Howard 8:05 p.m.Tues., Dec. 30 Wyoming vs. Howard 5:30 p.m. Utah State vs. Houston Baptist 8:05 p.m.Wed., Dec. 31 Howard vs. Houston Baptist 5:30 p.m. Utah State vs. Wyoming 8:05 p.m.

Mon., Jan. 5 *IDAHO 7:05 p.m.Thur., Jan. 8 *at Louisiana Tech 6:05 p.m.Sat., Jan. 10 *at New Mexico State 7:05 p.m.Thur., Jan. 15 *FRESNO STATE 7:05 p.m.Sat., Jan. 17 *BOISE STATE 7:05 p.m.Thur., Jan. 22 *at San Jose State 8:05 p.m.Sat., Jan. 24 *at Hawai¹i 10:05 p.m.Thur., Jan. 29 *NEVADA 7:05 p.m.Sat., Jan. 31 *at Fresno State 8:05 p.m.

Thur., Feb. 5 *NEW MEXICO STATE 7:05 p.m.Sat., Feb. 7 *LOUISIANA TECH 7:05 p.m.Thur., Feb. 12 *at Idaho 8:05 p.m.Sat., Feb. 14 *at Boise State 7:05 p.m.Wed, Feb. 18 CS BAKERSFIELD 7:05 p.m.Sat., Feb. 21 ESPN BRACKETBUSTER TBAThur., Feb. 26 *HAWAI¹I 7:05 p.m.Sat., Feb. 28 *at Nevada 8:05 p.m.

Sat., Mar. 7 *SAN JOSE STATE 7:05 p.m.Tues.-Sat., Mar. 10-14 WAC Tournament Reno, Nev.Thur.-Sun., Mar. 19-22 NCAA First & Second Rounds TBA

& at Energy Solutions Arena.* Denotes Western Athletic Conference game.Home Games in BOLD AND ALL CAPS.All times are Mountain time, tentative and subject to change.

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