Ags second in nation inFG shooting; Carroll third in country in 3-point percentage
Stew Morrill’s Aggies are ranked second in the NCAA with a 50.8 field goal percentage and are also ranked second in 3-pointer percentage with 42.9 percent.
Sophomore guard Jaycee Carroll has been a big part of the Aggies’ success shooting from beyond the arc this year, making threes at a 49.3 percent clip.
Carroll, who is ranked third in the nation in 3-point shooting, deflected
praise to his teammates in an interview after practice Tuesday.
“I’m able to shoot such a high percentage because of the offense that we run as a team. Coach Morrill’s offense and the screens and stuff my teammates set for me all help me get my shooting percentage up,” Carroll said.
Carroll set new USU and WAC records for 3-point shooting in a loss at New Mexico State Thursday when he made 10.
“I thought every time I shot it was going in,” Carroll said of his eyebrow-raising performance against the Aggies. “It’s a good feeling to get good open looks with my feet set and it felt good to make them.”
Carroll said he was pleased with his lofty ranking and wanted to be “right there at the top in the country.”
“If I can do that,” he said, “it will help our team in a big way.”
As a team, Utah State also ranks fifth in the nation in assists per game, 14th in fewest personal fouls committed per game, 30th in scoring margin, and 30th in winning percentage.
The Aggies have an overall record of 16-5.
Carroll’s three-point percentage trails J. Robert Merritt of Samford who is shooting 50.0 percent from three-point range, and Je’Kel Foster of Ohio State who is shooting 49.5 percent from behind the arc.
Carroll, who set a new school and WAC record with 10 made three-pointers against New Mexico State last Thursday, is also 18th in the nation in three-point field goals made per game at 3.3.
Those 10 three-pointers by Carroll are the second-most made in a single-game in college basketball this year, behind Josh Goodwin of Belmont who made 11 three’s against East Tennessee State on Dec. 1, 2005.
Other Aggies to be ranked among the national leaders include senior forward Nate Harris, who is seventh in the nation in field goal percentage at 62.2 percent, and senior guard David Pak, who ranks 49th in assists per game (5.0).
Utah State is 16-5 on the season and tied with Nevada and Louisiana Tech for first-place in the Western Athletic Conference with identical 7-3 league records.
USU returns to action this Saturday, Feb. 11 when it hosts New Mexico State at 7:05 p.m. in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
-graham@cc.usu.edu