April 7, 2005

LOGAN, Utah - Utah State's men's basketball team, which went 24-8 on the season and lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Arizona, finished the 2004-05 season first in the country in field goal percentage according to the final stats released by the NCAA on Wednesday.

Utah State shot 52.5 percent from the field on the year to lead the nation and set a new school record. It is the first time ever that a USU team has led the nation in field goal percentage, and only the fifth time that USU has led the nation in any statistical category. During the 1993-94 and 1996-97 seasons, USU led the nation in rebounding margin, while the 1982-83 squad led the nation with the most improved record from the previous year, winning 15 more games.

For the second straight season, Utah State led the nation in fewest personal fouls committed per game. During the 2003-04 campaign, USU committed 14.3 fouls per game to led the nation, and this year USU committed just 13.8 fouls per game.

Utah State also finished the 2004-05 season fourth in the country in scoring margin (+14.6), eighth in scoring defense (57.8) and assists per game (17.2), 12th in rebounding margin (+6.6), 18th in three-point field goal percentage (39.1), 19th in field goal percentage defense (39.6), 25th in fewest turnovers per game (12.4), and 29th in winning percentage (75.0).

Individually, junior forward Nate Harris finished second in the nation in field goal percentage at 65.2 percent, while senior forward Spencer Nelson was 13th at 60.0 percent. Freshman guard Jaycee Carroll finished the year shooting 47.6 percent from three-point range, which would rank fourth nationally, but he was one made three-point basket shy of qualifying for the NCAA stats.