2011-12 Final grades: Igor Premasunac

Igor Premasunac - Junior
13 games, 0 starts
 ________________________
Averages
3.2 minutes
0.2 points
0.6 rebounds
0.08 assists
20% - FG
0% - 3pt
N/A - FT


What exactly is one supposed to say about Igor's season in 2011-12? Eight of his 13 appearances this season were stints of no more than two minutes and the statistics which he registered the most of were personal fouls, rebounds and turnovers, in that order. In the bigger picture of things, he never seemed to really click with anything within the system here.

Positives: He filled in with 10 minutes of play (nearly a quarter of his season total) when injuries had USU shorthanded against Idaho State. It also has to go mentioned that he did indeed score two points on the road at Louisiana Tech in nine minutes of play in that game. Maybe the biggest thing is that USU was 12-1 in games he appeared in, with the only loss being on the road at New Mexico State. Really though, all of this is a reach as far as finding positives.

...and it ends in a loss

Hats off to these guys for never giving up!

The opportunity was rare, but the opportunity was there. Utah State could have capped off an impressive finish to an otherwise frustrating season with a win at home Wednesday night against a Mercer team tasked with winning a long way from home in a venue where almost nobody wins. But when the final buzzer sounded, and the final prayer of a shot clanked off the rim, Utah State found itself in a place that has been far too familiar this season... Just short.

The Spectrum tonight was everything that makes that building so special. The place was buzzing before doors even opened, and anyone that just passively came to the game found themselves fully engaged in everything by the second half when USU started battling back from an early deficit.

Mercer was probably as opposite of a playing style in a team that you could possibly get for USU compared to the game against Oakland. Mercer plays in a very controlled system that shares the ball well, relies on high-percentage shots, and above all else, tough defense. All of those factors undoubtedly frustrated the Aggies early on in a big way, and moderately throughout the entire game.

Still, USU battled, ramped up its defensive pressure and knocked down a handful of big shots from deep. Danny Berger and Preston Medlin were responsible for all five second-half 3-pointers for USU, and every one of them came at a time when USU either needed a big bucket to cool a Mercer run or to widen the lead for the short time USU had it. They were a combined 5-of-11 from deep in the second half. Had they gone 6-of-11, that game would have gone at least five more minutes.

It ends tonight... Let's end it right!!!

Hold nothing back tonight. The Spectrum should be full, rocking off the hook,
and ruthless as can be!! (thanks to TrueAggies.com for the greatest photo ever)

As of Wednesday morning, there are only 10 teams left in the nation still playing college basketball. Regardless of where you're playing, that is something to be proud of, and at the very least is something the shouldn't be written off as an insignificance.

Sure, the CIT has its fair share of haters, and to a point, that is understandable. It's the bottom rung of college basketball postseason tournaments, gets little to no fanfare or publicity, and is comprised entirely of teams who, at some point, fell short of their more lofty goals they'd aimed for this basketball season. Just like I said two weeks ago when I issued the Man Challenge to this Aggie team, it would be easy for any team to just kill over and die when landing in a second, third, or ever fourth-rate postseason tournament. A handful of past Aggie teams have done just that, even in the NIT, which usually features its fair share of ESPN games.

Screw it though! Screw everyone who says winning this tournament doesn't mean a thing! The CIT is where Utah State has landed this season, and Wednesday, the Aggies have the chance to prove that they were the best among the field where they landed. Utah State has the chance to at least say we dominated the CIT when we ended up there to finish off what was supposed to be our worst season in nearly 20 years.

Sunday, Bloody Sunday!!!! Aggies light it up for 105-81 win.

Pane was straight KILLIN IT on Sunday

The game plan for this one should have been pretty basic. Oakland is a team who scores a ton because they take quick shots and get lots of possessions. They also are right there with the nation's worst teams defensively.

With that in mind, USU needed to pretty much just control the tempo of this game and execute offensively to carry them to victory. Doing things like shooting 63.8 percent from the field, hitting on 75 percent of 3-point attempts and dishing a season-high 26 assists would be just extra credit.

So for a final grade on this game, the Aggies get an A+++ (which for you non-education majors, would be classified as "pretty damn good").

Utah State came out in the game pretty much the same way they have this whole tournament. They were executing early, hitting shots from all over, and playing team basketball better than they have at any point over the rest of the this season. Even after opening up a huge lead early on behind some stellar team-play and great outside shooting, Oakland eventually got hot from deep, which is kinda their bread and butter, but even throughout that streak, they were still giving up seemingly at least two points on every Aggie possession, only really bringing the game as close as 11 points.

The Aggies never let up either. 60 points in the first half, 45 in the second; both of those are generally high scoring totals for one half of Aggie basketball. Compared to most teams, Oakland still filled it up. Their scoring prowess is really pretty freaking good, and if they could defend at all, that would be one hell of a basketball team.

Final Four!!! Final Four!!! Aggies win, 77-69

This ad was fitting to be gracing the front page of the USU Athletics website!

Before saying anything else, let me just say, "free throws!"

In a season where missed free throws have haunted the Aggies in close games, and when the team is shooting worse from the charity stripe as any other USU team since 2005, USU kicked that trend to the curb tonight in the best of ways. The Aggies made 32-of-35 free throws tonight, which was nearly 20 percent better than the team's season average, and eventually the difference in the game.

USU was also solid on the boards, grabbing 43 rebounds in the game. When all was said and done, they needed every one of them. The Aggies gave up a season-high 22 turnovers, while having just 14 assists,  but luckily LMU turned the ball over 19 times.

Pack The Spectrum Wednesday!!!

Quick question... What would you do if you had $20,000?

For at least one private donor to USU athletics, they chose to dedicate $20,000 to make sure Utah State students can fill up all 4,000 of their seats in The Spectrum for Wednesday night's game against Loyola Marymount. Because of this generosity, USU students will get in FOR FREE!!!

With the Aggies fighting their way to be among the final eight teams of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, the stakes are that much higher and the need for a great home-court advantage are that much greater.

Normally, in postseason tournaments where teams play home games, USU students have had to pay money in order to attend. In the case of each of the first two games of this tournament, USU student tickets were $5 each. Couple that with spring break still going on, and attendance was sparse.

Now, with everyone back, The Spectrum needs to be, THE SPECTRUM on Wednesday. Students will get in for free, as is tradition, so it's time to bring the noise off the hook, as is tradition!

Somebody has ponied up $20,000 on behalf of USU students. Make it worth their while!

Tip off is at 7 p.m. Wednesday

Still alive!! Aggies dominate way to Elite Eight

Sure, it's only the Elite Eight of the CIT, but dammit I'll take it. In all these years in-between the NCAA Tournament letdowns, it has seemed like USU has not taken the NIT seriously. It's not the Big Dance, and with that being the dream destination of every team and every player, still playing after falling short of that goal doesn't seem to inspire and fire in a team.

So far though, it seems like this USU team is busting that trend. Maybe they didn't completely bring their A-game against Bakersfield, but they won. If that winning is contagious, it showed Saturday, along with that A-game against Idaho.

This game was never really in question. From the start, Idaho could not get a shot to fall to save its life and USU was clicking on every level. After getting down huge early on, the Vandals just looked like a team with the life sucked out of them. The shots never fell with much frequency and the Aggies never really slowed down.

It was just kind of a beatdown. It was also possibly the best USU has looked as a team both offensively and defensively in quite some time.

Who we play from here? That is the great mystery when it comes to this tournament.