Mercer University
Utah State
Men's Basketball Trains Sights on CIT Title
3/28/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game Notes
Click here to read the Atlantic Sun Insider - Top 10 Mercer Achievements
LOGAN, Utah – For the first time in Atlantic Sun history, a men's basketball team will represent the conference in a postseason title game as the Mercer squares off against Utah State in Wednesday night's CollegeInsider.com Tournament Final. Game time at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum is set for 9 p.m. Eastern Time.
COVERAGE:
Wednesday's game will be broadcast on The Peach 96.5 FM with play-by-play provided by the "Voice of the Bears", Rick Cameron. The radio broadcast is set to start at 8:30 p.m. ET and can also be accessed on-the-go with use of a smartphone and the mobile app Iheartradio. The contest can also be seen on national television on the Fox College Sports channel (Comcast channel 263, DirecTV channel 623).
THE SERIES:
Wednesday's game brings Utah State and Mercer together on the hardwood for the first time since December 28, 1999. In that game, the Aggies earned a 74-55 win as part of the Gossner Foods Holiday Classic. The CIT Championships marks only the second all-time meeting between the schools. Mercer holds a 5-8 all-time record versus teams in the WAC, with all five wins coming against Louisiana Tech.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES:
The Aggies boast a 21-15 record and are winners in seven of their last eight entering Wednesday night's final.
Utah State is a WAC powerhouse making its 13th straight appearance in postseason play. During that stretch, the team has been to the NCAA Tournament eight times, the NIT four times and the CIT once.
Prestin Medlin has started all 36 games for Utah State and paces its offense at 17.1 points per game. The sophomore Carrollton, Texas product recently booked a career-high 32 points in the Aggies' CIT win over Idaho and has topped 20 points in five of his last eight games.
Senior guard Brockeith Pane leads the team with 154 assists and is scoring at a 12.6 points per game clip. Pane is fresh off his first career double-double after tallying 20 points and 10 assists versus Oakland.
Utah State has hosted throughout the CIT, claiming wins against CSU Bakersfield (75-69), Idaho (75-56), and Loyola Marymount (77-69) before Sunday night's victory. Overall, the Aggies boast a 17-4 record in home contests this season.
The Dee Glen Smith Spectrum is a 10,270-seat arena widely considered as one of the nation's toughest road venues. Over the past 11 years, Utah State holds a gaudy 94-11 record inside its on-campus facility and has won 100 of its last 106 home games.
GAME NOTES:
If Mercer can win Wednesday night's final, the victory will mark head coach Bob Hoffman's 75th win in four years with the Bears. The 75-win total would equal the program's highest over a four-year span. The Bears have posted 75 wins over a four-year span twice (1949-53, 1950-54).
At tip time on Saturday, Mercer will be one of 12 Division I men's basketball teams still playing. 10 of those teams (Mercer included) have a shot at winning a postseason title.
Mercer is the first Atlantic Sun team to reach a postseason tournament final. If the Bears can capture a win, the team will be the league's first team with a postseason crown.
