Utah State senior guard Ian Martinez has been named the America First Credit Union USU Student-Athlete of the Week for the period ending on Sunday, March 24. The award is voted on by a state-wide media panel.

Illustration: www.espn.com

Martinez led Utah State to its first NCAA Tournament win in 23 years as the eighth-seeded Aggies defeated ninth-seeded TCU 88-72, before a 106-67 loss to top-seeded Purdue in the second round. Against the Horned Frogs, Martinez had a game-high 21 points, while adding four rebounds, four assists, one block and a steal. Against the Boilermakers, he had 11 points, two rebounds, two assists and two blocks.

For the week, Martinez averaged 16.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.5 blocks and 0.5 steals per game, while shooting 47.4 percent (9-of-19) from the field, 41.7 percent (5-of-12) from deep, and 81.8 percent (9-of-11) at the free throw line.

Utah State ends its season with a 28-7 record, which is tied for the third-most wins in school history and is one of just six teams in school history to win 28 games. It was also just the second time since the 1970 season that USU advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, joining the 2001 team.