Stew Morrill happy — sort of — as Aggies keep rolling

LOGAN — Smack in the middle of another dominating (Don't use that word!) season, Stew Morrill continues to, well, stew.

He worries that his Utah State Aggies will hit what he calls the "dog days" of the basketball season and lose focus. He notes that they "played with no energy, no heart," three weeks ago in a tougher-than-necessary win over San Jose State, and because his team was "horrible against the press at Boise State."

He even stews because he stews too much.

"I have never been too good at smelling the roses," he said this week.

But Thursday night, he was trying. The Aggies' 74-57 win over Louisiana Tech gave him a 17-2 record, the only losses being to ranked Georgetown and BYU. It also gave USU 20 straight conference wins, a WAC record.

Is Morrill happy? Yes ... sort of ... a little bit ... in a way. On one hand, the Aggies built the lead to 20, watched it dwindle to 11 — right after he warned his team of such a run — then built it back to 19. He's hurtling toward a fourth straight conference title, and his team is on track to make the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time since he became coach in 1999. He calls the conference streak "a tremendous accomplishment."

At the same time, he worries that the success is breeding insatiable expectations and inviting the whims of fate.

"It's just all so fragile," he said after Thursday's win. "Things can get haywire, you can have an injury, lose your confidence a little bit. We've been consistent and solid, but that doesn't mean it couldn't turn tomorrow. I'm a little bit pessimistic by nature, a worry freak or whatever you want to call it, but the only way I know how to do it is to worry right now about (the next game on) Saturday."

In a way, it makes sense. Once you set a standard, it's a long-term contract. He said this week he allowed himself to be affected by an angry fan when his team lost again in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last spring. USU hasn't won tourney game since 2001 and more than one game since 1970.

"My point to her was, we have been (to the NCAA's) 19 times at Utah State, seven times since I've been here," he said on Tuesday. "How big of an idiot was I last year to let it bother me when someone wanted to be mad when we didn't win in the first round against a five seed?