The Week in Aggie Basketball According to Stew

On the important game Thursday versus UC Irvine...

"Every game is important, especially when you are trying to compete at top of the league and every game becomes critical. We're just happy to be home, but now we've got to hold our home court. The positive thing is we are home for five out of the next seven. I was thinking this morning, how I am just hopeful that are community and university will support us like they have in the past and realize the importance of these games. You go out on the road for a couple of weeks and you get called names, abused, and have things thrown at you and I'm not suggesting that anybody do that in the Spectrum, I don't think anybody ever does. Making it a hard atmosphere and making it the toughest place to play in the Big West is a tremendous situation for us when it is that way."

"We have a Fox Sports game this Thursday where they will showcase our arena, our crowd and hopefully everybody will respond. Because when we have the energy in the building it helps us and that's what we are hoping for these last five home games. Seasons go fast, life goes fast, careers go fast, and here we are with only five more home games remaining. In some ways it's hard to believe that we have come to this point already. In college basketball there are a lot of reasons why home court is so important. Most of it has to do with enthusiasm and energy and tough places to play. The Spectrum has always been one of those places and we need that more than it ever has been, or as much as it has ever been in the next few weeks."

Do you ever feel like your team is under pressure playing at home?

"No, I would never say that to my team. The best thing about being at home is being comfortable, familiar with surroundings and being excited to play. That's what makes you have a chance to be better at home. Our players aren't stupid, they know what is at stake and they know that if you're going to be at the top of your league you have got to be able to protect your home court. We are the only team in our league that has not lost a conference game at home. We need to feel positive about what our home court does for us, not be uptight about it."

Are you optimistic about your defense after Saturday's game?

"We challenged our guys and we will continue to do that. We challenged our guys in between games and in the film room. It's not like we don't work on it or don't stress it, but it was even more of a challenge and they responded. The problem with a team like Irvine is we have always mixed our defenses and it's really difficult to play a lot of zone against them because they have so many shooters running around. Our man-to-man defense has got to continue to get better and to be an integral part of what we do."

"They have more weapons than anybody in the league, I've said that all along. They have some size down low, they have shooters on the wings. They have a lot of weapons to deal with, and it's hard to say to which one you give more priority. The problem we have is if you got shooters running around on the perimeter it is hard to help too much in the post. And that is the same problem we faced with Cal Poly. We have spent yesterday and this morning figuring out what we are going to work on the next few days in practice defensively. When they came up here last year they were so aggressive, and that is the way they will show up again. So we have to work on our defense. We have to be sure we go out and play aggressive, offensive basketball, aggressive on the break and half court stuff. There is so much to accomplish and practices get so short it's hard to get everything in. You have to try and condense things."

On Irvine playing better...

"They shot 60 percent in the game against Fullerton and just blew them out. Fullerton went zone the whole game and that's tough to do against Irvine. They are very good against a zone. That sounds very simplistic, but that's the way it is. Some weeks you make shots and others you don't."

On the bench not putting up big numbers...

"Maybe statistically, but I thought Mike Stowell came in and played pretty well on the trip. That takes away from Chad Evans' minutes, but sometimes one guy can give you something different than another. I thought Mike Puzey bounced back and played a little better against Cal Poly. Nate Harris didn't have as good of weekend as you would have liked him to have but still did some decent things."

On not rebounding as well...

"It's not like we are not playing hard. Most teams rebound better at home. You look at statistics and that's just the way it is. We have been on the road for three straight, so hopefully we'll get that back at home. I think we are little worn down, I would be less than honest if I didn't tell you that. We were so alive when we were outrebounding teams by 20 or so, you get to February and you're on the road and you're a little worn down. That's why we didn't practice yesterday after two straight road trips. We need a day just to catch our breath. Hopefully that will help us energy wise. I think it's an energy thing and being on the road."

On the state of Utah's basketball teams...

"Utah has been a great basketball state as long as I can remember. You have all the teams doing well in their respective leagues and it shows that there are some awfully good programs in the state. Every program has really good tradition, of the four we are talking about, and with good traditions come those expectations. I like to see the Utah teams do well."