After a seven-year stretch as friendly coaches, Riley Wallace and Stew Morrill are once again friendly rivals.

Wallace's University of Hawai'i men's basketball team will host Morrill's Utah State team in the Western Athletic Conference opener tomorrow at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Wallace and Morrill first met in 1992 when Morrill was head coach at Colorado State. From 1992-98, Wallace's 'Bows met Morrill's Rams regularly in the WAC.

Their on-court meetings took a break after Morrill became head coach at Utah State in 1998, except for one NIT game in 2004.

"We'd still see each other during the summers at clinics and golf events and we became really good friends," Wallace said. "But it all goes back to Colorado State. My kids went to Colorado State and I'll never forget that Stew said his door was always open to my kids over there."

The Aggies jumped from the Big West to the WAC this year, so Wallace and Morrill will once again meet at least twice per season.

"Riley is a good friend and a fun guy," Morrill said. "As far as playing his teams, you better be ready."

Wallace has similar respect for Morrill, in part because the two have similar coaching styles. Both emphasize rugged defense and disciplined offense.

"He mixes his defenses a little more," Wallace said. "But you could say we like to use the same stuff."

In any case, tomorrow's game is a match-up of teams expected to battle near the top of the WAC standings.

Utah State has won at least 23 games under Morrill for six consecutive seasons. Last season, the Aggies went 24-8 and played in the NCAA Tournament.

Utah State is one of three new teams in the WAC this season. The others are Idaho and New Mexico State.

"Utah State brings something special because they've been a nationally ranked team and they win 20 (games) almost every year," Wallace said. "They bring quality to the league, no question."

Two seasons ago, the Aggies were snubbed by the NCAA Tournament despite a 25-3 record. They wound up losing to visiting Hawai'i in the NIT instead.

Perhaps with that in mind, Utah State senior forward Nate Harris said joining the WAC was a "step up" for the Aggies.

"The level of competition is going to be higher in the WAC," Harris said. "There's a lot more travel and the teams are stronger from top to bottom."

The Aggies are 4-2 this season, with both losses by one point on the road (60-59 at Middle Tennessee, and 67-66 at Utah).

"It's always discouraging to lose, but when it's by one point, that makes it even tougher," shooting guard Jaycee Carroll said. "But we see ourselves getting better because of it."

Carroll, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, is averaging 20 points per game, and has made 19 3-pointers in six games.

"They use him the way we used all our good shooters in the past, guys like (Carl) English and (Michael) Kuebler," Wallace said. "He can catch and shoot it from just about anywhere. He's really good."

It remains to be seen how the travel will affect the Aggies. Because they are taking final exams this week, the Aggies will not arrive in Honolulu until around 10 tonight.

They will depart tomorrow night, meaning they will be in Honolulu for less than 24 hours.

"I think the travel hurts you most on the back end," Morrill said. "You're a little weary when you get there, but I think it really hits you when you come back home."

The 'Bows will play Utah State at Logan, Utah, on Jan. 30.

"It'll take us a full day to get there, so it won't be easy," Wallace said. "But it's still better than going to Dallas or Houston or some of the other places we went to before. It's one less time zone."

'BOWS STILL HURTING

Shooting guards Bobby Nash and "Little Matt" Gibson did not practice yesterday, and are not expected to play tomorrow.

Nash has a shoulder injury; Gibson had a staph infection removed from his chest Wednesday.

Freshman point guard Hiram Thompson returned to practice yesterday after sitting out two days with a foot injury.

Starting shooting guard Matt Lojeski practiced again yesterday and said his sprained left shoulder felt "much better."

"The pain is still there, but my range of motion is coming back," he said.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.