By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
If only basketball was really as simple as it was for the University of Hawai‘i men’s team last weekend.
Fresh off an emotional Senior Night victory over Texas Christian last Thursday, the Rainbows took the next two days off and still climbed a spot in the standings of the Western Athletic Conference.
Entering its final two games of the regular season this week, Hawai‘i is 13-12 overall and 7-7 in the nine-team WAC. Because both TCU and Southern Methodist went 0-2 last week, the Rainbows are now tied for fifth place with TCU, and only a half-game behind fourth-place SMU.
"If you’re in the conference, you want to finish as high as you can," coach Riley Wallace said. "You take what falls with the seedings."
This week’s games will determine the pairings for the WAC Tournament, which will be played March 6-10 at Tulsa, Okla. Incredulous as it might sound, the Rainbows — who have been near the bottom of the standings most of the season — have a mathematical chance at finishing as high as a tie for second.
But in Wallace’s mind, mathematical shots don’t always add up to realistic ones.
In particular, he knows that the Rainbows will close the season against what has been their unbeatable nemesis so far this year -the road.
"Realistic means that we can win on the road, and we have not won on the road," Wallace said. "But the possibility of moving up (in the standings) is there."
Hawai‘i will play at San Jose State on Thursday, then at Texas-El Paso on Saturday. The Rainbows are 0-7 on the road this season, including 0-6 against WAC teams.
Even though the Rainbows are coming off three consecutive victories (all in the Stan Sheriff Center), Wallace said, "I’m still concerned about whether we have momentum or not. If we win on the road, then I’d say we got momentum."
To be sure, Wallace put his team through a vigorous practice yesterday, and repeatedly reminded the players of the task at hand. At the conclusion of the two-hour session, they all joined hands as part of a mental exercise designed to help exorcise their road demons.
"We’ve had momentum at home all year when we’re healthy," Wallace said. "We have to concentrate and get it done the same way if we’re going to win on the road."
NOTES: Freshman forward Phil Martin practiced for the first time yesterday since straining his left ankle on Tuesday. He did not play in Thursday’s victory over TCU, but should be ready for the San Jose State game. . . . Freshman point guard David Hilton has not played in the last three games because of a sprained right ankle. He will travel with the team, but his status for the two games remains questionable. . . . Freshman reserve center Haim Shimonovich will make his first road trip with the team this week. He was ineligible during all of the Rainbows’ previous trips.
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