By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Columnist

The time-honored rule of thumb to winning the regular season Western Athletic Conference men's basketball title, dusted off and handed down from coach to coach, is formula simple:

Sweep the home games and pull out a split on the road.

Doing it, however, has never been easy for the University of Hawai'i.

Oh, the Rainbows have several times managed what would seem to be the toughest half of the equation, splitting or better on the long WAC road, even when it was complicated by the challenge of a bus crash or blizzard.

But it is at home, where they have so far been denied perfection for 22 seasons, that the hang-up has sometimes come. Home, both on the courts of Blaisdell Center and Stan Sheriff Center, is where heartache for the Rainbows and their fans has been.

There is a reason UH hasn't won an outright WAC regular-season championship and the inability to close the deal on the home court has been a frustrating one.

And it can all end here this week if only the Rainbows get past first-place Tulsa tomorrow night and seventh-place Rice Saturday night.

History tells us that would normally loom as a big "if' since perfection has eluded not only the Rainbows of Reggie Cross and earlier vintages but also the reign of Anthony Carter, Alika Smith & Co.

Three times the Rainbows have gone 7-1 in unbeaten bids foiled by a Utah, Fresno State or, last year, Texas-El Paso.

At 5-2 on the road this season with two games remaining, the Rainbows have impressively taken care of what would seem to be the most troublesome half of the formula, silencing even the fanatical Reynolds Rowdies in Tulsa last month.

Now, having so far roared through an untouched WAC home run at 7-0 — the streak is at 14 in a row over two seasons — and a 21-4 record, the Rainbows are poised to make the NCAA Tournament if they can take care of business this week.

Here the Rainbows are, capable of pulling off what, at 9-0, would mean their first unbeaten WAC home season. A sweep would all but assure them the regular-season title and, barring a first-round collapse in the conference tournament, very likely an NCAA at-large berth no matter what happens next month in Tulsa.

"The coaches have been reminding us that we have to take care of things at home," senior Mike McIntyre said. "It is our home (court) and we have to dominate here if we want to do anything."

Indeed, through their first seven WAC home games, the Rainbows have dispatched their opponents with the ease of 15 points a game on average. Only once, Southern Methodist, have the Rainbows been forced to labor through a victory of less than double figures.

Keep it up and history awaits the Rainbows this week. That and a lot more.