'Bows say they mean business

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

•	West Regional First Round At Dallas Hawai'i (27-5) vs. Xavier (25-5) 10 a.m. Friday TV: Channel 9, Cable 7 Radio: 1420 AM

And it's not like this is a small town. There's Texas Stadium — home of the Dallas Cowboys — the John F. Kennedy Museum, and Grapevine Mills, one of the largest mega-malls in Texas.

It's just that the Rainbow Warriors are looking beyond all of that.

The 'Bows arrived here yesterday to begin what they hope will become a week-long stay in the NCAA Tournament.

Hawai'i is scheduled to play a first-round game against Xavier Friday around 10:15 a.m. (Hawai'i time, live on KGMB, channel 9, cable 7). The 'Bows are 27-5 and the No. 10 seed in the West Region; the Musketeers are 25-5 and the No. 7 seed.

"This is a business trip for us, same like all our other road trips this year," coach Riley Wallace said. "We're not here for one game. We want to advance."

The winner of Friday's game will play the winner of a game between No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 15 Illinois-Chicago around noon Sunday.

Hawai'i is appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season, and fourth time in school history. The 'Bows are 0-3 in their three previous trips.

"It's different this year," said leading scorer Predrag Savovic. "We're not here all excited waiting for the game. This time, we're treating this like another game we have to win."

That same outlook worked wonders last week, when the 'Bows were able to win three games in as many days to claim their second consecutive Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship.

But unlike last year, Hawai'i was not satisfied with just that.

"We felt good about winning the WAC," Wallace said. "But if you noticed, we didn't over-celebrate like we did a year ago. That's because it was a goal of ours, but not the ultimate goal. The ultimate goal this year was to get to the (NCAA) Tournament and advance."

It's not going to be easy. Like Hawai'i, Xavier won both its regular-season and conference tournament championships. The Musketeers went 17-2 against the rest of the Atlantic-10, a conference that includes traditional powers Temple, St. Joseph's and Massachusetts.

What's more, the game between Xavier and Hawai'i is one of only two first-round games matching nationally ranked teams (Stanford-Western Kentucky is the other).

The 'Bows made their season debut in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll yesterday at No. 25; Xavier climbed two spots to No. 22.

"That's OK," Wallace said. "It's supposed to be tough. It's not like it gets any easier if you win that one."

Still, many of the 'Bows felt slighted after receiving the No. 10 seed Sunday. They say it can only provide more incentive.

"I'm still mad about the seeding," senior tri-captain Mike McIntyre said. "But we're not the only ones upset about where we ended up. The main thing is we're in and now we have to take advantage of it. We're a team capable of beating anybody, regardless of where we're seeded."

Day off: In an effort to catch up on both rest and school work, Wallace did not schedule practice yesterday. Instead, they held an afternoon study hall.

"That's probably the only bad thing about being on the road this long," Wallace said. "A bunch of guys had to have tests faxed over and some of them are writing papers back to their professors through e-mail. It's just something we have to make sure we take care of in addition to the on-court stuff."

Familiar surroundings: The 'Bows are scheduled to practice today and tomorrow in Moody Coliseum on the campus of Southern Methodist. They played there last month, beating SMU, 85-76.

The American Airlines Center, where the West Regional games will be played Friday and Sunday, will not be available for practice to any of the eight teams in Dallas until Thursday.

"We've played at SMU before, so we know what that's like," Wallace said. "It will eliminate some of the distractions you might have had otherwise if you went to a new gym."

Watching hoops: The 'Bows went to an NBA game between the Dallas Mavericks and Seattle SuperSonics last night at the American Airlines Center.

"We just wanted to see what the atmosphere was like," Wallace said. "It's good just to get inside and see where we're going to be playing because we've never been there."

Comparing stats: Just like the records and rankings indicate, Hawai'i and Xavier appear to be evenly matched.

On offense, the 'Bows are averaging 72.2 points per game, 7.3 3-pointers, and a .453 overall field-goal percentage. The Musketeers are averaging 72.7 points, 6.2 3-pointers, and a .451 overall field-goal percentage.

On defense, Hawai'i is allowing 62.8 points per game while holding opponents to a .408 shooting percentage. Xavier is allowing 62.2 points and a .400 percentage.

Hawai'i has three players averaging double-figure points — Predrag Savovic (20.0), Carl English (15.7) and Mike McIntyre (10.1). So does Xavier — David West (18.5), Romain Sato (15.6) and Lionel Chalmers (12.1).

Finally: In the final Associated Press Top 25 Poll of the season released yesterday, Hawai'i was ranked No. 25.

The 'Bows received 130 points to edge Indiana by two points. It is the first time Hawai'i has been ranked in the Top 25 since 1998.

"It's good timing that we got in now," Wallace said. "It's a reward and good recognition. It's the kind of thing that can help recruiting because we'll be considered a Top 25 team going in (to the NCAA Tournament), when a lot of people are paying attention."

Still available: Tickets for the NCAA West Regional in Dallas are available through the UH ticket office. For information, call 956-4482.