Let season end today, UH ranked No. 1 by NCAA
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team will gather at head coach Riley Wallace's home for a Thanksgiving meal today.
Among the things the Rainbow Warriors can be thankful for is a No. 1 national ranking.
Really.
In one of those puzzling early-season lists, the 'Bows are tied with five other teams for No. 1 in the latest NCAA Division I Rating Percentage Index (RPI).
The 'Bows opened their season with convincing victories over Arkansas-Little Rock and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi last weekend.
The RPI is a complex system that ranks every NCAA Division I team based on winning percentage and strength of schedule. It is one of the factors used by the NCAA at the end of the season to determines spots and seeds in the NCAA Championship Tournament.
The latest RPI list — through games completed on Sunday — has Hawai'i tied for No. 1 with Austin Peay, Florida International, High Point, UNLV and Vermont.
"Maybe something's wrong with it, I don't know," Wallace said. "It doesn't sound right."
The latest RPI rankings become even more mysterious with Arizona tied for No. 106. The Wildcats are ranked No. 1 in both of the major national polls.
Wallace also said that it's way too early to take the ranking seriously, but ...
"If people see us up there, that's a good thing," he said.
The RPI list is updated every few days, so UH's stay at the top will likely be short-lived.
Hawai'i does not play again until an exhibition home game against Hawai'i-Hilo Dec. 9. That will be followed by a road game at San Diego State Dec. 14. The next regular-season home game is scheduled for Dec. 20 against Eastern Illinois.
"It feels like preseason again," senior captain Mark Campbell said. "We'll be doing nothing but practicing the next couple days, but it's a good chance for us to improve on some things."
Given the break between games, Wallace said it was "top priority" to open the season with two impressive victories.
"I can't imagine what practice would be like if we lost," Campbell said. "But now, everybody's got a good taste in their mouth."
• Jesinskis to redshirt: Forward Paul Jesinskis said Wallace has agreed to allow him to redshirt this season.
Jesinskis, a 6-foot-8 senior, has a fractured left wrist that will keep him out of action until the end of December.
"It gives me a year to get better, so that's a good opportunity," he said. "I wish I could be out there playing with these guys right now, but I can't, so this is probably the best thing for me."
Wallace said Jesinskis could still be activated this season in an emergency situation. He was expected to play a key reserve role behind low-post starters Haim Shimonovich and Phil Martin.
"If one of those guys gets hurt, we'll take Paul off (redshirting)," Wallace said.
• Long shots: Hawai'i made 18 3-pointers in 37 attempts in its first two games. That pace (9.0 per game) is better than last season's 7.3. Last season's team set a school record with 241 3-pointers.
"We have more guys looking to pass," Wallace said. "So it helps to be wide open when you're shooting."
Making this season's start more impressive, all the 3-pointers came from beyond 20 feet, 6 inches. That distance is being used as an experimental rule during selected non-conference games. The regulation 3-point line for college basketball is 19 feet, 9 inches.
• Home sweet home: The 'Bows have won 14 consecutive games at the Stan Sheriff Center, the longest home winning streak since the "Fabulous Five" teams of 1971-72 put together a school record 26 straight wins at the Honolulu International Center.
• SMU's Ross honored: SMU guard Quinton Ross was named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week after amassing 28 points and three rebounds in the Mustangs' 87-84 victory over TCU.
