UH favored to win over 2nd-place Wolf Pack

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Odds are, the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team will recover.

"What happened in the past is done and we're going to leave it there," UH leading scorer Carl English said. "We're really focused on this game because we know how good Nevada is. We're toward the bottom of the (WAC) right now, but we feel like there's not a team ahead of us we can't beat. We just have to start a new streak (tonight)."

The 'Bows are coming off a 55-54 upset loss to San Jose State — a loss that snapped a 24-game home winning streak.

"It's like there's even more pride now," UH forward Phil Martin said. "We don't want teams coming in here thinking they can beat us now just because San Jose did it. We have to come out and make a statement."

Tonight, they will take on a surprising Nevada team that is 14-9 overall and 9-4 in the WAC, 1 1/2 games behind first-place Fresno State.

Hawai'i is 13-8 overall and 6-7 in the WAC.

Perhaps only in this wacky WAC season could the seventh-place 'Bows be considered the favorite against the second-place Wolf Pack.

Casinos in Reno — where betting on college basketball is legal — were listing Hawai'i as a 5-point favorite last night.

Some of that may have to do with the series' trend between the two teams.

Hawai'i lost to Nevada, 73-65, last month in Reno to drop to 0-6 in games played there. In turn, Nevada is 0-5 in games played in Honolulu, including 0-2 in the Stan Sheriff Center.

"I don't know if we've had anybody's number; it's tough to have anybody's number in this league," Nevada head coach Trent Johnson said. "All I know is this is a tough place to play for everybody."

Counting the loss to San Jose State, Hawai'i is 28-2 at home over the past two seasons. Included in that record is a 58-40 victory over the Wolf Pack last season.

"Carl English can probably outscore us by himself if we struggle like that," Johnson said.

In truth, every team in the WAC has struggled on the road this season. The WAC's 10 teams are a combined 85-34 at home against all opponents this season for a .714 percentage.

On the road, those same teams are a combined 30-69 for a .303 percentage.

Regardless of the statistics, both coaches are expecting a close game.

"Carl English is arguably the best player in the league," Johnson said. "And as far as I'm concerned, Hawai'i is still the defending (WAC) champions until somebody dethrones them in March."

UH head coach Riley Wallace said he predicted before the season that Nevada would contend for the WAC title.

"They have a lot of good athletes," Wallace said. "Any one guy can take you off the dribble. Team defense is really important against them because one-on-one, they are as good as anybody."

The Wolf Pack leads the WAC in scoring offense at 76.4 points per game. It has four players averaging double figures, and has not been held below 60 points in any game this season.

The 'Bows rank second in the WAC in scoring defense, allowing an average of 65.8 points per game. They have held opponents to 60 points or fewer seven times this season.

"Rebounding and defense are going to be keys in this game," Martin said.

Martin may have the key defensive assignment. He will likely match up against Nevada's best player, sophomore Kirk Snyder. The 6-foot-6 guard/forward is averaging 15.4 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.

"I'm up to all challenges of all shapes and sizes," said the 6-8 Martin. "This guy is going to be a job for me. He's a slasher; he's got a lot of athleticism and he's real aggressive."

Wallace is hoping that the 'Bows become more aggressive.

"I want us to get tougher," he said. "We have to be like a street gang and hang together and be tough."

And go back to defending their turf.

• • •