Heat's on Hawai'i for game in Tulsa

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

TULSA, Okla. — White-out has a whole different meaning here.

If you figured on the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team being uncomfortable in such conditions, you would be wrong.

This is, after all, Tulsa — a city where the Rainbow Warriors have won seven consecutive games, including Western Athletic Conference Tournament championships in 2001 and 2002. They will try to continue that streak tonight against one of their main conference rivals, the Tulsa Golden Hurricane.

Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. (Hawai'i time) at the Donald W. Reynolds Center. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.

"We seem to play well here every time, so I guess our confidence is a little higher here,' UH junior guard Carl English said. "They always get good crowds and they always have a good team. We always get up for situations like that."

In truth, the situation is not as big as once expected. Tulsa and Hawai'i were picked to finish first and second, respectively, in almost every preseason WAC prognostication.

Instead, tonight's game is a battle to remain in the middle of the WAC standings. Hawai'i is 15-8 overall and in seventh place in the conference at 7-7; Tulsa is 15-9 overall and tied for fourth at 8-6.

"It's still a big game," UH head coach Riley Wallace said. "We're both looking to position ourselves for the (WAC) Tournament."

That tournament is scheduled for March 11-15 at Tulsa. The 'Bows are hoping to climb out of seventh place to avoid the dreaded "play-in" games for the bottom four teams in the conference.

"I know (Hawai'i) wants to come in the Reynolds Center since the WAC Tournament is going to be played here, and play well (tonight)," Tulsa head coach John Phillips said.

Not only that, Phillips said: "It's a big game just because Hawai'i has become one of our rivals in the league."

Hawai'i's last two WAC Tournament titles came via championship game victories over the Golden Hurricane.

It is viewed as such a rivalry by the 'Bows that the UH athletic department has designated Tulsa as the annual opponent for "White-Out" night in the Stan Sheriff Center, where fans are asked to wear white shirts.

But since the end of the 2000-01 season, the series has been a whitewash. Hawai'i has won five consecutive games over the Golden Hurricane, including a 73-67 overtime thriller in the latest version of White-Out on Feb. 1.

"We think of them as our biggest rival because of what they've been able to do to us," said Jason Parker, Tulsa's leading scorer. "They've controlled us the last couple of years, but they've all been close games. That's the only frustrating part."

Actually, it's been a frustrating season for the Golden Hurricane — at least by its standards. Tulsa was ranked as high as No. 17 in the Associated Press Top 25 in December, but has been inconsistent since the start of conference play in January.

"We feel like we haven't continued the tradition and high standard that's been set here at Tulsa," Parker said. "So we want to salvage the rest of the season. We know the (WAC) tournament is going to be on our home floor, so we want to start making a run now."

The Golden Hurricane will have to do it without Antonio Reed, a starting senior guard who was dismissed from the team three weeks ago for violating team rules. He was one of Tulsa's quickest players, and Wallace said, "it's a big loss, but maybe the team is better for it."

The Golden Hurricane is 4-2 in Reed's absence, although Parker said: "You never get over losing a guy like Antonio. Fortunately, guys have stepped up, but we're still learning to play without him."

Regardless of who's playing, the Golden Hurricane will have to figure out a way to contain English. In the last five UH victories over Tulsa, he is averaging 20.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. In the Feb. 1 home victory, English scored 28, including eight 3-pointers.

"I don't know what it is about them," English said. "You could say my breakout game came against them my freshman year (in the WAC championship) and ever since then, I've always felt ready for them."

• Sick 'Bows: Perhaps because of the cold weather, at least five UH players were suffering from colds yesterday, including starters English, Michael Kuebler and Haim Shimonovich. All the sick players, however, are expected to play today.

• Middle of the road: Yesterday was the eighth day on UH's current 12-day road trip. The 'Bows arrived in Kent, Ohio, on Feb. 20, and then defeated Kent State, 79-78, last Saturday. After today's game, Hawai'i will depart for Houston for a game against Rice on Saturday.

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