Rainbow Warriors battling to get back in conference race

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

At the beginning of the season, this was supposed to be one of those big weeks for the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team.

It still is, although for different reasons.

First place in the Western Athletic Conference will not be at stake when the Rainbow Warriors host Rice tomorrow and then Tulsa Saturday. Instead, all three teams are battling to remain in the thick of the WAC race.

"This is still a huge week," UH head coach Riley Wallace said. "It's more than huge now because we have to win all our games at home."

The 'Bows are coming off an 11-day road trip that resulted in three losses. Hawai'i is 11-5 overall and 4-4 and in sixth place in the WAC.

Victories over Rice and Tulsa could put the 'Bows back as high as second place.

"We have to come out and win everything from here on out," UH junior guard Michael Kuebler said. "Pretty much every game is big for us for the rest of the season. But this week really is huge because both those teams are ahead of us."

Rice, the surprise team of the WAC so far, is 12-5 overall and 4-3 in the WAC. Tulsa, which was predicted to finish atop the WAC with Hawai'i, is 11-5 overall and tied with Rice for third place in the conference at 4-3.

While the 'Bows have struggled on the road, they have flourished at home.

Hawai'i has won 22 consecutive games in the Stan Sheriff Center, currently the fourth-longest home winning streak in NCAA Division I.

"We're proud of that streak," Wallace said. "We feel good about playing at home already, but that streak just adds to it."

• Saturday dress code: Same like last season, the UH athletic department is promoting "White-Out" for Saturday's game against Tulsa.

Fans are encouraged to wear white shirts for the game. No such request by UH has been made for tomorrow's game against Rice, even though the Owls are tied with Tulsa in the WAC standings.

• Bracket rumors: The pairings for the Feb. 22 Bracket Busters Saturday will be announced by ESPN on Sunday.

Hawai'i is one of 18 teams invited to participate in the inaugural event, which features so-called "mid-major" teams from across the nation.

The latest Internet rumblings have Hawai'i traveling to either Kent State, Southern Illinois or Illinois-Chicago for a single game on Feb. 22.

"We're going to the Midwest no matter what," Wallace said. "You look at all the possible teams in there, and they're all good. So it doesn't really matter who we end up with because it'll be a good team."

• English pub: Reporters from Sports Illustrated and ESPN The Magazine are in Honolulu this week to interview UH junior guard Carl English.

Both magazines are planning to print lengthy features on English's incredible life story and journey from Newfoundland, Canada, to UH.

"If it helps get some recognition for the team and the university, it's a good thing," English said. "It's not like I've had to miss any classes or anything like that. It hasn't been a problem."