UH arrival in Boise delayed two hours
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team started what may be the toughest logistical trip in the nation this season with ... travel problems.
The Rainbow Warriors endured a two-hour delay during a layover in San Francisco yesterday, but eventually made it to Boise, Idaho, last night. The 'Bows, who will play at Boise State tomorrow, left the Stan Sheriff Center at 6:15 yesterday morning. They checked into their Boise hotel at 8:45 last night.
"It's tough, but you have to expect things like that," Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said. "The key is to not let it affect you."
Wallace, in fact, likes to get into WAC cities a day early just to prepare for delays such as yesterday's.
"We weren't going to practice (last night) anyway," he said. "Now we can rest up and have a good practice (tonight)."
The 'Bows will play three road games on this trip: Boise State tomorrow, Southern Illinois on Saturday, and Texas-El Paso on Monday.
Including yesterday's journey, the 'Bows will lose approximately 45 hours on this trip to travel time on planes and buses (including the time zone changes).
No Haim: Starting center Haim Shimonovich underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam on his sprained right knee yesterday, but the extent of the injury will not be determined until today.
Shimonovich did not travel with the team yesterday, and will not play in tomorrow's game.
Moving up: Southern Illinois, Hawai'i's opponent for ESPN Bracket Buster Saturday, moved up to No. 20 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll released yesterday.
The Salukis, who are 20-2 overall and alone in first place in the Missouri Valley Conference at 14-0, will host the 'Bows in the marquee game of the Bracket Buster on Saturday.
It will be the first time this season that Hawai'i will play a nationally ranked team. The last time the 'Bows played a team ranked that high was in February of 2001 when they beat No. 19 Fresno State at the Stan Sheriff Center.
"It's an important game for us for a lot of reasons," Wallace said. "The main thing is we need to improve our RPI (power rating)."
Moving down: After going 1-1 last week, the 'Bows lost points in both national polls this week.
Hawai'i received five points in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Top 25, and one point in the Associated Press Top 25.
Hawai'i also dropped three spots to No. 48 in the Rating Percentage Index, according to collegerpi.com.
Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8101.
