UH takes to road for NIT

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Pack, unpack. Pack, unpack.

The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team should be used to it by now. After three nights of much-needed rest at home, the Rainbow Warriors are packing their bags once again.

Today, the 'Bows are gladly leaving Honolulu for a game at Utah State on Wednesday in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament.

"I didn't care who they put us up against, or where they sent us," Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said. "I just wanted to get the call."

The 'Bows and Aggies were two of 40 teams to receive an invitation from the NIT. It is Hawai'i's fourth consecutive postseason appearance, and second straight in the NIT.

"It would have felt a whole lot different if we didn't make it," said senior forward Phil Martin, who has been a starter on all four postseason teams. "I think we're all excited to get another chance."

Utah State comes from the careful-what-you-wish-for department. The Aggies could be considered the No. 1 seed for the NIT, although the first-round match-ups are based more on geography than anything else.

The Aggies are 25-3 and were ranked No. 22 in last week's Associated Press Top 25. Since the NCAA Tournament field was expanded in 1985, Utah State is the first team to not get selected while being ranked in the Top 25 that week.

"Whining is not going to accomplish a whole lot," Utah State head coach Stew Morrill said in a statement on the school's Web site. "We were nationally ranked for six weeks, won 25 games and went 17-1 in our league, and the bottom line is that you need to win your (conference) tournament."

The Aggies lost to Cal State Northridge, 63-62, in the semifinals of the Big West Conference Tournament last week. Many of the so-called college basketball experts in the national media said that Utah State was the 66th team in a 65-team NCAA Tournament field.

"I feel for them," Wallace said. "They should be in the NCAAs. The problem for us is that now they're going to be fired up wanting to prove everybody wrong."

Then again, so are the 'Bows.

Hawai'i is 19-11 after a quarterfinal loss to Rice in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament last week at Fresno, Calif. The 'Bows were considered to be a "bubble" team for the NIT.

"It's another chance for us to play another game and go out on the right note," Martin said.

The Hawai'i athletic department submitted a bid to host first- and second-round games of the NIT at the Stan Sheriff Center. But just like last year, the 'Bows were sent on the road (they opened the NIT at UNLV last season).

UH associate athletic director Tom Sadler said he received the call from the NIT yesterday afternoon.

"There wasn't any explanation about a game (in Hawai'i)," Sadler said. "Basically, they said we want you in our tournament; we want you to play at Utah State. I thought our bid (to host) was good enough, but when they call to invite you, you accept it whether it's here or on the road."

So three days after returning from an 11-day road trip that covered more than 5,000 miles (round-trip), the 'Bows will have to travel more than 3,000 miles to get to Logan, Utah.

"We can't expect people to feel sorry for us and make exceptions for us," Wallace said. "We want to be in this tournament, so we'll go out and play no matter where it is."

If anything, the game could serve as an early preview for future WAC trips. Utah State is scheduled to join the conference in the 2005-06 season.

"It's a crazy atmosphere," said Hawai'i junior forward Jeff Blackett, who is from Ogden, Utah, which is about a 30-minute drive from Logan. "Everybody in that city loves that team."

The Aggies averaged 8,431 fans per home game this season in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, which has a capacity of 10,270. Most important, Utah State went 15-0 at home this season.

Morrill was head coach at Colorado State from 1992-98, and he coached against Wallace in several WAC games. However, Hawai'i and Utah State have not met since 1967.

"All I know about them is that they're pretty damn good," Wallace said of Utah State. "(Morrill) is a defensive guy, and I don't think that's changed."

The Aggies were ranked among the nation's top 10 for most of this season in scoring defense. They are currently allowing an average of 57.1 points per game.

"That's kind of the good thing about these tournaments," Blackett said. "They don't know much about us and we don't know much about them."

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8101.