The Rainbow Warriors will host either Nebraska or Niagara in a second round game of the National Invitation Tournament on Monday. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.

Yesterday, UH announced that about 8,000 tickets have been sold. The arena seats 10,300.

It is the first time that Hawai'i was awarded a home NIT game since 1998, when the Anthony Carter-led 'Bows played three home games in the Stan Sheriff Center.

"I was surprised we got the third round game back then," Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said. "But I'm probably more surprised we got this one."

The 'Bows ruined the NIT's plan to feature No. 25-ranked Utah State throughout the tournament by defeating the host Aggies, 85-74, Wednesday.

"I'm sure the NIT wanted Utah State to host the second round, and probably the third round, too," Wallace said. "But we changed that, and I'm glad we were rewarded for it."

The announcement came as a pleasant surprise to the Hawai'i players, who got about three hours of sleep in Logan before they had to depart for the return trip home.

"The long travel is never good," said senior co-captain Phil Martin. "But if you're going to make a long trip, it might as well be to go back home."

For several reasons, the 'Bows are hoping for a sellout on Monday. For one, the NIT monitors attendance figures, and a small crowd could prevent Hawai'i from hosting any future postseason games.

"We promised the NIT that we would have a good turnout," Wallace said. "It's a Monday, but it's a big game. I think the people will come out to watch."

It will also be Senior Night II, as Martin, Michael Kuebler, Jason Carter, Haim Shimonovich and Paul Jesinskis will play at home for the final time. If Hawai'i wins on Monday, it will have to return to the Mainland for a third round game — at either Oklahoma or Michigan — on Wednesday.

"You think it'll be a sellout?" Martin wondered. "I hope so. That would be a cool way to go out. Our senior game was special, but this one could be even more so because there's more at stake."

If UH had not been awarded the home game, it would have stayed in Logan without knowing its next destination until Friday night.

"We would have been sitting there not knowing anything," Wallace said. "And the NIT would have to pay us per diem, so our argument was that we could go home and have four or five days to prepare our place for a home game."

Nebraska and Niagara will play a first-round game at Lincoln, Neb., today. The winner will then have to fly to Honolulu tomorrow, and have only Sunday to prepare for the 'Bows.

"It's about time we had an advantage," Wallace said. "We're always the ones that have to struggle with the travel stuff."

Hawai'i, which improved to 20-11 with its victory, is playing in the second round of the NIT for the second consecutive year. Last season, the 'Bows won a first round game at Nevada-Las Vegas, then lost in the second round at Minnesota.

"We've been in this situation before," Martin said. "Our goal is to get to New York (where the NIT final four is held), and playing at home can only help."

NOTES: Tickets, with prices from $7 to $18, are on sale at etickethawaii.com or at the Stan Sheriff Center box office (8 a.m. to 4 p.m. today, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday).