"I'm looking at this as a brand new start for me," Sensley said. "There were reasons I wasn't playing as well as I should have been, but that's behind me now. I think people are going to see the player they saw at the beginning of the year."

The 'Bows will need Sensley to be at his best against a Wolf Pack team that has already clinched a share of the WAC regular-season championship.

Nevada is 22-5 overall and alone in first place at 14-2. A victory tonight would give the Wolf Pack its first outright WAC regular-season championship.

Hawai'i is on a four-game losing streak and is 14-11 overall and in seventh place in the WAC at 6-10.

Sensley, a 6-foot-9 forward, started the first 55 games of his Hawai'i career, but was relegated to reserve duty the past three games.

He still ranks second on the team in scoring at 12.4 points per game, and leads the team in rebounding with 7.1 per game, and assists with 3.2 per game.

"That was the right decision," Sensley said of his removal from the starting lineup.

Sensley's recent slump came after he sustained a sprained right knee on Feb. 16. He said the injury is healed.

"Physically, I couldn't do the same things I normally do, and I think that wore on my confidence," he said. "It was hard, mentally and physically, not being able to play my normal game. But I'm ready now. I'm going to be more aggressive, not having to worry about my injury."

Sensley's return to the starting unit is part of Wallace's plan to "go big" against a Nevada team that leads the WAC in rebounding. Nevada out-rebounded Hawai'i by a whopping 50-26 margin in a 58-55 victory over the 'Bows on Jan. 1 in Reno, Nev.

Sensley will start alongside 7-foot center Chris Botez and 6-8 forward Jeff Blackett. "Little Matt" Gibson and Jake Sottos will start in the backcourt.

"We have to hustle and pressure the ball on defense," Wallace said. "We made them turn the ball over the last time, but they got it back with rebounds. We need to play that same kind of defense, but also battle them a little harder on the boards."

The 'Bows had a season-high 15 steals and forced Nevada into 23 turnovers in the last meeting.

"Their defense was way better than our offense that night," Nevada head coach Mark Fox said.

However, the Wolf Pack has been a successful traveling show this season. Nevada is an impressive 7-0 on the road against WAC teams this season.

"We've had a good approach mentally on the road and I think we've caught some people at the right time," Fox said. "We've probably played better on the road than we have at home."

It helps that the Wolf Pack have 6-11 sophomore forward Nick Fazekas, who is the leading candidate for WAC Player of the Year. He is averaging 21.3 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 1.7 blocked shots per game, and is shooting 52.9 percent from the field.

"Early in the year, if he didn't play well, we didn't win," Fox said. "Now, not so much. He may get a double-double and not play well."

Fazekas sustained a broken nose in Nevada's last game, but he is expected to start tonight. He will probably have to play with a protective mask on his face.

Fazekas and 6-10 center Kevinn Pinkney combined for 33 points and 28 rebounds in the victory over Hawai'i two months ago.

"They have the best big men we'll face all year," Wallace said. "But I think they've really improved because their guards have improved."

Nevada is on an eight-game winning streak and is ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time in school history.

It is the first Top 25 opponent for Hawai'i this season.

"They don't seem like a Top 25 team, but they finish games and they know how to win," Sensley said. "You keep doing that, you'll get ranked eventually. But knowing that they're in the Top 25 and in first place gives us even more motivation to knock them off."

If there is an advantage for the 'Bows, it is the Stan Sheriff Center. Nevada is 0-7 in games played in Honolulu, including 0-4 in the Sheriff Center.

Former 'Bow English will get TV time

Former Hawai'i standout Carl English is scheduled to be featured on the NBA Inside Stuff television program on Saturday.

This week's show is focusing on the National Basketball Development League (NBDL). English plays for the Florida Flame of the NBDL. It is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. on KITV (Ch. 4).