The University of Hawai'i and Santa Clara basketball teams were both in California earlier this week.

One couldn't wait to get to Honolulu. The other was hoping not to get sent to Honolulu.

How that plays out remains to be seen tonight, when the Rainbow Warriors host the Broncos in a non-conference game at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The 'Bows returned home Tuesday after a six-night road trip that resulted in one win and one loss.

"Everything seems to come back when you're at home," Hawai'i coach Riley Wallace said. "The guys have been working hard. You can see they have more energy here."

Hawai'i is 13-9, including 12-2 in the Stan Sheriff Center. Santa Clara, which is from the West Coast Conference, is 9-14.

The Broncos agreed to be a part of the ESPN BracketBusters pool of 100 teams, but only if they didn't get paired with Hawai'i.

But perhaps fitting for their season, the Broncos didn't quite get their way.

"We said we'd be happy to play in it, but the one place we don't want to go is Hawai'i," Santa Clara coach Dick Davey said. "It has nothing to do with Riley or his team. It's that we're now in a tough situation with our schedule."

The Broncos have a conference game at San Francisco on Monday.

"We made a 5-hour flight to get here (on Thursday), and now we have to make a 5-hour flight to get back (tomorrow)," Davey said. "That's not the best way to get ready for a league game."

Wallace, who is a good friend of Davey's, said: "It doesn't make sense for them to come here with another game right behind it. I wouldn't be happy either."

The Broncos have lost nine of their past 10 games, and have had more than their share of injuries this season.

Forward Tristan Parham (knee) and guard Scott Dougherty (foot) were both supposed to be key reserves, but both are out for the season.

Calvin Johnson, a freshman guard who leads the team with 36 3-pointers, did not make this trip because he had to attend a funeral in Texas. Three other players have missed games this season because of injuries.

"We've struggled severely in the last month or so," Davey said. "The injuries have made it tough, but we're still looking for something to hang our hat on, and hopefully we can do that by playing well against Hawai'i."

The one consistent player for the Broncos has been 6-foot-7 forward Travis Niesen. He is averaging 18.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.

"He's kind of our go-to guy," Davey said. "He's carried us through a number of games. He's just a hard-nosed, competitive player."

The Broncos have the height to match Hawai'i, so Wallace said it will come down to execution.

"We need to get everything down on both ends," Wallace said. "(Davey) is hard to prepare for because he mixes things up. He changes his game to fit the opponent."

Hawai'i beat Santa Clara, 56-43, at the Maui Invitational two seasons ago. Niesen and Hawai'i forward Julian Sensley were both starters in that game.

"I remember them being a real tough team," Sensley said. "We have to treat it like a big game."

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.