The new year will bring about some new challenges for the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team.

The Rainbow Warriors will return to their Western Athletic Conference schedule on Thursday by hosting preseason favorite Nevada.

It will be the first of 15 regular-season WAC games over the next nine weeks for the 'Bows. The WAC Tournament will follow, March 7 to 11 at Reno, Nev.

"The travel is what makes this conference so hard," Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said. "Everybody is tough at home, and nobody has to travel like how we do it."

Wallace should know.

This is his 19th season in the WAC as head coach of the 'Bows. The other eight head coaches in the conference have a combined eight years of experience in the WAC with their respective schools.

"This year is going to be really tough because we have to get ready for five new teams, basically," Wallace said.

Three teams were added to the WAC this season: Idaho, New Mexico State and Utah State. Two of the returning teams — Fresno State and San Jose State — have new head coaches.

Each team will play a home-and-home series with the eight other teams in the WAC for a total of 16 regular-season games.

The WAC office didn't do Hawai'i any favors by separating some of the traditional "travel partners."

In February, for example, the 'Bows will play at Boise State on Feb. 11 and then at Fresno State on Feb. 13. After returning home for a few days, the they will then play at Idaho on Feb. 22, then at San Jose State on Feb. 25.

"You'd think they'd put Fresno and San Jose together and then the two Idaho teams together, but we'll see how it goes," Wallace said.

Still, Wallace said this season's travel might be better than in years past because the new teams are farther west.

The four teams that departed the WAC from last season were Rice, SMU, Texas-El Paso and Tulsa. Three of those four schools were in the Central time zone.

"The new teams are all closer so that should help a little," Wallace said.

In any case, Nevada is considered the team to beat.

The Wolf Pack returns three starters and two key reserves from last season's team that went 25-7 (16-2 in the WAC) and won the conference regular-season championship.

Nevada is 10-2 this season, and was ranked as high as No. 17 in the Associated Press Top 25 in early December. A loss at Saint Mary's last weekend dropped Nevada from the Top 25 this week.

"You have to look at them first," Wallace said. "They're proven and they've been winning on the road."

According to Wallace, just about every other team in the conference could become a contender.

Utah State and Hawai'i are considered the leading candidates to challenge Nevada.

The 'Bows beat the Aggies, 69-59, in the WAC opener on Dec. 17 at the Stan Sheriff Center.

"We already saw how good they can be, and they're even better at home," Wallace said.

The Aggies have a streak of six consecutive seasons with at least 23 victories, although they were in the Big West Conference during that time.

Hawai'i opened the season with an 84-62 upset of then-No. 4 Michigan State. However, injuries and suspensions have impacted the team's depth. Wallace expects to have nine scholarship players available for most of the WAC season.

"We're going to have to be mentally and physically ready," Wallace said. "When you have no depth, the travel can really take its toll."

Louisiana Tech and Boise State are considered the dark-horse teams.

The inconsistent Bulldogs have an upset road victory over Alabama, but also a disappointing home loss to Southern University.

"That's the kind of team you're afraid of because you don't know which one will show up," Wallace said.

The Boise State Broncos have also been inconsistent, but as Wallace put it: "They're the team that's going to sneak in there."

Fresno State may be the most athletic team in the conference, but the Bulldogs are on a self-imposed postseason ban for recruiting violations under the previous coaching staff.

"They got nothing to play for, but that means they could be the spoilers," Wallace said. "And they're good enough to knock off anybody."

The WAC will also have its share of individual star players this season. Among them: