MOSCOW, Idaho — Heavy fog and snow closed airports and created scary road conditions yesterday.

The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team is hoping it is not a sign of things to come.

The Rainbow Warriors will play Idaho in what head coach Riley Wallace is already describing as a "scary" Western Athletic Conference game.

The 'Bows are 10-7 overall and 1-3 in the WAC. The Vandals are 2-14 and the only winless team in the conference at 0-4. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:05 p.m. (Hawai'i time) at the Cowan Spectrum.

"It's a scary game for us because we're to that point where you can't afford to let anymore that you're supposed to win get away," Wallace said. "And this is one that we're supposed to get."

The Hawai'i players are well aware of the situation. Senior co-captains Ahmet Gueye and Matt Lojeski made sure of it last night in a closed-door meeting for players only.

"We let everything out," Lojeski said. "From the first man down to the 15th, everybody got a chance to talk. Every guy had something on their chest that they wanted to get out, and so we all talked about it together as a team."

Before the team meeting, Wallace had a meeting just with Lojeski and Gueye. In essence, Wallace told them that this was the start of their stretch run as collegiate basketball players.

"I said if we keep playing like we have been, the season is going to slip away," Wallace said. "And as the seniors, I want them to take charge because this team can still make a run at the postseason."

One of the major topics in the team meeting was playing time. Some of the reserves are not satisfied with the distribution of game minutes, but Gueye and Lojeski encouraged them to persevere.

"People who aren't playing as much as they want still need to work hard and have a good attitude," Lojeski said. "We said even if you're not going to play in a game and you feel like the coaches are giving up on you, hang in there for the team and for your own pride."

Gueye said: "The guys on the scout team need to realize they're just as important as everybody else. They're the ones who have to get us ready for games, and so they practice hard every single second of practice. It was important for us to tell them how much we appreciated that."

Some voices were raised during the meeting, but in the end, the team came out with a renewed feeling.

"I think it was a big step for us to become a better team," Lojeski said. "At least we know how we all feel, and I think that's going to make a difference in our play."

Gueye and Lojeski even promised to take more active roles on and off the court.

"We're both unselfish players, but I think we both need to start looking to take more shots on offense," Lojeski said. "And we also need to be the ones to take control and tell guys when they're doing something right and when they're doing something wrong."

Lojeski leads the team in scoring with 17.6 points per game, and in assists with 4.8 per game. Gueye is second on the team with 12.1 points per game, and first in rebounding with 7.9 per game.

Wallace is especially concerned about tonight's game because the Vandals have shown progressive improvement this season. Hawai'i defeated Idaho, 70-66, last season in Moscow, but Wallace said the Vandals "are better than they were a year ago."

"They have more size and they're playing more together as a team," Wallace said.

The 'Bows avoided yesterday's bad weather by staying in their hotel for most of the day. The only time they left was for practice.

"To look at it in a positive way, we're well rested," Wallace said. "We just have to go out and show we can win on the road."

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.