There will be no television coverage, it will not count in the conference standings, and no brackets will be busted.

But as far as the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team is concerned, there is no such thing as a meaningless game.

The Rainbow Warriors will host UC Irvine in a non-conference game tonight at the Stan Sheriff Center.

"This game means a great deal to us because we're still trying to build confidence and win as many games as we can this season," Hawai'i head coach Bob Nash said.

Hawai'i is 13-12 overall and in sixth place in the Western Athletic Conference at 5-8. The Anteaters are 9-17 overall and in seventh place in the Big West Conference at 6-7.

The 'Bows will be tested by both the Anteaters and the aftereffect of travel.

Hawai'i defeated Fresno State, 73-69, on Thursday night in Fresno, Calif.

In an effort to return home as soon as possible, the 'Bows separated on three different flights yesterday. The last group did not arrive in Hono-lulu until 5 p.m., so the 'Bows were not able to practice until around 6:30 last night.

"Doesn't change anything — we're just practicing later than usual," Nash said. "We weren't planning on having a hard practice anyway."

Meanwhile, UCI arrived in Honolulu on Thursday night and had a full practice yesterday afternoon.

Like the WAC, the Big West normally plays games on Thursdays and Saturdays. But this week, the Big West moved its games to Wednesday.

The Anteaters upset first-place Cal State Northridge, 73-51, on Wednesday.

"Our league had the foresight to move the games up a day," UCI head coach Pat Douglass said. "I hope it helps us."

Nash said playing on a Thursday night was worth it for the 'Bows because their victory over Fresno State was televised nationally on ESPN2.

"It helps our confidence," Nash said. "I received a lot of calls already from people who said they watched us on TV."

Tonight's game will not even be televised locally (KFVE will televise UH baseball instead). That only adds to the mysteriousness of the game.

"The thing with these games is it comes in the middle of league play, so you don't really have time to become as familiar with your opponent as you'd like," Douglass said.

On paper, there is a discrepancy in size.

The Anteaters start three small guards — 5-foot-10 Michael Hunter, 6-foot Patrick Rembert, and 6-1 Brett Lauer — alongside 6-5 Eric Wise, and 6-8 Kevin Bland.

The 'Bows will counter with a front line of 6-10 Paul Campbell, 6-9 Bill Amis and 6-7 Roderick Flemings, alongside 6-2 guards Kareem Nitoto and Hiram Thompson. Hawai'i also can bring 6-8 Petras Balocka and 6-7 Brandon Adams off the bench.

"We still have to be able to use our size," Nash said. "I'm sure (UCI) will try to counter by playing some zone."

The Anteaters will also try to counter from long-range. They average 6.6 3-pointers per game, and lead the Big West with a .394 percentage from 3-point range.

"We're young and we're small but we can shoot the ball," Douglass said. "We might not have the best record, but we'll come out and play hard every game."

NOTES

The UC Irvine baseball team is also playing Hawai'i this weekend. The UCI basketball team attended last night's baseball game.

Tonight's game is not considered a BracketBusters game. Only games televised on the ESPN networks are called BracketBusters.