Exhibition basketball games are not supposed to be much-anticipated.

Tonight will be an exception, when the University of Hawaii men's basketball team hosts Brigham Young-Hawaii.

"We're taking it serious, just like they are," Hawaii senior forward Bill Amis said. "It doesn't matter if it counts or not. It counts to us. We're going out to win this."

It will be a matchup of teams with polarizing poll results, albeit on different levels.

The NCAA Division I Rainbow Warriors were picked to finish last (ninth) in the Western Athletic Conference preseason polls. The Seasiders are ranked No. 1 in the NCAA Division II preseason coaches poll.

"They were a pretty darn good basketball team last year and they brought most of their guys back," Hawaii head coach Bob Nash said. "I can see why they're No. 1. We have to be ready to play."

Officially, the final result and statistics will not count for either team.

Amis and teammate Hiram Thompson are somewhat familiar with some of the Seasiders. This past summer, Amis and Thompson made the drive to Läie to play in pick-up games with some of the BYUH players.

"We know they're a good team, but we're hearing a lot of stuff coming out of Läie about how that's the best team on the island," Amis said. "We want to show we're the best team on the island."

Ironically, both teams could be without their best players.

BYUH forward/center Lucas Alves will not be in uniform because he is still recovering from a knee injury. The 6-foot-9 senior is a consensus NCAA-II preseason All-America selection.

"Usually we rely on Lucas a lot, but for these next few months, we have to rely on the team," BYUH junior forward Marques Whippy said.

The Seasiders have other options.

Whippy and senior point guard JR Buensuceso have received honorable mention on separate NCAA-II preseason All-America teams.

Whippy, who is 6-5 and 215 pounds, averaged 8.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per game last season, and led the team with a .598 field goal percentage.

Buensuceso averaged 11.4 points and 6.0 assists per game last season. He enters tonight's game with added incentive.

As a sophomore at Citrus College (Calif.), Buensuceso was turned away from several NCAA Division I programs, including Hawaii.

"UH was actually looking at one of my teammates and when my JC coach asked them to give me a look, all they did was look down on me," the 5-foot-9 Buensuceso said.

BYUH head coach Ken Wagner said: "We feel very fortunate to have a point guard like JR. I know a lot of people probably think he's too small for D-1, but he's really quick and can shoot, and he's a smart player."

Other key returnees for the Seasiders include 6-4 guard Jet Chang, 6-11 center Garrett Sandberg and 5-10 guard AJ Reilly.

Among the newcomers, 6-6 forward Rory Patterson and 6-6 point guard Heath Gameren are expected to be immediate contributors.

Another newcomer for BYUH is guard Gary Satterwhite — who transferred from UH. He was a member of the UH scout team two seasons ago, and sat out last season with a shoulder injury.

The Seasiders finished with a 27-2 record last season, which ended with a disappointing loss to Cal Poly Pomona in the third round of the NCAA-II Championship Tournament.

"It was a great feeling, having your school and your community backing you up like that," Buensuceso said. "But we feel like we didn't finish last year the way we wanted. That's why this is a big year for us, and we're looking at this as our first game of the year."

Wagner is in his 19th season as head coach of the Seasiders. Several of his teams from the 1990s contended for NAIA titles, but he said this is his most talented team.

"Last year, we had some excellent players, and that set the table for this year," Wagner said. "This may be optimistic coach talk, but I think we'll be better this year. For sure, when we get Lucas back, we'll have a combination of size and quickness that I don't think we've ever had."

The 'Bows could be without star forward Roderick Flemings. He is still nursing a groin/abdomen injury, and his practice time has been limited this week.

"We'd like to give him a few minutes, but we'll see how he feels (today)," Nash said.

New recruits Jeremy Lay and Douglas Kurtz are expected to play. They both sat out last week's exhibition win over Hawaii-Hilo. Lay is expected to start in the backcourt alongside Thompson.

The other new recruit, guard Dwain Williams, is not expected to play because of a thumb injury.