Riley Wallace probably shouldn't count on getting any more nationally-ranked teams to stop by for non-conference games with his University of Hawai'i-Manoa men's basketball team any time soon.

Not after what the Rainbow Warriors did to one of the few that has dared take the challenge lately, roughing up fourth-ranked Michigan State, 84-62, yesterday.

Too bad, too, because the student section could sure use some practice when it comes to rushing the Stan Sheriff Center court after a big victory.

In a season opener where the 'Bows looked to be in postseason form at both ends of the court, their fans struggled mightily to execute the time-honored college tradition of the court rush with maybe 10 in the crowd of 8,802 getting there before security sealed it off. A SportsCenter moment, it wasn't.

Not that they had much practice of late. For not since the 1997 Rainbow Classic, when UH knocked off No. 2-ranked Kansas, have the 'Bows beaten a team this highly ranked. Now, it is anybody's guess when they might get another chance after word of this one gets out.

Eight-point underdogs on the Las Vegas betting line, the 'Bows grabbed hold of this one practically from the time Danny Kaleikini belted out the last line of the nation anthem and, but for a briefest of interludes, never let up in a well-rounded, bench-tested effort that said plenty about the potential of this team in the season ahead.

It was a message seconded by MSU coach, Tom Izzo. "There is a reason nobody comes here to play (non conference)," Izzo said. "It's not anything bad; they (the 'Bows) are good. This is a tough place to play."

Maybe not quite as tough as the Spartans made it look at times in a bizarre turn of events that saw four players leave with what were described as cramps.

One of them, guard Shannon Brown, had to be taken off by stretcher. Izzo correctly took issue with some impatient fans booing while Brown lay stricken at the foot of the Spartans' bench.

But mostly it was the 'Bows cramping the Spartans' streak of 28 consecutive opening wins and, in the process, giving Wallace his milestone 300th victory against 241 losses.

Wallace said he might not remember who Nos. 100 and 200 came against but this one he won't soon forget for a lot of reasons after the 'Bows beat the daylights out of a veteran Final Four program in a rare afternoon opener.

So lopsided was it that with three minutes left and UH leading, 80-59, a considerable number of fans who had braved heavy traffic to get to the game began leaving it. With 2 minutes, 16 seconds remaining, the crowd broke into chants of "over-rated ... over-rated."

But if Wallace won't soon forget this day, neither will Izzo for entirely different reasons.

Izzo said he took the game on the way to Tuesday's EA Sports Maui Invitational partly on the recommendation of Mark Hollis, MSU's senior associate athletic director and former Western Athletic Conference staffer who is a friend of Wallace's. A situation Izzo vowed not to repeat.

"Look at my (non-conference) schedules," Izzo said. "A lot of (teams) you probably know are playing cupcakes for 10 out of 11 games. If you look at my schedules from the day I got the job, I've never done that. But, maybe, I'm the stupid one now."

With testimonials like that, good luck on getting anybody to follow in the Spartans' tracks for a while.

In the meantime, though, this one will be a long time in the savoring for the Rainbows.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.