Back in the comforts of home, players on the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team want to once again establish themselves as the big men on campus.

The Rainbow Warriors will host Saint Louis tonight at the Stan Sheriff Center in a game that should feature a contrast in size and style.

"Our advantage is size," Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said. "Their advantage is quickness."

When the 'Bows last walked off the Sheriff Center court last Saturday, they were living large because of an upset of then-No. 4 Michigan State.

A road loss against a shorter UNLV squad Tuesday dropped the 'Bows to 1-1. Saint Louis is 1-0 after a 69-45 home win over Eastern Illinois.

"Vegas beat us with a smaller, quicker lineup, so it's a concern," Wallace said. "But if we play our game the right way, our size is supposed to be the real advantage."

The Billikens usually start four guards around 6-foot-10, 270-pound center Ian Vouyoukas. The guards are 5-9 Dwayne Polk, 6-2 Anthony Drejaj, 6-4 Danny Brown and 6-5 Tommie Liddell.

Hawai'i will counter with 6-3 Deonte Tatum and 6-6 Matt Lojeski at guards, 6-9 Julian Sensley and 6-9 "Big Matt" Gipson at forwards, and 6-7, 225-pound Ahmet Gueye at center.

Sensley and Gipson will likely be matched up against two of the Saint Louis guards.

"I'd say that's an advantage for us," Sensley said. "If they go that small, they're going to have problems on the boards, and that should give us some extra chances."

Hawai'i's size advantage may prompt Saint Louis head coach Brad Soderberg to tinker with his lineup.

"That's something I'm going to have to decide over the next 24 hours," he said. "We have bigger personnel if we decide to use them."

However, Soderberg said the Billikens' strength is at the guard position. Regardless of who starts, at least six guards are expected to see action tonight.

"We finally have much more athleticism at the guard corps than we had in the last three years," Soderberg said. "So in theory, we want to be more of an up-tempo team because we think that fits our personnel best."

The Billikens are traditionally considered methodical on offense and tenacious on defense.

Last season, Saint Louis finished with a 9-21 record but ranked 16th in NCAA Division I in scoring defense, allowing 60.8 points per game.

"We try to be the best defensive team every night," Drejaj said. "I think a lot of teams know when they play us that they're going to be up against a good defensive stand."

The 'Bows beat the Billikens, 53-52, last season at St. Louis. It was the second-lowest output of the season for Hawai'i.

"We were in a position to win and we missed the last shot," Drejaj said. "I think we're a more mature team this year, so hopefully that will help us in the close ones this year."

Sensley had 15 points and 11 rebounds in last season's victory at Saint Louis. His short bank shot with 15.2 seconds remaining was the winning basket.

However, Sensley is coming off the worst performance of his UH career at UNLV. He was held scoreless for the first time in 64 games as a Rainbow Warrior.

"That game is behind us; we just have to get better starting (tonight)," he said.