The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team is tied for first place in the Western Athletic Conference at 2-0 after victories over the two highest-rated teams in the conference.

Now comes the hard part.

The Rainbow Warriors departed Honolulu last night for their first WAC road trip of the season.

The 'Bows will play at Louisiana Tech on Thursday and at New Mexico State on Saturday.

"We need to take the way we play at home and figure out how to take it on the road with us," Ha-wai'i coach Riley Wallace said. "Until we do, people will think the same thing — Hawai'i is great at home, but they can't do it on the road."

The 'Bows already own WAC home victories over Nevada and Utah State. But Hawai'i is 2-16 in its past 18 road games, including 0-2 this season.

It probably doesn't help that this is the longest trip in the WAC for Hawai'i. The team departed from the Stan Sheriff Center around 4 p.m. yesterday. They are scheduled to check-in to their Ruston, La., hotel around noon (Central time) today.

"It's the hardest one to do because it's so far and it's the only one in that (Central) time zone in the league," Wallace said. "It wouldn't be too bad if it was a single game, but it makes it even harder to have to go to New Mexico State right after."

New Mexico State is in its first season in the WAC. Las Cruces, N.M., is more than 800 miles from Ruston.

LaTech coach Keith Richard has his own concerns about traveling in the conference. The Bulldogs won WAC games at Boise State and Idaho last week, although Richard described it as "an extremely tough travel trip, physically and mentally as well."

He said getting from Ruston to Boise was "like going from Mexico to Canada."

"Obviously, that's an excellent week by our basketball team," Richard said. "And it's also satisfying from my standpoint in the fact that it was a brutal road trip."

WAC commissioner Karl Benson said the conference schedule turned out difficult for every team this season.

"You can't have a balanced schedule with nine teams, especially with our geography," Benson said. "I understand the frustration that some of our coaches have, but there really is nothing we can do about it."

In an effort to help prepare his team for WAC travel, Wallace scheduled two non-conference road games this season. The 'Bows lost at UNLV and Wisconsin-Milwaukee by six points each in December.

On the trip to Milwaukee, Hawai'i went through several delays, including a canceled flight and a three-hour wait on a grounded plane.

"We've been through it already, so we're ready for anything," junior forward Ahmet Gueye said.

It might help this time that the 'Bows departed a day earlier than usual. By leaving last night, they will get to practice in LaTech's Thomas Assembly Center tonight and tomorrow night.

"I think that extra day will help get us rested and adjusted," Wallace said.

In any case, the 'Bows and Bulldogs are the only 2-0 teams in the WAC, so the winner of Thursday's game will take over sole possession of first place.

"Their 2-0 is a little better than our 2-0," Wallace said. "They're 2-0 on the road, and that's been very difficult for us."

LATECH'S MILLSAP GETS WEEKLY WAC HONOR

Louisiana Tech forward Paul Millsap was named WAC Player of the Week yesterday.

The 6-foot-7 junior averaged 19.5 points, 15.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocked shots in a pair of road wins last week. He also hit the game-winning 3-pointer in a victory at Boise State.

It is the second time that he has won the award this season.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.