ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — In a city that's a mile high and in an intimidating arena called The Pit, the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team is hoping to rise above today.

The Rainbow Warriors will face a daunting task in their first road game of the season when they take on undefeated New Mexico today. The game is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. (Hawai'i time).

"We're as prepared as we can be," Hawai'i head coach Bob Nash said. "We had two good days of practice to get ready, so there's no excuses."

Hawai'i is 1-2, with the two losses by a combined three points. The Lobos are 5-0, winning by an average of 25.6 points per game.

Hawai'i arrived in Albuquerque Monday, and immediately turned it into a business trip. There have been no visits to the shopping mall or movie theater.

Instead, the 'Bows have been practicing twice a day. Yesterday, they had a two-hour morning practice at nearby Highland High. At night, they practiced in The Pit for another hour.

In between, the players had study hall and a film session.

"It's strictly basketball," Nash said. "We don't want to take any side trips or do any sightseeing. We're trying to be professional, and give ourselves the best chance to win the game."

The atmosphere in Albuquerque has certainly helped. The weather has been fine — 70 degrees and sunny yesterday — but the 'Bows are staying at a hotel that's five minutes away from The Pit.

"There's not much around here; it's not the prettiest place to look at," senior guard Jared Dillinger said. "That makes it easy to concentrate on basketball."

But that will change today when The Pit comes to life.

The arena is aptly named because it was built into a 37-foot hole. Fans enter from street level, and then walk down to their seats.

There are 86 steps from the concourse to the court.

Hawai'i center Stephen Verwers played in The Pit during his freshman and sophomore seasons at Colorado State. Dillinger also played there while he was at Air Force.

"The fans are real close to you and it gets real loud," Verwers said.

Dillinger added: "It's definitely a good college basketball atmosphere."

Around 12,000 are expected to attend today.

First-year New Mexico head coach Steve Alford said the crowd is a factor in his team's favor.

"We're loud, we get into our games, and we appreciate what Lobo basketball is all about," Alford said.

But the Lobos also have a pretty good team this season.

J.R. Giddens, a 6-foot-5 guard/forward, leads a balanced attack with 13.0 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.

New Mexico is especially dangerous on the perimeter, with an average of 10.6 3-pointers per game. What's more, the Lobos are converting 47.3 percent of their 3-point shots.

"They got shooters all over the place," Nash said. "That's a concern, but we just have to stay focused on covering them at all times."

Alford has his own concerns about Hawai'i.

"They're a difficult matchup just because they're big," he said. "And they have a lot of seniors on their team; good senior leadership."

Alford said he was impressed with Hawai'i's performance in a 79-77 loss to Illinois last week, especially senior forward Bobby Nash's 30-point outburst.

"They definitely got our attention," Alford said. "Arguably our best opponent to date. It's going to be our biggest test to date."

The Lobos won three games in three nights over the weekend to win the Basketball Travelers Invitational. Since then, Alford said the Lobos have been going through light workouts in preparation for Hawai'i.

"Energy is going to be the biggest thing on our side," he said. "When you play in The Pit, we know it's a home crowd for us, and playing a mile high is an advantage for us."

Albuquerque is approximately 5,280 feet above sea level.

"It's more of a dry air," Verwers said. "Running up and down, your throat gets dry. You just have to get used to it."

Hawai'i last played in The Pit in 1999, when Nash was an associate coach.

Alford, who has become a friend of Nash's through coaching clinics, had a tongue-in-cheek message for the first-year Hawai'i head coach.

"Tell Coach Nash the last time he was here we were a mile high," Alford said. "Now we're two miles high."

Nash countered: "That's fine — as long as we play the game indoors."

Today's game is the first of an in-season, home-and-home series between the teams. The Lobos will play Hawai'i in the Stan Sheriff Center on Dec. 27.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.