There will be nothing consoling about playing in the consolation bracket of the 45th Annual Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic for the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team.

The Rainbow Warriors will host George Washington in a consolation game today at 7:30 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center.

"It's not going to get any easier," Hawai'i junior forward Roderick Flemings said. "But we just have to come back and get a win. It was frustrating to lose that first one, but if we can come back and get a win here, we'll be all right."

The 'Bows were sent to the consolation bracket after a disappointing 74-58 loss to Colorado State on the opening night of the Classic on Saturday.

George Washington lost to Vermont on Saturday, 83-73.

The 'Bows are 6-4; the Colonials are 6-3.

Hawai'i struggled against Colorado State's zone defense, and should see similar pressure tonight from George Washington.

"They do some things similar to what (Colorado State) did," Hawai'i head coach Bob Nash said. "We just have to do a better job of handling that pressure."

The 'Bows shot a season-low 32.7 percent from the field against the Rams, including 13.3 percent (2 of 15) from 3-point range.

Flemings scored 22 points on 6-of-11 shooting, but he was the only Hawai'i player to score in double-figures. The other starters combined to shoot 7 of 28 from the field.

"We just didn't attack it right," Flemings said. "We took too many bad shots and threw the ball away too much. We know we can do better against zones because we have done better."

Nash said he did not even review video of the loss to Colorado State. Instead, the focus was on George Washington.

"We played bad; everybody in here knows we played bad," Nash said. "That's why we didn't watch any film of that game. We just watched film on George Washington. That's one of the things about this tournament. You have to put a bad game behind you because you have to be ready for the next game."

The 'Bows may try a new starting lineup tonight, although Nash did not want to reveal anything specific.

In any case, point guard Hiram Thompson and center Paul Campbell are expected to see increased minutes, whether they start or not.

The one statistical category the 'Bows fared well in against Colorado State was rebounding. Hawai'i grabbed 35 to CSU's 30, — the ninth consecutive game that the 'Bows have out-rebounded their opponent.

George Washington was also frustrated by its loss Saturday, mostly because of officiating calls. Now, the Colonials have to prepare for the host of the tournament — and a new rule that allows Hawai'i to play in the evening sessions for all three of its games.

"Obviously when you get the home team, it's going to be a little tougher than any other team you might get," George Washington head coach Karl Hobbs said. "If Coach Nash and I were to sit down and talk about our teams, the conversation would be similar because both our teams really count on rebounding and making the least amount of mental mistakes."

The Colonials are big — they start a frontline of 6-8 Rob Diggs, 6-8 Damian Hollis and 6-11 Joseph Katuka.

Diggs leads the team with 13.3 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. He had 25 points and 14 rebounds in the loss to Vermont.

"He's considered one of the best players in our (Atlantic 10) league," Hobbs said. "(Saturday) night, he lived up to his billing."

NOTES

Roderick Flemings leads the 'Bows in scoring with 19.4 points per game. He has a .525 field-goal percentage and is the only player on the team above .500.

Freshman guard Leroy Lutu Jr. was not in uniform Friday due to an ankle injury. He is expected to be available tonight.