Behind closed doors, the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team is preparing for a late-season run.

In their preparation for first-place Utah State this week, the Rainbow Warriors are practicing behind closed doors.

No boosters. No family members or friends. No media.

"No distractions," is how head coach Bob Nash put it.

All of Hawai'i's previous practices this season were open to the public.

The 'Bows returned to Honolulu from Reno, Nev., on Sunday after an 88-68 loss at Nevada on Saturday.

Hawai'i, which is 10-12 overall and 6-4 in the Western Athletic Conference, will host Utah State this Saturday. Yesterday was the first of five practices the 'Bows will have in preparation for Saturday.

Nash explained that this is the last full week that the 'Bows will have this season to "put everything together."

The Saturday game against Utah State will be the start of a stretch of seven games in 22 days in five different cities for the 'Bows. The remaining games include road stops at Fresno State (Feb. 20), UC Riverside (Feb. 23), Louisiana Tech (March 6) and New Mexico State (March 8).

"We really have to concentrate this week on the things we need to do," Nash said. "I want to go hard this week and I don't want our guys distracted by anything else. Even though we don't play until Saturday, it's an important week of work for us. This week will get us ready for the rest of the season, because it's going to get hectic after this."

Senior forward Bobby Nash said this week is about "fundamentals."

"I would rather play games than practice, but since we have this whole week, we need to take advantage of it," he said. "We need to hit the weight room, go over our basic offensive and defensive stuff — just recharge and get back to work."

Despite the 20-point loss at Nevada, the 'Bows are still in contention for the WAC regular-season championship.

Utah State lost at Nevada, 85-80, last night. The Aggies are still in first place at 8-2 — just two games ahead of fifth-place Hawai'i.

"That puts us in a situation where if we can hold home court against Utah State, it creates a log jam at the top, and we're right there," Bob Nash said.

Boise State, Nevada and New Mexico State are all currently at 8-3 and tied for second place.

"We didn't play our best basketball (at Nevada), but we're not out of it by any means," Bobby Nash said. "We can control our own destiny, so that's enough incentive to keep us working hard."

OWSLEY STILL NOT CLEARED TO RESUME PRACTICING

Starting center P.J. Owsley has yet to be cleared for practice because of an injured right knee, although he said he will try to jog on it today.

"The swelling has pretty much gone down, and it feels better every day," the 6-foot-8 senior said. "We're going to try and tape it up (today) and see if I can jog and shoot a little bit."

Owsley has missed the last two games due to the injury, and did not accompany the team on the trip to Nevada.

"I definitely think that was the best decision," he said. "I stayed back and rehabbed every day, and I think that helped. I can at least walk normal now and go up and down stairs."

Owsley is averaging 4.4 points and 3.0 rebounds per game, and is considered Hawai'i's best low-post defender.

He and fellow injured center Stephen Verwers watched the Nevada game on ESPN2 last Saturday. Verwers is out for the season while recovering from a broken leg in December.

"That was tough to just sit and watch," Owsley said. "I just hope I can come back and help the team soon."

PLAYER OF THE WEEK WILL BE HERE THIS WEEK

Utah State guard Jaycee Carroll was named the WAC Player of the Week yesterday. It is the third time this season he received the award.

He averaged 24.0 points and 11.0 rebounds in two victories last week. He scored 29 in the loss at Nevada yesterday.

Carroll, a 6-2 senior, leads the WAC in scoring with 21.8 points per game.

"He's been on an unbelievable run the last few weeks," Bob Nash said. "We're going to have our hands full."

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.