The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team will take another shot at 20 this season.

As in 20 home games.

For the second consecutive season, the Rainbow Warriors will play 20 home games in the Stan Sheriff Center. The official 2009-10 schedule was revealed yesterday.

The 'Bows also played 20 home games last season, finishing with an 11-9 record. Hawai'i finished 13-17 overall during the 2008-09 season — Bob Nash's second season as head coach.

This season, the 'Bows will play 29 regular-season games.

"It's a balanced schedule," said UH assistant coach Eran Ganot, who is in charge of scheduling. "What we really like is the number of weekend games — that's better for our fans, obviously. Last year, we played so many weekday games, and we wanted to cut that down, where ever possible."

Ten of Hawai'i's 20 home games will be played on either a Friday or Saturday.

The 'Bows will open the season with the Rainbow Classic, which will be played in November for the first time in its 46-year history. The tournament will also downsize from eight to four teams.

The visiting teams for this year's Rainbow Classic will be McNeese State, Northern Colorado and Southern Utah. The 'Bows will play all three teams in a round-robin format. The opener will be against Southern Utah on Nov. 13.

Back-to-back home dates against former Western Athletic Conference rivals Brigham Young and New Mexico are also among the non-conference games. BYU and New Mexico tied for the Mountain West Conference regular-season championship last season.

The only non-conference road game is scheduled for Dec. 2 at UC Irvine. That game is a "return" trip for last season's ESPNU BracketBusters. UCI defeated Hawai'i last season at the Stan Sheriff Center.

"The finances always have to be considered, especially the way things are going with the economy," Ganot said. "That's why you're not seeing as many road games."

The home schedule also includes the inaugural Diamond Head Classic, Dec. 22, 23 and 25. Joining Hawai'i in the field are USC, UNLV, Saint Mary's, SMU, College of Charleston, Western Michigan and Northeastern.

Ten of the 12 games in the tournament will be televised nationally on the ESPN network of stations.

The WAC schedule will feature 16 regular-season games — eight at home, eight on the road.

In accordance with Nash's new contract extension, if the 'Bows win at least 18 games or get invited to a postseason tournament during the 2009-10 season, he will gain an extra year on his contract.

In addition to the 20 home dates, Hawai'i will play home exhibition games against Hawai'i-Hilo (Oct. 20) and BYU-Hawai'i (Nov. 5).