The University of Hawaii men's team should get tested tomorrow in its opener against Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo at 7 p.m. at the Special Events Arena. Ball State takes on Alabama Birmingham in the 9 p.m. game.

The winners and losers will play on Sunday, with UH again getting the 7 p.m. time slot.

UAB (4-2) is led by All-America candidate Carlos Williams, a 6-7, 200-pound senior forward who is averaging 20 points and 13 rebounds per game.

Ball State (5-1) has 6-5, 210-pound junior forward Bonzi Wells - who was the Mid-American Conference player of the year last season with a 25.4 scoring average. This season, Wells is scoring at a 21.8 per-game pace with 7.8 rebounds.

Rainbows head coach Riley Wallace is wary of the Mustangs, who are 5-1.

"I've been watching films of them and they're much improved," he said. "They press and trap and shoot a lot of 3s - they average about 30 3-point attempts a game.

"Any time you play someone like that, you could be in trouble if they get hot."

UH is trying to bounce back from its first loss of the season, a disappointing setback to St. Mary's in the title game of last weekend's PowerBar Invitational.

So far this season, playing against a zone defense has been a problem for the Rainbows, who ran off to a 4-0 record on the strength of their transition game, which produced a gym full of layups.

"We have to adjust to the zone, attack it instead of feeling it out," Wallace said. "You can't be passive and just pass the ball back and forth."

Junior guard Alika Smith is leading the Rainbows with an 18.4 scoring average, with high-flying Anthony Carter clocking in at 15 points per game.

Carter, a junior transfer, also leads the team with 27 assists and 15 steals.

The rest of the expected starting UH lineup is: 6-6, 205-pound junior forward Micah Kroeger (10 points, 5.6 rebounds per game), 6-8, 195-pound junior forward Eric Ambrozich (9.2 points, 5.6 rebounds) and 7-1, 265-pound senior center Seth Sundberg (7.2 points and a team-leading 8.2 rebounds per game).

The Rainbows will be without back-up center Danny Furlong, who is out for three weeks with a broken big toe.

Cal Poly is expected to counter with a three-guard offense: 6-7, 215-pound senior forward Damien Levesque (10 points, 4.8 rebounds per game); 6-7, 225-pound sophomore forward Ross Ketcham (13.7 points, 6.3 rebounds); 6-3, 215-pound senior guard Shanta Cotright (18.2 points per game); 6-0, 150-pound sophomore guard Ben Larson (11.5 points), and 6-2, 175-pound freshman guard Mitch Ohnstad (10.5 points).

Larson also is the team leader in assists (39) and steals (18).

The Mustangs are averaging 91.5 points per game, compared to 70.7 for their opponents.

Hawaii is scoring at a 74-point clip, while holding opponents to 58 per game.