Last season, Hawaii led Colorado State by five points at halftime - but ended up losing to the Rams, 74-69, at the Special Events Arena.
"I'm worried about what they did last year," the UH head coach said yesterday before the Rainbows' practice. "They went into a zone (defense) in the second half and it gave us some problems.
"I'm sure they'll use a zone again this year, but we have a different team and should attack it better."
The Rainbows (10-3 overall, 2-1 in the WAC) and Rams (11-3, 1-1) look like a pretty even match on paper for tonight's 7:35 tip-off at the Special Events Arena.
Hawaii is coming off an upset loss at Air Force and a big one-point victory at UNLV, both last week.
Colorado State beat Wyoming, 78-71, at Fort Collins in its last appearance on Saturday. The Rainbows take on the Cowboys this Saturday night at the Special Events Arena.
Tonight, the Rams are expected to start 6-8, 235-pound junior Matt Barnett and 6-5, 200-pound junior Brian Christiansen at forwards; 7-foot, 225-pound junior Ryan Chilton at center, and 6-3, 195-pound sophomore Milton Palacio and 5-11, 160-pound junior Jameel Mahmud at guards.
Four of the starters are averaging in double figures in scoring: Christiansen (13.6), Mahmud (12.6), Chilton (12.5) and Barnett (10.3).
Barnett is the team's leading rebounder with a 7.4 average, while Chilton is second in the WAC in blocked shots with 3.6 per game. Palacio is averaging 5.8 assists per game.
"They have a good front line," Wallace said.
"Barnett is especially tough."
The Rainbows will counter with juniors Anthony Carter and Alika Smith at guards, senior Seth Sundberg at center, and juniors Micah Kroeger and Eric Ambrozich at forwards.
Carter is the team's leading scorer with an 18.0 average (22.7 in the WAC games). Smith is second at 16.0 (10.0 in WAC), followed by Ambrozich at 10.5 (8.7 in WAC).
Kroeger is at 9.9 overall (11.3 in WAC), while Sundberg is at 7.0 (5.3 in WAC). Sundberg is the top rebounder with an 8.1 average.
Junior forward Michael Robinson is tops coming off the UH bench with a 7.0 scoring and 5.6 rebounding average.
Last year, Hawaii won at Colorado State in its last regular-season game, 75-65.
Wallace didn't say what the Rainbows would play on defense against the Rams. He hinted that they might mix it up.
"We've been practicing real hard and everybody's healthy," Wallace said. "On defense, we've been working on all of it - man, zone and the press."
Who: Hawaii vs. Colorado State