Rainbows’ RPI rating
suffers 13-point drop

By Mike Fitzgerald
Star-Bulletin

The University of Hawaii dropped from No. 37 to No. 50 in this week's Rating Percentage Index, which is used by the NCAA in its selection of at-large teams and the seeding of all teams for the NCAA tournament.

This week's UH opponents and their RPI ratings are UNLV (No. 61) and Air Force (No. 235) out of 305 teams.

Hawaii received six points in this week's Associated Press poll, good for No. 40.

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CARTER AT THE TOP

Anthony Carter continues to lead the Rainbows - and is among the Western Athletic Conference leaders - in several statistical categories.

The junior guard leads the team in scoring with an 18.6 average, which is also good for sixth in the conference. He is averaging 20.8 points per game in WAC games and is fifth in the league in field goal percentage at 52.8 percent.

Carter is tops at UH and the WAC in steals with 2.9 per game and leads the Rainbows in assists with 6.2 per game - good for second in the WAC.

Fellow guard Alika Smith is second on the team in scoring with a 16.6 average (14.6 in the WAC) and is 14th in the league in overall scoring. Smith is 10th in the league in field-goal percentage at 48.5 and is fourth in the league in 3-point shooting percentage at 42.4 percent.

Seth Sundberg leads UH in rebounding with a 7.6 average, which ranks 11th in the league.

Hawaii is sixth in the league in scoring average at 75.2 and seventh in scoring defense at 65.9.

UH is third in the league in rebounding margin at 5.7 and third in scoring margin at 9.3.

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WAC PLAYERS

San Jose State's Olivier Saint-Jean was named the Pacific Division player of the week Monday, while Charles Smith of New Mexico was honored in the Mountain Division.

Saint-Jean averaged 27 points and 10 rebounds in games against Hawaii and San Diego State.

UH's Carter was among the other Pacific Division nominees.

Smith led New Mexico over No. 4 Utah with 28 points and 10 rebounds last Saturday.

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TOURNEY TICKETS

More than 12,000 all-session tickets have been sold for the WAC men's and women's basketball tournaments at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas March 3-8.

The 18,500-seat arena will be reconfigured to seat about 17,000 fans, so fewer than 5,000 tickets remain.

Tickets can be ordered through Ticketmaster at 702-474-2000 or the Thomas and Mack box office 702-895-3900. Individual tickets, if available, will go on sale March 3.

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THE WAY TO SAN JOSE

San Jose State and the WAC will co-host the NCAA men's basketball tournament West Regional March 20 and 22 at the San Jose Arena - and it is already a sellout.

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HOME SWEET HOME

Three of the 16 WAC teams are still unbeaten at home this season: No. 9 New Mexico (14-0), Fresno State (10-0) and Tulsa (10-0).

As a league, the WAC is 127-38 in home games, 44-70 on the road and 131-3 on neutral courts.

Also, WAC teams are 119-56 (.680) against nonconference opponents this season.

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UH ROAD RECORD

The Rainbows broke a team record for consecutive WAC road wins (three) with their victory at San Jose State last week.

Also, UH is off to its best start since the 1989-90 season, when the Rainbows were also 14-4 at this point of the season. That UH team finished at 25-10 and went to the third round of the NIT.

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BIG GAME

Utah, tied for first place in the Mountain Division, will play at Colorado State, tied for first in the Pacific Division, Saturday night in a nationally televised game on ESPN2.