Tuesday, March 3, 1998
An NCAA Tournament bid
By Cindy Luis
likely rests on the outcome of tonight's
game against UNLV
Star-BulletinLAS VEGAS -- Fortunes are won and lost here.
The games of chance require some skill but even more luck.
The game of basketball requires the same, especially at this time of year.
The Hawaii men's basketball team has all its postseason chips riding on the number 20. If the Rainbows hit it tonight with a win over UNLV, it might be enough to cash in for an NCAA at-large bid. Lose to the Runnin' Rebels in the first-round game of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament and the payline reads: N-I-T.
"Hawaii is coming in here with a lot at stake," said UNLV coach Bill Bayno. "I think they're an NCAA (Tournament team) and we're just going to try to match their intensity and will to win.
"They're dangerous. They've got their chemistry back. They've found whatever they were missing when they went through that little slump."
The midseason three-game losing free fall has turned into a bungee jump with the Rainbows springing back with five consecutive wins. The victory at Fresno State last Saturday "did so much for our psyches," said Rainbow assistant coach Jeff Law. "Going into that game we had won four but we weren't really quite sure where we were, what we were doing or how we were feeling.
"The Fresno game told us everything. It was the perfect game plan and the guys executed it perfectly. It was more of a discipline game than a slow-down game, and we still scored 92 points. Vegas is very similar to Fresno and we're going to need to do the same kind of job."
The teams met three times last year with the Rainbows winning the two conference games and the Rebels the NIT contest. Hawaii won for the first time at the Thomas & Mack Arena, 66-65, on Anthony Carter's two free throws with one second left.
Three weeks later in Honolulu, the Rainbows prevailed, 66-64, when Sunshine Smith's game-tying layup rimmed out at the buzzer. UNLV outlasted Hawaii in overtime, 89-80, in their NIT second-round game here.
"We had good matchups last year and I don't know how you'd expect it to be any different than it has been," said Hawaii coach Riley Wallace. "We've won five in a row and need this one for 20 (wins) if we want to go to the NCAAs. They've won two (in a row) and probably need to win the (WAC) Tournament to go to the NCAAs. So that's their motivation.
"They're feeling good and we're feeling good. There's no question that Fresno did a lot for us mentally and for the energy at practice."
The keys to the game will be the matchups on the boards and in the backcourt. Hawaii has the edge in experience in both areas.
Senior guards Anthony Carter and Alika Smith will go against sophomore guard Mark Dickel and reserve junior Brian Keefe. Freshman standout guard Greedy Daniel is expected to miss tonight's game after pulling a hamstring in last week's win over Colorado State.
Hawaii's Erin Galloway and Eric Ambrozich will take turns defending UNLV center Kaspars Kambala, the Mountain Division Freshman of the Year. The other starting frontcourt matchups pit Mike Robinson on the Rebels' Kevin Simmons and Micah Kroeger on UNLV's leading scorer, Tyrone Nesby.
"We have to control the ball, control the boards and have a low number of turnovers. If we do that, we'll be all right," said Galloway. "We just need to be ready to play. Getting No. 20 . . . that's the plan."
WAC men
Today: First round: Tulsa vs. BYU, 10 a.m.; Colorado State vs. SMU, 12:30 p.m.; Wyoming vs. San Diego State, 4 p.m.; Hawaii vs. UNLV, 6:30 p.m.
1997-98 Rainbow Men's Basketball Schedule
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
