Thursday, June 14, 2001

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Waves shake up
UH hoop schedule

The schedule

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By Dave Reardon
Star-Bulletin

The University of Hawaii men's basketball schedule is officially out, but it is also officially obsolete.

Pepperdine, one of UH's potential opponents in the Hawaii-Hilo Big Island Invitational, Nov. 23-25, has pulled out of the tournament.

New head coach Paul Westphal decided to take the Waves on an Asian tour instead of playing in the eight-team exempt event hosted by the Vulcans.

"We contacted Hilo and they gave us permission to drop out," Pepperdine associate athletic director Michael Zapolski said.

A replacement team is pending, Hilo assistant athletic director Jim DeMello said.

The tournament still has a fairly formidable field, with Weber State, Mercer, Wisconsin, Colorado State and Louisiana State joining UH-Manoa and UH-Hilo.

Once again, the Rainbows' schedule is home-heavy, with 17 of 29 games at the Stan Sheriff Center up to the Western Athletic Conference tournament.

Boston College, expected to be ranked in the top-5 in preseason, highlights the Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic field, which features five teams that participated in the NCAA Tournament.

The Rainbow Classic will be played the week before Christmas, accommodating the earlier start of the expanded WAC.

UH opens its WAC season at home Dec. 27 against Fresno State. The Bulldogs are expected to be a strong contender again for the conference championship. Last year FSU won the WAC regular-season title and UH took the conference tournament championship.

Hawaii plays its first conference games against WAC newcomers Boise State (Jan. 5, at Boise) and Louisiana Tech (Jan. 10, at home).

The WAC Tournament will be held in Tulsa, Okla., again this season, March 6-9.

For the first time since 1991, United Airlines is not a name sponsor of a four-team preseason tournament on the Rainbows' schedule.

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2001-2002 schedule

All games at Stan Sheriff Center unless noted

Nov. 11: California All-Stars (exhibition). Nike Tip-Off Tournament -- Nov. 16: Sam Houston vs. Drake, Norfolk State vs. Hawaii. Nov. 18: Third place and championship games. Big Island Invitational Tournament -- Nov. 23-25, at Hilo. Nov. 27: Northwestern State. Dec. 10: Alcorn State. Dec. 15: San Diego State. Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic -- Dec. 19: Iona vs. Holy Cross, Portland vs. Hawaii. Dec. 20: Boston College vs. Miami (Ohio), Georgia vs. Arkansas State. Dec. 21: Consolation and semifinals. Dec. 22: Consolation and finals.

Dec. 27: Fresno State. Dec. 29: Nevada. Jan. 3: at Texas-El Paso. Jan. 5: at Boise State. Jan. 10: Louisiana Tech. Jan 12: Southern Methodist. Jan. 19: at San Jose State. Jan. 24: at Rice. Jan. 26: at Tulsa. Jan. 31: Boise State. Feb. 2: Texas El-Paso. Feb. 7: at Louisiana Tech. Feb. 9: at Southern Methodist. Feb. 16: San Jose State. Feb. 21: Tulsa. Feb. 23: Rice. Feb. 28: at Nevada. March 2: at Fresno State. March 6-9: WAC Tournament at Tulsa, Okla.

March 14-17: NCAA first and second rounds, site TBD. March 21-24: NCAA Regionals, site TBD. March 30-April 1: NCAA Final Four, Atlanta.