Tuesday, December 18, 2001
Rainbow Classic Riley Wallace is walking a fine baseline between Santa Claus and the Grinch this week as his basketball team prepares for the 38th annual Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic
takes on Christmas
Riley Wallace will be watching
The teams
the stands, hoping to see
enough support for his teamBy Cindy Luis
cluis@starbulletin.comFor the first time in the event's history, Hawaii has to contend with final exams in addition to practice. Sunday's workout went very well, but the 15th-year head coach was not pleased with yesterday's effort.
Mentally, he's been keeping a list, checking it twice ... and knew exactly who has been naughty and nice. There were several lumps of coal handed out before some of the players checked out to take an exam an hour later.
The biggest test this week is whether the fans will show up. The Classic's toughest competition will be holiday shoppers and school Christmas plays.
At Stan Sheriff Center 38th Rainbow Classic
Tomorrow's games
Iona vs. Holy Cross, 5 p.m.
Portland vs. Hawaii, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday's games
Boston College vs. Miami (Ohio),
5 p.m.
Georgia vs. Arkansas State, 7:30 p.m.
Friday's games
Consolation semifinals, 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Championship semifinals, 5 and 7:30 p.m.
Saturday's games
Seventh place, 11 a.m.
Fifth place, 1:30 p.m.
Third place, 5 p.m.
Championship, 7:30 p.m.
"Having it before Christmas is a test," Wallace admits. "If the fans come out, I know our team will be up and ready to play, mentally and physically.
"They're working hard, but we're having peaks and valleys in practice."
Hawaii (6-2) hit a valley Friday, losing to San Diego State, 61-58. The Rainbows will try to regroup against Portland in their Classic opener scheduled for tomorrow at 7:30 p.m.
The hosts have won this tourney six times, the last in 1999. Under Wallace, Hawaii has won it three times and finished second on four occasions, including last year.
Twice in Wallace's tenure the Rainbows have been delegated to morning consolation play, in 1995 and 1987. A loss tomorrow would put Hawaii into the brunch bracket Friday and Saturday.
ESPN.com's Andy Katz has the Rainbow Classic as among his games to watch this week, adding that unbeaten Boston College could be ripe for an upset.
"Anything is possible in this tournament," said Wallace. "Everyone's about even except for (No. 10) Boston College and Georgia. There's more of an East Coast flavor this year but that's just how it worked out.
"Us and B.C. in the final? We'd like it to be that way, but there's a lot of other people who will have something to say about that. But It would help our RPI and get us national exposure."
After a year's absence, there will again be national television exposure. CNN/SI will be televising all eight night games.
A look at the teams, based on current record:
BOSTON COLLEGE (9-0)
The Eagles, ranked 10th by the Associated Press and 11th by ESPN/USA Today, need to win their next four games to match last season's opening run that propelled them to a school-best 27-5 record.B.C. is coming off Sunday's 75-51 victory over Rainbow Classic entry Holy Cross. Troy Bell scored 24 points and Kenny Walls added 23 as the Eagles won their 25th straight at home.
Bell, a 6-foot-1 junior guard, leads the team with a 24.8-point average. Ryan Sidney, a 6-2 sophomore guard, is averaging 17.8 points and a team-best 9.4 rebounds, despite playing with a fractured jaw that has been wired shut.
Two other Eagles are averaging in double figures: Walls, a 6-5 senior swingman, at 14.1, and 6 -8 junior forward Uka Agbai at 10.8.
Coach Al Skinner is in his fifth year at B.C. after nine seasons at Rhode Island.
This is B.C.'s third Rainbow Classic appearance, and first since 1974. Under coach Bob Cousy, the Eagles were in the inaugural tournament in 1964, losing to Wisconsin, then coming back to beat Hawaii and Utah State.
GEORGIA (8-1)
The Bulldogs are off to one of their best starts in the program's 91-year history under third-year coach Jim Harrick. Georgia's lone loss this season was to Georgia State 83-78 on Dec. 4.The Bulldogs have won their last two, including the 79-70 victory over South Alabama Saturday. Chris Daniels had 21 points and 14 rebounds, both season highs, to lead his team.
Georgia is led by 6-4 junior Ezra Williams, who is averaging 20.3 points and 8.0 rebounds. Scoring at a 17.2-point pace is 6-6 sophomore forward Jarvis Hayes.
The Bulldogs are receiving votes in both polls.
Georgia's lone appearance in the Rainbow Classic was in 1996, when the Bulldogs topped Washington State, Memphis and Maryland in overtime to win the title. The Bulldogs have had two coaches since Tubby Smith led his team to the championship; Ron Jirsa for two seasons and Harrick since 1999-2000.
HAWAII (6-2)
The Rainbows are coming off a disappointing 61-58 loss to San Diego State, a game in which they led until six minutes were left. Both of Hawaii's defeats have been to former Western Athletic Conference rivals; UH also fell to Colorado State 61-59 in the Big Island Invitational.The Rainbows have four players scoring in double figures, led by sophomore guard Carl English's 17.3-point average. English has hit double figures in all eight of Hawaii's games.
Senior guard Predrag Savovic made his season debut Friday after sitting out seven games of an NCAA penalty. Savovic scored 12 points, but was just 1 of 6 from 3-point range as Hawaii has gone cold from treyland recently (0-for-4 against Norfolk State, 1-for-12 vs. SDSU).
The Rainbows are almost at full strength with the return of Savovic and junior forward Luc-Arthur Vebobe (out the first six games via an NCAA penalty). Freshman Milos Zivanovic has missed the last two games with an enlarged spleen and is expected to be out for at least another two weeks; freshman Tony Akpan is still waiting to have his eligibly status cleared up by the NCAA.
The Rainbows have hosted this event since 1964, winning six times. Their last title came in 1999 against Oregon.
ARKANSAS STATE (7-3)
The Indians avenged an earlier loss to Mississippi Valley State with a 94-49 rout of the Delta Devils on Dec. 10.Senior guard Nick Rivers leads ASU, averaging 19.9 points, followed by 7-foot senior center Jason Jennings at 14.3. Against Mississippi Valley State, Jennings scored the team's first nine points, finishing with 12 points, a career-high 15 rebounds and four blocked shots in just 26 minutes.
All three of the Indians' losses have come on the road, at MVS, which ended their unbeaten streak at five games; at Air Force in overtime; and at Mississippi State. Among Arkansas State's victories is a 91-61 win over WAC member Nevada.
This is the first Classic appearance for Arkansas State. Coach Dickey Nutt, the dean of the Sun Belt Conference coaches, is in his seventh season.
HOLY CROSS (4-4)
The Crusaders saw their two-game winning streak ended by Boston College 75-51 Sunday in Boston in the 104th meeting of the schools. The teams then packed their bags to make the 5,000-mile trip to Hawaii and are in opposite bracket of this week's Rainbow Classic.Holy Cross shot just 26.9 percent from the field in the second half. Junior guard Brian Wilson had 13 points and freshman center Nate Lufkin had his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Senior guard Ryan Serravalle leads the Crusaders in scoring with an 11.9 average.
Holy Cross alumnus Ralph Willard is in his third season with the defending Patriot League champions, taking them to the NCAA Tournament where they gave Kentucky a scare before falling 72-68.
Holy Cross is 2-4 in two Rainbow Classic appearances, playing here in 1975 and 1983.
PORTLAND (4-4)
The Pilots are coming off a 68-61 victory Saturday against Eastern Washington where they shot 55 percent from the field.Sophomore guard Casey Frandsen scored 23 points -- including 10 of 10 from the line -- to lead the Pilots over the Eagles, upping his team-leading scoring average to 19.4. Coky Rochin is second in scoring at 15.4 and first in rebounds at 9.4.
Of their four losses, three have come in overtime, to Idaho State, Texas-Pan American and Portland State. The lone defeat in regulation was at No. 1 Duke, 104-62.
Portland has posted big wins over Oregon, UC Riverside and Idaho this season.
Michael Holton is in his first year as the Pilots' head coach.
Portland played in the 1966 Rainbow Classic, where the Pilots placed third.
MIAMI UNIVERSITY (2-5)
The hard-luck RedHawks lost their third straight Sunday, falling to Southern Cal, 59-55. Miami has lost its last three outings by a combined nine points, including by one to Notre Dame.Senior center Alex Shorts scored 19 points for the RedHawks, including nine during a 16-4 run where Miami cut a 15-point deficit to three with 2:21 left. Shorts, a 91-percent free-throw shooter, leads the team with a 15.0 average.
The game at Southern Cal was the first of a four-week road swing that includes the Rainbow Classic and games at Dayton, Western Michigan and Central Michigan. The RedHawks don't play at home again until Jan. 9 against Marshall.
Charlie Coles is in his sixth season with Miami. He brings the RedHawks to the Classic for their first appearance.
IONA (2-6)
The Gaels dropped their first six games, but are unbeaten in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play at 2-0.Iona's last game was Dec. 9 when the Gaels downed Canisius, 75-65. Senior forward Dyree Wilson led all scorers with 18 points and sophomore center Greg Jenkins record a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Wilson leads a balanced Iona attack with a 12.3-point average. Four teammates are averaging between 9.1 and 9.9 a game.
Tomorrow's game between Iona and Holy Cross will be the 28th meeting between the two schools. The Gaels hold a 14-13 lead in the series.
Jeff Ruland, an All-American for the Gaels, is in his fourth season with Iona. The Gaels' lone Rainbow Classic appearance was in 1990, where they went 0-3.
UH Athletics
