Wednesday, January 23, 2002
[ UH BASKETBALL ]
Cornered Owls may There's nothing more dangerous than a wounded animal. Given the number of injuries that Rice has, the Owls could present a problem for conference leader Hawaii tomorrow in Houston.
prove difficult
for ’Bows
Hawaii tries to rebound from its
first conference loss tomorrow at RiceBy Cindy Luis
cluis@starbulletin.comThen again, maybe not.
The bad news continues to mount for Rice coach Willis Wilson. He had hoped to get leading scorer Jason McKrieth (14.8 ppg) back this week but the freshman guard's bone scan has revealed a break in his right foot, an injury originally diagnosed as a sprained ankle.
Also out is reserve junior center Ferron Morgan, who will miss at least another two weeks with a stress fracture in his left foot.
However, senior center T.J. McKenzie is expected to play, knee brace, stitches and all. McKenzie, who torn his anterior cruciate ligament against Hawaii in Houston, took an elbow to the forehead in last Saturday's 57-43 loss at Louisiana Tech, resulting in a cut that required stitches.
"With all the injuries, it's been an up and down year," Wilson said in a telephone call yesterday from Houston. "We've got a young team and, like most young teams, we have to learn to persevere.
"I think we can become a good team by year's end. We've shown improvement in our last 4-5 games. From the game films, I've seen things that are very positive."
The negative thing is that the Owls have lost four of those past five games, including being swept on the road last week at SMU (76-49) and Louisiana Tech. Rice is 0-8 away from Autry Court but 6-2 at home overall and 1-1 in Western Athletic Conference play.
Tomorrow's game against the Rainbows (15-3, 6-1) is the first of two at home. The Owls (6-10, 1-5) then host San Jose State on Saturday. They play their third game in six days at Tulsa next Monday before returning home to host Nevada next Thursday and Fresno State next Saturday.
"With four of the next five at home, these two games (this week) become very significant," said Wilson. "Obviously, winning these games (this week) will be a confidence boost and give us an opportunity to continue a trend of playing well at home.
"Having an opportunity to win this week puts us on the cusp of climbing up into the middle of the pack with half the (WAC) season to go."
The first half of the WAC season concludes Monday with the Rice-Tulsa contest. Hawaii finishes the first round at Tulsa (5-1, 14-3) Saturday. The Golden Hurricane trails the first-place Rainbows by a half-game.
Wilson said he is not surprised by Hawaii's success, only by the timing of the Rainbows' first loss. Hawaii was stunned at San Jose State, 57-53, last Saturday, the first game of an 11-day, 3-game road trip.
"They've been playing really well, and I was surprised they lost that one," said Wilson, who played for the Owls from 1979-82. "Riley (Hawaii coach Wallace) is not one to embellish what he has, and he has said all along that this team was better than the one that won the WAC (Tournament) last year.
"You look at the level of maturity and they are a most impressive team. They play hard and execute so well. Our best chance of defending them would be if we could get them into a half-court game."
That's what San Jose State did last Saturday in handing Hawaii its first loss of the WAC season. The Spartans' up-close defense stymied the Rainbows' pattern offense, disrupting the flow and timing.
Wilson isn't sure if his team can pull off the upset.
"All the matchups concern me," said Wilson. "We're in a situation where we're undermanned and that leads to getting into situations that are beyond your control. At Louisiana Tech, the foul trouble caught up with us.
When: 3:05 p.m. tomorrow GAMEDAY
Where: Autry Court (5,000), Houston
TV: None
Radio: Live, 1420-AM
Internet: kccn1420am.com
"With Hawaii, they're such a difficult team to prepare for. They come at you in so many ways with so many different weapons. They play an aggressive, assertive style and they're fun to watch. You hope that you can get your own team to play like that every night.
"Hawaii is a special team."
Other than bruised egos, the Rainbows report no injuries. They had a hard practice yesterday at the University of Houston, working on the game plan for Rice, then celebrated senior guard Mike McIntyre's 22nd birthday at a team dinner.
Hawaii lost at Autry Court last year, 70-64, but gained a split of the series with a 61-53 win at the Stan Sheriff Center.
"It's not so much the court but that we're playing a well-coached team that gives us problems," UH associate head coach Bob Nash said. "We are concerned because we're the road team, been on the road now for almost a week and the guys are getting edgy.
"What we have to do is focus, not let what happened at San Jose happen here, and not lose to a team we shouldn't lose to. Hopefully, we'll learn from the past and let history be the teacher."
WAC STANDINGS
Conference Overall W L Pct. GB W L Hawaii 6 1 .857 -- 15 3 Tulsa 5 1 .833 12 14 3 Fresno St 5 2 .714 1 13 6 SMU 5 2 .714 1 10 7 Nevada 4 3 .571 2 11 6 La. Tech 4 3 .571 2 10 6 Boise St 2 6 .250 412 8 10 UTEP 2 6 .250 412 7 12 Rice 1 5 .167 412 6 10 San Jose 1 6 .143 5 6 13 Tomorrow games (All times HST)
Hawaii at Rice, 3:05 p.m. HST
SMU at Fresno State
Louisiana Tech at Nevada
San Jose State at Tulsa
PROBABLE STARTERS
HAWAII (15-3, 6-1) Ht. Pts. Reb. Ast. G Carl English (So.) 6-5 14.2 4.7 3.8 G Mark Campbell (Jr.) 6-4 3.6 3.0 3.5 4.6 G Predrag Savovic (Sr.) 6-6 18.6 3.9 1.9 F Phil Martin (So.) 6-8 9.1 5.2 0.9 C H.Shimonovich (So.) 6-10 8.8 6.8 1.8
RICE (6-10, 1-5) Ht. Pts. Reb. Ast. G Omar-Seli Mance (Jr.) 6-2 11.8 2.9 2.1 G Rashid Smith (So.) 6-3 2.6 1.6 1.1 F Michael Harris (Fr.) 6-6 11.9 8.2 0.6 F Shawn Tyndell (Sr.) 6-5 8.1 3.5 1.8 C T.J. McKenzie (Sr.) 6-11 5.5 3.4 0.4 Notes: Hawaii leads the series, 8-2, and holds a 5-1 lead in WAC play, 3-1 in Houston. The Rainbows lost to the Owls last year at Autry Court, 70-64, but earned the split with a 61-53 victory in Honolulu. Rice is 6-2 at home this year with losses to Texas-Pan American and Boise State. ... Hawaii coach Riley Wallace is in his 15th season (231-201). ... The Rainbows saw their nine-game winning streak ended at San Jose last Saturday. It was the longest winning streak since the Rainbows won 10 in a row in 1989. Hawaii scored a season-low 53 points in the loss. ... Hawaii's 15-3 start is its best since the 1981-82 team also opened 15-3. The Rainbows' three losses are by a combined nine points.
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii
