Wednesday, February 20, 2002
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Tulsa a true test A good defense beats a good offense. Or so the Hawaii basketball coaches have preached during practices this season.
for UH defense
Tomorrow's WAC basketball
encounter has championship implicationsBy Cindy Luis
cluis@starbulletin.com
So far, they've made believers of the Rainbows. Hawaii leads the Western Athletic Conference in scoring defense at 61.4 points a game, 16th nationally.
That defensive pride will be tested tomorrow night when the Rainbows host the WAC's top scoring team. Tulsa (22-4, 13-2), which has a half-game cushion on Hawaii (21-4, 12-2) in the standings, is averaging 81.8 points.
Something's got to give.
Last month in Tulsa, the Golden Hurricane scored 82 on the Rainbows, the most points Hawaii has allowed in a game this season. But the Rainbows scored 90, their most of the year, in topping the Golden Hurricane for the second straight time in the Reynolds Center.
"We are mirror teams," said senior guard Mike McIntyre, who came off the bench to tie his career high of 22 points last month in Tulsa. "We shoot 3s, they shoot 3s. We both have a lot of weapons.
"We've been pretty successful the past few games against them but every game is different. It's going to be an emotional game because it means a lot to us and to Tulsa."
The outcome will likely mean the regular-season title and the top seed at next month's WAC Tournament in Tulsa. Hawaii finishes out the season with the tougher schedule of the two teams, facing Rice this Saturday before hitting the road for games at Reno next Thursday and at Fresno State a week from Saturday. Tulsa is at San Jose State Saturday and has a single game next week at Rice on Thursday.
Quite a bit of national attention is focused on this game, with ESPN.com rating it as one of its "Games to Watch."
"We're trying not to get caught up in the media hype," said sophomore guard Carl English. "It's just another game we've got to win. We have to come out and do our thing.
When: 7 p.m. tomorrow GAMEDAY
Where: Stan Sheriff Center
TV: Live, KFVE-TV (Ch. 5)
Radio: Live, 1420-AM
Internet: kccn1420am.com
Tickets:
Lower level $14
Adults (upper) $10
UH students $7
Super rooter $8
Parking $3
"The key is always defense. If the shooting's not on, defense will win the game. The coaches preach that every day. If we do what we do best, we'll be fine."
Hawaii has had to rally in both of the previous meetings with Tulsa, riding 3-point shooting to two victories. In the WAC title game, the Rainbows hit 12 treys, including 5 by McIntyre and 4 by English.
In the game last month, the team was 9 of 20 from long range, with McIntyre on fire. He hit a career-high 6 3-pointers in 8 attempts, 4 of 5 in the second half, to help Hawaii overcome a 13-point deficit for the victory.
The game will feature six of the WAC's top 3-point shooters, including Tulsa's Dante Swanson. The junior guard leads the country at 58.4 percent (63 of 115).
Tulsa has hit 206 3-pointers this season to Hawaii's 170.
As critical as the outside shooting is to both teams, tomorrow's key matchup may be inside between Hawaii forward Phil Martin and Tulsa forward Kevin Johnson. Johnson, the reigning WAC Player of the Week, scored 19 points and had 10 rebounds in last Saturday's 72-63 win over Louisiana Tech; he has scored in double figures in all 15 WAC games this year.
"We've got confidence and we're playing well," said McIntyre. "But we know it's not going to be easy.
"I don't think you can want anything too much when it comes to this sport. We have to want it more than them."
Notes: Around 1,100 tickets remained this morning for tomorrow's game with Tulsa. If all are sold, it would be the first sellout of the season at the Stan Sheriff Center. ... Fans are being encouraged to wear white and bring ti leaves tomorrow in what the UH promotions department is calling "A Sea of Green and White." The first 3,000 fans through the turnstiles receive a free ti leaf. ... McIntyre scraped his right arm but had no other injuries from his moped accident Sunday. McIntyre slid his bike during a turn but said he wasn't going very fast. He has had his arm bandaged for the past two practices.
WAC STANDINGS
Conference Overall W L Pct. GB W L Tulsa 13 2 .867 -- 22 4 Hawaii 12 2 .857 12 21 4 LaTech 10 4 .714 212 16 8 Nevada 8 6 .571 412 15 9 SMU 8 6 .571 412 13 11 Fresno St. 7 7 .500 512 16 11 Boise St. 4 11 .267 9 10 15 Rice 4 11 .267 9 9 16 San Jose 3 11 .214 912 8 18 UTEP 3 12 .200 10 9 18 Tonight
New Mexico State at UTEPTomorrow (All times HST)
Tulsa at Hawaii, 7 p.m., Stan Sheriff Center
Fresno State at Louisiana Tech
Nevada at SMU
Rice at San Jose StateSaturday
Rice at Hawaii, 7 p.m., Stan Sheriff Center
UTEP at Boise State
Fresno State at SMU
Nevada at Louisiana Tech
Tulsa at San Jose State
HAWAII (21-4, 12-2) PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
Ht. Pts. Reb. Ast. G Predrag Savovic (Sr.) 6-6 20.1 4.5 2.1 G Carl English (So.) 6-5 14,6 4.7 3.1 G Mark Campbell (Jr.) 6-4 3.6 2.8 4.5 F Phil Martin (So.) 6-8 9.0 4.8 0.8 C H. Shimonovich (So.) 6-10 7.8 6.5 2.6 TULSA (22-4, 13-2)
Ht. Pts. Reb. Ast. G Dante Swanson (Jr.) 5-10 12.7 3.8 2.7 G Greg Harrington (Sr.) 6-2 12.9 3.4 5.5 G Antonio Reed (Jr.) 5-10 10.6 2.9 4.0 F Kevin Johnson (Jr .) 6-7 14.0 4.9 1.1 F Charlie Davis (Jr.) 6-7 9.3 7.4 0.9 Notes: Tulsa leads the series 6-5. Hawaii has won the past two games, and three of the last four, including last year's WAC Tournament title showdown in overtime. Last month, Hawaii rallied from 13 points down to hand Tulsa its only WAC home loss, 90-82. ... Hawaii coach Riley Wallace is in his 15th season (237-202). The Rainbows have a 10-game home winning streak, tied for the 16th longest in the nation. They have won 21 of their last 22 at home, and their last 14 WAC home games dating back to last season. ... Senior guard Predrag Savovic needs six 3-pointers to pass Alika Smith (161) as the school's all-time leader. Senior guard Mike McIntyre is third with 142. Hawaii is second in the WAC in 3-pointers with 170 and should easily pass the record of 177 set last year. ... Hawaii's four losses are by a combined 13 points, and in all four losses, the Rainbows failed to score 60 points. ... UH has made at least seven 3-pointers in each of its 12 WAC wins. ... The Rainbows have held 11 of their opponents to 60 points or less this year. Hawaii leads the WAC and is 16th nationally in scoring defense (61.4 points per game). ... Tulsa coach John Phillips is in his first season. Tulsa has a seven-game winning streak, tied for the 11th longest in the nation. Over the last three seasons, Tulsa has won 80 games, second in the nation to Duke's 87 victories. ... Junior guard Dante Swanson leads the nation in 3-point shooting, hitting 54.8 percent (63-115). Tulsa continues to lead the WAC in all three shooting categories -- 48.0 percent from the field (15th best in the nation), 75.7 percent from the free-throw line (12th best in the nation) and 41.9 percent from 3-point range (4th best in the nation). The Golden Hurricane have a WAC-best 5-1 record on the road in conference games this year and finish the season with three in a row away from home. The Golden Hurricane lead the WAC in scoring (81.8), scoring margin (plus 12.7), 3-point field goals made (7.9), assists (17.7) and steals (8.5).
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