Rainbows hope to They don't have a catchy nickname like the "Fabulous Five" of the early 1970s.
go down in history
They can become the first UH
men's team to win all
its WAC home gamesBy Cindy Luis
cluis@starbulletin.comNor do they have a "Dynamic Duo," as when Alika Smith and Anthony Carter competed in 1996-98.
But this Hawaii basketball team already has established itself as one to be remembered. That's the legacy the Rainbows want to leave behind.
This year's team has the chance to do two things its predecessors could not: win the Western Athletic Conference regular-season title outright and finish the conference regular season undefeated at home.
The latter challenge can be met tonight as Hawaii (22-4 overall, 13-2 WAC) hosts Rice (10-16, 5-11) at the Stan Sheriff Center. It's Senior Night for Mike McIntyre, Predrag Savovic and Mindaugas Burneika, but don't expect coach Riley Wallace to put sentiment ahead of superstition or winning.
"Changing the starting lineup was never, never, never a consideration," said Wallace, who may have the two reserve seniors introduced along with the starters. "Winning comes first and we'll celebrate after."
With McIntyre and Burneika coming off the bench, the Rainbows have gone 15-3. Wallace has started the same five since Savovic became eligible for the Dec. 14 game against San Diego State, the eighth game of the season.
At home, Hawaii has won its last 11 games and 15 consecutive in WAC play, dating back to last year. This season, the Rainbows are 8-0 in the WAC at the Sheriff Center; a win tonight would mean the first perfect home record in 22 WAC campaigns.
"That's another challenge for us to meet," Burneika said. "I think we have our legacy. I think people will remember us, along with the Fab Five and the Alika-AC teams. This team deserves it."
Hawaii's best home mark during a conference season was 7-1, coming in 1989-90 and 1996-97. Both of those squads went on to compete in the NIT, a fate this year's team is unlikely to share.
With an RPI that moved up to 30 yesterday, Hawaii should be on its way to a second consecutive NCAA appearance.
"I don't know if beating Tulsa (on Thursday) clinched it for us," said junior guard Mark Campbell, who hit the game-winning free throw Thursday against the Golden Hurricane. "It definitely helped us. But we still have three regular-season games left and the road will be tough next week.
"Thursday didn't win it (the WAC title) for us. It's ours to lose."
The Rainbows can afford to lose one of the next three and share the regular-season title with Tulsa; by virtue of its sweep of the Golden Hurricane, Hawaii would still get the top seed in next month's WAC tournament.
After tonight's game, the Rainbows finish out the WAC season on two tough road courts. Hawaii is at Nevada (16-9, 8-7) next Thursday and at Fresno State (16-12, 7-8) next Saturday. The Rainbows lost both games on this road swing last year.
"This team is different. They've been building their legacy for some time," Wallace said. "It's that people are just beginning to recognize how special they are. Take Thursday. We've had big crowds when we've had to do something, and we didn't get it done. These guys get it done.
"I've always said that when it comes to the WAC, if you win at home and split on the road that you'll be in the hunt. We're in the hunt. We've won all of them at home and we've done better than a split on the road."
Hawaii is 5-2 in WAC road games, tying its mark for road victories over the previous three years combined (5-17). That 5-2 record is the best in the conference and is shared with Tulsa and Louisiana Tech.
When: 7 p.m. today GAMEDAY
Where: Stan Sheriff Center
TV: Live, KFVE (Ch. 5)
Radio: Live, 1420-AM
Internet: kccn1420am.com
Tickets:
Lower level$14
Adults (upper)$10
UH students$7
Super Rooter$8
Parking$3
By yesterday's practice, the Rainbows had put the downgrading of the Golden Hurricane in the back of their collective minds. The focus was on the Owls, whom Hawaii defeated last month 88-79. Hawaii also continued to add new wrinkles to its offense in preparation for games next week and the WAC tournament.
There was no closed-door session yesterday. Practice was relaxed with smiles all around.
"Tomorrow will be awesome," Campbell said. "I hope there are more people than there were Thursday. These seniors are tremendous and they deserve a big crowd.
"These guys got us to where we're at. No way will there be a letdown."
WAC STANDINGS
Conference Overall W L Pct. GB W L Hawaii 13 2 .867 -- 22 4 Tulsa 13 3 .813 12 22 5 La Tech 11 4 .733 2 17 8 SMU 9 6 .600 4 14 11 Nevada 8 7 .533 5 15 10 Fresno St. 7 8 .467 6 16 12 Rice 5 11 .313 812 10 16 Boise St. 4 11 .267 9 10 15 UTEP 3 12 .200 10 10 18 San Jose 3 12 .200 10 8 19 Today's games
Rice at Hawaii, 7 p.m.
UTEP at Boise State
Fresno State at SMU
Nevada at Louisiana Tech
Tulsa at San Jose State
HAWAII (22-4, 13-2) PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS
Ht. Pts. Reb. Ast. G Predrag Savovic (Sr.) 6-6 20.5 4.4 2.6 G Carl English (So.) 6-5 15.2 4.8 3.8 G Mark Campbell (Jr.) 6-4 3.6 2.7 4.7 F Phil Martin (So.) 6-8 8.8 4.8 0.8 C H.Shimonovich(So.) 6-10 7.8 6.8 2.9 RICE (10-16, 5-11)
Ht. Pts. Reb. Ast. G Jason McKrieth (Fr.) 6-4 11.9 3.2 2.1 G Omar-Seli Mance (Jr.) 6-2 11.8 3.3 2.2 G Rashid Smith (So.) 6-3 3.8 2.2 1.8 F Michael Harris (Fr.) 6-6 13.0 8.7 0.5 F Shawn Tyndell (Sr.) 6-5 7.5 3.2 2.0 Notes: Hawaii leads the series 9-2 overall, 6-1 in the WAC. The Rainbows have won six of the last seven meetings, with the only loss coming last year in Houston 70-64. Hawaii won at Houston this year 88-79, using a 17-0 second-half run as a springboard. The Owls' sole win in Honolulu came in the 1981 Rainbow Classic, 69-59. ... Hawaii coach Riley Wallace is in his 15th season (238-202). The 22 wins is the second-highest under Wallace; his 1989-90 team went 25-10. ... Hawaii has won its last 11 home games, and 22 of 23 dating back to last season. The Rainbows have also won 15 consecutive WAC home games, also dating back to last year. ... The Rainbows have already set a school record for conference wins with 13; the 1996-97 squad went 12-4. ... Senior guard Predrag Savovic needs two 3-pointers to pass Alika Smith (161) as the all-time career leader. Senior guard Mike McIntyre is third at 143. With 12 3-pointers in the win over Tulsa, Hawaii broke the mark of 177 set last year. The Rainbows currently have 182. ... The Owls snapped a three-game skid Thursday with a 62-46 victory at San Jose State.
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