Hawaii draws TULSA, Okla. >> It was a mixed plate of emotions.
a 10 seed
The Rainbows are headed to
Dallas to take on XavierBy Cindy Luis
cluis@starbulletin.comThe Hawaii basketball team gathered in coach Riley Wallace's hotel suite yesterday to watch the NCAA Tournament Selection Show. The Rainbows (27-6) knew they were in via the Western Athletic Conference's automatic berth, and they were betting how high their seed would be.
"Five," guessed sophomore guard Carl English. "We're a No. 5. Just like 'Fabulous Five.'"
The latter remark was a good-natured jibe at associate head coach Bob Nash, a member of Hawaii's Fabulous Five team that went 47-8 from 1970-72 and earned the school's first NCAA Tournament berth in 1972.
The Rainbows waited and waited yesterday for the name "Hawaii" to pop up on the televised bracket. They groaned over Tulsa being a 12 seed; the Golden Hurricane lost to the Rainbows on Saturday in the WAC tournament title game and now were headed to St. Louis, for a game against No. 5 seed Marquette.
The "Pit," on the campus of New Mexico, is nearly a mile high, and Wallace knew from many visits how the altitude affected his team.
When Ohio State went up on the board in Albuquerque in the No. 4 spot, Wallace was convinced that's where his team was headed. He figured it was an inside joke by the selection committee, putting the Savovic brothers in the same arena: the Buckeyes -- with senior guard Boban -- and the Rainbows -- with senior guard Predrag.
But it was not to be. Hawaii had to wait until the 31st and penultimate pairing went up.
The 10th-seeded Rainbows, with an RPI of 27, would be up against Atlantic 10 champion Xavier on Friday at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. The Musketeers (25-5), with an RPI of 17, are the seventh seed.
"No respect for the WAC." That was the general feeling as the players began to file out of the room.
The CBS analysts briefly talked about the Hawaii-Xavier matchup and it was obvious to those remaining that the commentators had no clue about the Rainbows.
"It's an OK seed," said Wallace, whose team was seeded 11th last year against No. 6 Syracuse. "I would have preferred going to Sacramento because more of our fans might have been able to make it.
"For once, the other team will have a longer trip than we will. What do we have to prove? We have to go in and prove that we can win."
The Rainbows have about an hour flight today to Dallas. Xavier will be flying in from Cincinnati tomorrow.
Four other teams -- besides Tulsa -- that Hawaii played this season are in the tournament. The Rainbows defeated Georgia for the Rainbow Classic title in December; the Bulldogs are seeded third in the East.
Hawaii also beat Wisconsin for third place in the Big Island Invitational in November. The Badgers got the eighth seed in the East.
San Diego State, which handed Hawaii its only loss of the year at the Stan Sheriff Center on Dec. 14, is seeded 13th in the West. The Rainbows beat Alcorn State, which has a play-in game with Siena tomorrow for the 64th spot.
The WAC, with a conference RPI of 10, has just two teams in the NCAA Tournament. The Mountain West, with an RPI of 7, got three in: San Diego State, Utah and Wyoming.
"Of the teams in, I'm surprised about Wyoming," said Wallace. "They didn't have that good of an RPI but they did win the conference (regular season)."
Hawaii faces Xavier in Friday's first game (time to be announced). In the second game, No. 2-seeded Oklahoma plays 15th-seeded Illinois-Chicago. Friday's winners meet in a second-round game Sunday; that winner goes on to the West Regional in San Jose, Calif.
If Hawaii and Ohio State win three games, the Savovic brothers would meet in the West Regional championship on March 23.
UH Athletics
