Rainbows leave The Hawaii basketball team had its 24-game home winning streak snapped earlier this month and gladly ended a six-game skid on the road last week. Now the Rainbows are focusing on sustaining two other streaks tomorrow.
for crucial road trip
UH's final matchups will
determine if the Rainbows
can avoid a play-in gameBy Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.com
UH has won seven straight games at Tulsa's Donald W. Reynolds Center and five in a row against the Golden Hurricane, a streak the home team would undoubtedly love to end when they meet in a nationally televised Western Athletic Conference clash.
When: Tomorrow, 5 p.m. (Hawaii time) Hawaii at Tulsa
Where: Donald W. Reynolds Center
TV: Live, ESPN2
Radio: Live, 1420-AM
Internet: uhathletics.hawaii.edu
"They're probably going to come out and hope to take it to us a little bit," UH guard Michael Kuebler said. "So we have to go into it knowing they're going to give it their all and we have to do the same.
"I heard their fans get into it just as much as ours do. It's a different scenario when they're cheering against you, but it gets you just as motivated."
The stakes in their second meeting of the season aren't quite as high as previous games when conference championships were on the line. But the rivalry that has blossomed between the Rainbows and Golden Hurricane the last two years keeps this from becoming just another ho-hum late-season contest for WAC tournament seeding.
"It's a big game because Hawaii has become one of our rivals in the league and they're playing really well right now," Tulsa coach John Phillips said. "It's a big ballgame and it's on ESPN, so I think our guys are really looking forward to it."
Hawaii pulled out a 73-67 victory over the Golden Hurricane in overtime on Feb. 1 at the Stan Sheriff Center for its fifth straight win in the series.
"They'll be ready for us, we know that, that's why we're working so hard," UH coach Riley Wallace said after the team's workout at Tulsa's Hale High School yesterday.
Tulsa (15-9 overall, 8-6 WAC) and Hawaii (15-8, 7-7) began the season with high expectations, but are now squarely in the middle of the pack in the WAC.
Tulsa went through a rough stretch in the middle of the conference schedule that included the dismissal of senior guard Antonio Reed. The Hurricane have gone 4-2 since then, including a 69-60 Bracket Busters loss at Gonzaga on Saturday.
The Hurricane led for much of the contest, but couldn't hold off Gonzaga late in the game.
"I was really proud of our guys, because they went out there and competed," Phillips said. "It was frustrating, but we walked into the dressing room and said, 'Let's go home and finish WAC play the way we're capable of.' "
Junior guard Jason Parker has assumed the scoring lead for Tulsa, averaging 16.3 points per game. Senior forward Kevin Johnson scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the first meeting with UH, and is second on the team with 14.8 points per game.
A key to Tulsa's hopes could be the play of guard Dante Swanson. The senior averages 14.5 points and 4.2 assists, but played just 19 minutes against UH due to an ankle injury.
Hawaii ended a six-game losing streak on the road with its 79-78 win at Kent State on Bracket Busters Saturday. The Rainbows need a strong finish to place among the top six in the conference and avoid a play-in game at the WAC tournament.
"Every game we win just builds momentum and helps us out going into that late-season push going into the WAC tournament," Kuebler said.
Hawaii enters this week's road swing in seventh place. Tulsa and Rice are a full game ahead of the Rainbows, while SMU is a half-game in front at 8-7.
The Rainbows must come away with at least a split of this road trip, which ends with a game at Rice on Saturday, to have a chance to finish above .500 in the WAC. They close the regular season at home next week against two of the bottom three teams in the standings in Boise State (11-13, 5-9) and UTEP (4-20, 2-12).
UH guard Carl English battled the flu earlier this week, but continues to lead the WAC with 20.4 ppg. He got much-needed support against Kent State when four other Rainbows scored in double figures.
UH forward Phil Martin has picked up his scoring of late, but has also fouled out of two of the last three games. The Rainbows will need him on the floor to provide points inside and muscle up against Johnson on the defensive end.
Although the Rainbows pulled out two close contests last week, Wallace isn't satisfied with their defensive performance late in those games.
"We have to get better execution down the stretch," Wallace said. "Defensively we didn't stop (Kent State). We finally stopped the middle and then the 3s opened up late.
"But they have to feel better about themselves that they won two tight games and finally got out of the hole."
UH Athletics
