[ RAINBOW BASKETBALL ]
Rainbows hope
to solve mysteryUH has lost four of
its last five road games
vs. San Jose State
Among San Jose, Calif.'s more popular tourist attractions is the Winchester Mystery House, a sprawling mansion where guides herd visitors through a maze of corridors while pointing out staircases that lead into the ceiling and doors that open into bare walls.
For the Hawaii basketball team, The Event Center on the San Jose State campus has proven to be equally baffling in recent years.
Hawaii at San Jose St.
When: Today, 5 p.m.Where: The Event Center
TV: None
Radio: Live, 1420-AM
Internet: uhathletics.hawaii.edu
The Rainbow Warriors (9-3 overall, 1-1 Western Athletic Conference) have lost four of their last five road games against SJSU heading into today's WAC game against the Spartans (5-7, 0-2).
San Jose State went 7-21 overall and 4-14 in the WAC last year, but was the only WAC team to sweep its season series with UH. The Spartans won 79-67 in San Jose, then snapped the 'Bows' 24-game home winning streak with a 55-54 victory at the Stan Sheriff Center.
"It just seems like when they go on the floor they have nothing to lose," UH forward Phil Martin said. "When we played them, they were kind of undersized but they were all over the place, going hard and doing whatever it took to get to the hoop."
The 'Bows enter the game coming off a stirring win over Nevada on Monday, and will have to maintain their focus against a Spartan scheme that can lull opponents to sleep.
The UH players expect to face a deliberate SJSU offense that will take time off the shot clock before attacking. The 'Bows faced similar styles against Fairfield and Fresno State and hope to force the Spartans out of their comfort zone.
"We have to just play our game, pick the pace up a little bit and put a little more pressure on them," UH guard Michael Kuebler said.
The last two years, SJSU ended lengthy losing streaks by beating UH at home, and the Spartans enter today's game hoping to break a four-game skid that began on the North Shore.
A four-game winning streak ended with an 85-75 loss to Brigham Young-Hawaii in the final of the Surf 'n' Slam Tournament in Laie on Dec. 22, and the Spartans haven't won since.
They lost to previously winless Harvard and were blown out by Nevada in their WAC opener. SJSU was within two points with 18 seconds left against Fresno State on Monday, but lost 61-55.
"We gave a great effort against Fresno and really fought hard in every area," SJSU coach Phil Johnson said. "We gave ourselves a chance to win and that's all we can ask for right now."
SJSU center Eric Walton has been the Spartans' most consistent contributor, averaging 12 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.
Johnson is 3-1 against UH in his tenure. He coached against UH's Riley Wallace at the junior-college level and later succeeded him at Seminole (Okla.) JC.
"He's known me and my style since junior college, so he kind of has a feel for our stuff and how to play it," Wallace said. "But we're going to try to do something a little different this time."
Johnson said UH's balance makes this year's Rainbows more difficult to defend than last year's squad. While Kuebler leads the WAC in scoring with 20.2 points per game, Johnson is also concerned about containing Martin, Julian Sensley and Haim Shimonovich in the front court.
"They're bigger, they're more athletic and they have more weapons," Johnson said. "If you help on one guy or you double down on a big guy then you leave shooters open."
On offense, the Spartans rank last in the WAC in both shooting from the field (43 percent) and from the free-throw line (63 percent) and haven't broken the 60-point mark in their last three games.
Although the Rainbows own more impressive statistics and hold a size advantage, recent history has taught them not to overlook the Spartans.
"They're on the team for a reason and they can obviously get the job done if it's their day," Martin said.
WAC Standings
Thursday's games
Conference All games W L Pct. W L Pct. Fresno St. 3 0 1.000 7 5 .583 Rice 2 0 1.000 10 3 .769 Nevada 2 1 .667 8 4 .667 Boise St. 1 1 .500 9 3 .750 Hawaii 1 1 .500 9 3 .750 SMU 1 1 .500 7 5 .583 Texas-El Paso 1 1 .500 10 2 .833 Louisiana Tech 1 2 .333 7 6 .538 San Jose St. 0 2 .000 5 7 .417 Tulsa 0 3 .000 4 8 .333
Rice 81, Boise State 61
UTEP 59, Tulsa 56
Fresno State 54, SMU 53
Nevada 71, Louisiana Tech 67
Today's games (Hawaii time)
Boise State at Tulsa, 10:05 a.m.
UTEP at Rice, 10:05 a.m.
Louisiana Tech at Fresno State, 5 p.m.
Hawaii at San Jose State, 5 p.m.
SMU at Nevada, 5:05 p.m.
