[ RAINBOW BASKETBALL ]
Rainbows hoping for
rare sweep of road tripHawaii is performing well away
from home after going 1-8 in
WAC road games last season
The Hawaii men's basketball team traveled from Dallas to Ruston, La., by bus Thursday night, but the Rainbow Warriors were flying high entering the final stop of an 11-day odyssey.
Hawaii, which went 1-8 in Western Athletic Conference road games last season, faces Louisiana Tech today with an opportunity to sweep its three-game road trip.
"Everyone's real enthusiastic and we have a confidence we didn't have last year," UH guard Michael Kuebler said. "We know that we can win on the road and we just need to come prepared and play our type of game."
Hawaii at LaTech
When: Today, 3:05 p.m.Where: Thomas Assembly Center
TV: Live, KFVE-TV
Radio: Live, 1420-AM
Internet: uhathletics.hawaii.edu
UH (11-3 overall, 3-1 WAC) won three consecutive road games in 2002, but has never swept three games on the same road trip during the regular season since joining the conference. The Rainbows edged San Jose State and Southern Methodist in the first two legs of the trip.
"It would catch you back up from that poor start we had with Fresno (State)," UH coach Riley Wallace said, referring to UH's home loss to open the WAC schedule, "because nobody expected Hawaii to go on the road and win two, let alone three."
Both of the teams ahead of UH in the standings face tough road games today. Fresno State (9-5, 5-0) plays at Texas-El Paso and Rice (11-3, 3-0) visits Tulsa.
For Hawaii to complete the triple play, the 'Bows will need to record their first-ever win in Ruston. UH is 0-2 in the Thomas Assembly Center, losing by four in 2002 and falling by a single point last season.
LaTech enters today's game at 8-7 overall and 2-3 in the WAC after beating San Jose State 73-62 on Thursday to snap a three-game losing streak.
Although All-WAC forward Antonio Meeking completed his eligibility last season, the Bulldogs remain tough in the paint thanks to true freshman Paul Millsap, the nation's leading rebounder.
The 6-foot-8 forward, last year's Mr. Basketball in Louisiana, is averaging a double-double with 14.2 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. He posted 21 points and 21 rebounds in a loss to Nevada last week and has made 64 percent of his shots from the field to lead the WAC. He also ranks second in the league in blocked shots with 23.
"He's just one of those kids that really has a nose for the ball," LaTech coach Keith Richard said earlier this week. "For a young kid, a freshman ... to put those type of numbers up rebounding-wise is really phenomenal."
LaTech hasn't done as much damage from outside, as the Bulldogs are shooting 31 percent beyond the 3-point line and have connected on a league-low 61 attempts. LaTech tied a season high with seven 3-pointers on Thursday as guard JueMichael Young led the way with 24 points against San Jose State.
While Millsap has emerged as one of the WAC's top post players, Hawaii's depth in the paint has been a key so far on the road trip.
Reserve forwards Jeff Blackett and Paul Jesinskis provided a boost off the bench in relief of starters Phil Martin and Haim Shimonovich in UH's 66-65 win over SMU on Thursday. Blackett notched his first career double-double and Jesinskis scored seven points in a key first-half stretch.
In the first two games of the trip, UH's bench accounted for 61 points, while SJSU and SMU combined for 18.
"It's huge," Kuebler said of the impact of the reserves. "When you have stuff like that happen, there's pretty much nothing other teams can do. When you have more than just the starting five adding to the game, which we have, it's tough to prepare for that."
Kuebler continues to lead the team in scoring with 19.7 points per game and forward Julian Sensley has 26 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists in the last two games.
Following the SMU game, the Rainbows boarded a bus bound for Ruston and arrived in the wee hours of yesterday morning.
Wallace said the four-hour drive eliminated much of the hassle of flying to Shreveport and then driving to Ruston, and gave the players more time to recharge for today's game.
"We're more rested than we were (last year)," he said. "We would have had to get up at 6 o'clock this morning, gone out to the airport, checked in our cars, got on the plane, fly to Shreveport, check cars out, drive another hour, check in at the hotel and we would have been in here at mid-afternoon. (Taking a bus) worked out better."
The team returns to Honolulu tomorrow and continues the WAC season next week by hosting UTEP and Boise State at the Stan Sheriff Center.
WAC standings
Thursday's games
Conference All games W L Pct. W L Pct. Fresno St. 5 0 1.000 9 5 .643 Rice 3 0 1.000 11 3 .786 Hawaii 3 1 .750 11 3 .786 Nevada 3 2 .600 9 5 .643 UTEP 2 2 .500 11 3 .786 Louisiana Tech 2 3 .400 8 7 .533 Boise St. 1 3 .250 9 5 .643 SMU 1 3 .250 7 7 .500 Tulsa 1 3 .250 5 8 .385 San Jose St. 0 4 .000 5 9 .357
Louisiana Tech 73, San Jose State 62
Hawaii 66, SMU 65
UTEP 79, Nevada 76
Fresno State 78, Boise State 61
Today's games
Nevada at Boise State, 11 a.m.
Rice at Tulsa, 11:05 a.m.
Hawaii at Louisiana Tech, 3 p.m.
San Jose State at SMU, 3 p.m.
Fresno State at UTEP, 4:05 p.m.Hawaii's remaining games
Today, at Louisiana Tech, 3 p.m.; Jan. 22, UTEP, 7:05 p.m.; Jan. 24, Boise State, 7:05 p.m.; Jan. 28, at Rice, 3:05 p.m.; Jan. 31, at Tulsa, 10:05 a.m.
Feb. 7, San Jose State, 7:05 p.m.; Feb. 12, Louisiana Tech, 7:05 p.m.; Feb. 14, SMU, 7:05 p.m.; Feb. 18, at Boise State, 4:30 p.m.; Feb. 21, ESPN Bracket Buster Saturday, TBA; Feb. 23, at UTEP, 3:05 p.m.; Feb. 27, Tulsa, 7:05 p.m.; Feb. 29, Rice, 3:05 p.m.
Mar. 4, at Nevada, 5:05 p.m.; Mar. 6, at Fresno State, 5 p.m.
Mar. 9-13 WAC Tournament, at Fresno, Calif.
