Rainbow Warriors looking
for a little luck

Hawaii is coming off yet another
close loss as it takes on Southern
Methodist today at 3 p.m.

The record keeps skipping on the Hawaii basketball team, incessantly playing the same refrain over ... and over ... and over.

Hawaii at SMU When: Today, 3 p.m. Where: Moody Coliseum TV: None Radio: Live, KKEA 1420-AM Internet: HawaiiAthletics.com

Another road game, another nail-biter, another disappointment.

Aside from an 11-point victory at San Jose State a week ago, the Rainbow Warriors have had fortune turn against them on the road this season. Thursday night's 71-70 defeat at Louisiana Tech was their sixth Western Athletic Conference loss and the third decided by a single point. In all, 12 points separate UH (13-6, 5-6 WAC) from a perfect record.

The Rainbows rolled into Dallas in the wee hours of yesterday morning looking to leave the what-ifs back in Ruston, La., and focus on today's game against Southern Methodist.

"You don't ever want to get used to (close losses). You bounce back, you get after it and try to make corrections," UH coach Riley Wallace said. "This is a team that knows it can play with everybody in the league obviously, and they just have to learn how to beat them.

"Those kinds of games hurt, no question about it. But these kids are resilient, they'll bounce back."

The Rainbows and Mustangs (10-10, 5-7) meet today at 3 p.m. Hawaii time at SMU's Moody Coliseum.

The game concludes UH's three-game road trip, which began with last week's win at San Jose State. Even with the loss at LaTech, a win today would make a trip a success in Wallace's eyes.

UH has won its last three meetings with SMU and seven of the last eight. The 'Bows will try to extend the streak in the final WAC regular-season meeting between the schools.

UH enters the game in sixth place in the conference, a half-game ahead of the Mustangs. A strong finish to the regular season is critical for both teams, not only to build momentum heading into the postseason, but also to stay out of a play-in game in next month's WAC tournament.

The seventh- through 10th-seeded teams must play an extra game to advance to the quarterfinal round in the tournament set for March 8-12 in Reno, Nev.

"You have to build for that tournament now," Wallace said. "At the end of the year you have to win every game you can starting with this one, because we feel we can take everybody left on our schedule."

UH picked up a 71-59 win over SMU on Jan. 13 at the Stan Sheriff Center. But the Mustangs were without guard Bryan Hopkins, who sat out the game with a sprained wrist. Freshman guard Derrick Roberts also missed the game with a knee injury. Both are expected to start today.

Hopkins missed three games due to the injury but remains the Mustangs' catalyst, averaging a team-best 16.7 points per game. He scored 14 points and tied a WAC record with nine steals in SMU's 66-46 win over San Jose State on Thursday.

With Hopkins sidelined, UH jumped out to a 46-23 halftime lead and cruised to the win in the first meeting.

The Rainbows sliced through the Mustangs' man-to-man defense in the first half but were slowed by a zone in the second, and expect to see a variety of looks from SMU the second time around.

"They change their defenses," Wallace said. "They'll press, half-court trap, zone, man. They search for something to bother you, so you have to be ready."

That first meeting was also the breakout game for UH guard Jake Sottos, who has emerged as one of the Rainbows' top scorers. Sottos scored a then-career-high 17 points against the Mustangs and has averaged 18 in the seven games since. He's hit five 3-pointers in each of UH's last three matchups and leads the WAC in 3-point shooting at 46.1 percent.

In addition to Hopkins, the Mustangs feature a strong interior game with Eric Castro and Patrick Simpson. Castro averages 14.9 points, shooting 57 percent from the field, and leads the Mustangs with 7.9 rebounds per game. Simpson contributes 12.8 points per game.

WAC standings

	WAC	Overall
	W	L	Pct.	GB	W	L
Nevada	10	2	.833	--	17	5
UTEP	9	3	.750	1	19	5
Fresno State	7	5	.583	3	13	8
Louisiana Tech	7	5	.583	3	12	9
Rice	6	5	.545	3 1/2	12	8
Hawaii	5	6	.455	4 1/2	13	6
SMU	5	7	.417	5	10	10
San Jose State	3	8	.273	6 1/2	6	14
Tulsa	3	8	.273	6	6	14
Boise State	3	9	.250	7	9	14

Thursday's games
Louisiana Tech 71, Hawaii 70
SMU 66, San Jose State 46
UTEP 93, Fresno State 80
Nevada 67, Boise State 57
Today's games
Rice at Tulsa
Fresno State at Boise State
San Jose State at Louisiana Tech
Hawaii at SMU
Nevada at UTEP