Rainbow Warriors
aren’t taking visiting
Broncos lightly

Boise State has struggled to a
10-14 record this season, but the
Broncos have given UH trouble

The question of which team created the most problems for the Hawaii basketball team was posed to the Rainbow Warriors earlier this season. And the players were quick to answer.

Boise State vs. Hawaii When: Tomorrow, 7:05 p.m. Where: Stan Sheriff Center TV: Live, KFVE Ch. 5 Radio: Live, KKEA 1420-AM Internet: HawaiiAthletics.com Tickets: $20 (lower level, single seats only); $15 (upper level, adults); $5 (upper level, students); $3 (upper level, UH students); $5 (Super Rooter/Manoa Maniacs). Parking: $3 Promotion: The first 500 fans receive a free regulation-size basketball courtesy of Papa John's Pizza Hawaii.

Boise State.

Boise State? Really? The Broncos, who have won back-to-back games just twice this season?

Although BSU has struggled to a 10-14 mark and is 4-9 in the Western Athletic Conference, the Broncos earned the respect of the Rainbows with their win in Boise on Jan. 22.

Boise State led by as many as 20 before a late UH rally resulted in an 80-76 Broncos win that was more lopsided than the score indicated.

"It's been the toughest matchup," UH head coach Riley Wallace said. "That was the only game that we were really out of for any length of time and didn't feel you had a chance to win. They jumped on us right away."

The Rainbows (13-7, 5-7 WAC) will try to avenge the loss tomorrow when they host BSU to open a three-game homestand at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The change from the usual Thursday-Saturday WAC setup is due to the ESPN Bracket Busters game in which UH will play Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Saturday. The 'Bows then return to conference play on Monday against UTEP.

UH returned Sunday from an 11-day road trip that left little in the Rainbows' tank and the schedule gives them one fewer day to get back on Hawaii time while preparing for BSU.

"It makes us a traveling team for the Wednesday game," Wallace said. "This one, we don't have the advantage, it'll be equal except that we have the fans here. But we can't worry about that."

Boise State ran up its lead in the win over UH by pushing the ball up court quickly and jacking up shots early in its possessions. It helped that the Broncos shot 57 percent from the field, but Wallace said the Rainbows' defensive deficiencies aided Boise State's hot shooting.

With that in mind, UH devoted much of yesterday's practice to getting back to basics on defense.

"We have to get ourselves in help position and we have to anticipate better on defense and cover one-on-one better," Wallace said. "Just a lot of things that were breaking down fundamentally."

Slowing down the Broncos' transition attack will be a key for the Rainbows to get back on track after dropping two road games last week.

"You just have to be alert," UH forward Julian Sensley said. "They just beat us up the court every single time, so you have to find your man.

"That's what kills us. It's not like any team has really beaten us in their half-court stuff, it's getting back on 'D' and finding your man. And we've been giving teams too many second-chance shots, so we have to get on the boards."

Rebounding was a major issue in UH's loss at SMU on Saturday when the road-weary 'Bows were beaten 43-23 on the boards.

Last week's losses dropped the Rainbows into seventh place in the league, but they hope being back home for five of their final seven regular-season games provides a boost heading into the postseason.

"The season's far from over," senior forward Jeff Blackett said. "We play everyone tough here, we've proven that. We just have to take every step toward the WAC tournament and hopefully we're peaking at the right time."

Boise State enters the game just below UH in the standings after ending a five-game losing streak with an 82-68 win over Fresno State on Saturday. After beating Hawaii last month, the Broncos dropped their next four, all on the road, and lost a home game to conference leader Nevada.

"We probably played the best 40 minutes we've played all year in the Fresno game," Boise State coach Greg Graham said during yesterday's WAC coaches teleconference. "I thought it was a good bounce back for our kids after being on the road for two straight weeks."

Guard Jermaine Blackburn leads the Broncos with 15.4 points per game. Coby Karl, Franco Harris and Eric Lane are all capable of lighting it up from long range, while forward Jason Ellis is among the WAC's top rebounders at 8.6 per game.