FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Deonte Tatum, who hails from Milwaukee, Wisc., and the 'Bows take on UW-Milwaukee today.

Hawaii guard Tatum
looking to bust chops,
not brackets

The UH junior goes up against
his hometown team in today’s
ESPN Bracket Busters game

There's a little more at stake today for Deonte Tatum.

The Hawaii guard hails from Milwaukee, plays ball at the Wisconsin-Milwaukee gym in the offseason, and his cousin is the Panthers' second-leading scorer.

Bracket Busters Saturday UW-Milwaukee vs. Hawaii When: Today, 3 p.m. Where: Stan Sheriff Center TV: Live, ESPN2 Radio: Live, KKEA 1420-AM Internet: HawaiiAthletics.com Tickets: $20 (lower level, single seats only); $15 (upper level, adults); $5 (upper level, students); $5 (Super Rooter/Manoa Maniacs). Free upper level tickets for UH students with valid Spring 2005 ID (limited supply at Gate A starting one hour before tipoff). Parking: $3 Promotions: "Green Out." Fans are encouraged to wear green shirts to the game. ... The first 7,000 fans receive a "Spirit Towel" ... UH Kids Club members receive a free ticket with purchase of an adult ticket ... Fans may redeem their ticket stub for a free ticket to the UH-Pacific baseball game, which starts at 5:30 p.m. at Les Murakami Stadium.

So he doesn't want to think about the kind of reception he'd get back home this summer if UWM manages to steal a win over the Rainbow Warriors in today's ESPN Bracket Busters game at the Stan Sheriff Center.

"They've been calling and leaving me messages," Tatum said. "We're talking here and there, but we're going to let the game talk for itself."

Tatum nearly joined his cousin, Panthers forward Joah Tucker, at UWM last year. They played in youth leagues together growing up, but when Tatum chose to attend UH, an on-court reunion in college seemed unlikely at best.

But in an odd twist of fate, Tatum will meet up with Tucker and the Panthers today in a nationally televised contest that tips off at 3 p.m.

"I never thought I would (play Tatum), but the Bracket Busters hooked that up for us," Tucker said. "It's crazy how stuff happens.

"We've been talking some smack. It's bragging rights for the rest of our lives."

Both UH and UWM, the Horizon League's regular-season champion, are participating in Bracket Busters Saturday for the third straight year. The event was designed to highlight mid-major programs late in the season as they try to enhance their profiles heading into March.

The early start locally puts the Rainbow Warriors (14-7) and Panthers (20-5) in prime time on the East Coast for an ESPN2 audience.

"The exposure is the payoff," UH coach Riley Wallace said. "The game is really prime time, so it's a really good hook-up."

But by pitting teams from smaller conferences against each other, it can be a bust for some of the participants on the NCAA Tournament bubble.

"I like the concept because it helps scheduling and it helps create some late-season good basketball games," UWM coach Bruce Pearl said. "But as far as the NCAA is concerned, we actually hurt ourselves, because whoever wins gets helped and whoever loses gets hurt. A true bracket buster would be Hawaii playing Cal. A true bracket buster would be us playing Marquette, and knocking off guys like that."

The Bracket Busters game provides UH a brief break from the Western Athletic Conference grind. The Rainbows return to WAC play against Texas-El Paso on Monday as they continue to fight for seeding heading toward next month's conference tournament.

Wallace said he'll stick with the rotation that sparked UH's 81-67 win over Boise State on Wednesday. Hawaii forward Julian Sensley is expected to play today despite spraining his right knee against BSU.

Sensley said he's still favoring the knee, but he was able to go full speed in practice yesterday.

"It's getting better; it's already a whole lot better than when it happened," Sensley said. "Hopefully (today) it'll be all right."

The Rainbows figure to have a significant height advantage as UWM starts a three-guard lineup with 6-foot-7 forward Adrian Tigert as its tallest starter. But the Panthers use their quickness and athleticism to play an up-tempo game, and their 74 points per game lead the Horizon League.

"If we're playing at our pace we'll be getting up and down (the court)," said the 6-5 Tucker. "Out of the net and let's go, pressing and getting up and down."

UWM clinched the Horizon League's regular-season crown with a 64-53 win over Butler on Wednesday and reached the 20-win mark for the third straight season.

The trip comes in a soft spot in the Panthers' schedule and having the conference title secured made the non-stop flight from Chicago less of a burden. Following today's game, the Panthers have another week off before closing the regular season at Cleveland State next Saturday.

"We talked before the (Butler) game about how much longer the trip would have been if we didn't sew the regular-season championship up," Pearl said. "Once we had the championship we were really able to shift gears to this opportunity."

UWM guard Ed McCants leads the Horizon League in scoring with 17.2 points per game and has made a league-best 81 3-point shots. He had a 26-point outing in UWM's 73-62 loss to Kansas in December. Tucker is second on the team with 14.9 ppg.

Ticket count: The UH athletic department is promoting the game as "Sellout Saturday." As of yesterday afternoon, about 7,500 tickets had been distributed.