UH hoops lineup up
in the air

Coach Wallace is mum on
his starters as the ’Bows
prepare for Tulsa

Practices have become a daily audition for members of the Hawaii basketball team.

Over the past two weeks, the Rainbow Warriors' workouts have been a competition for playing time and starting spots as the UH coaches search for the most effective combinations with the regular season swiftly drawing to a close.

Hawaii at Tulsa When: Tomorrow, 3:05 p.m. Hawaii time Where: Donald W. Reynolds Center TV: None Radio: Live, KKEA 1420-AM Internet: HawaiiAthletics.com

"We've got a lot of guys now competing," UH coach Riley Wallace said. "It's who's been playing good in practice and working, and we just find what's good for the team at the time."

Wallace said he'll decide after today's practice which five players will start against Tulsa tomorrow at the Donald W. Reynolds Center. Tipoff for the Western Athletic Conference game is set for 3:05 p.m. Hawaii time.

The Rainbows have sent eight different starting lineups onto the court this season and Wallace has altered the team's first unit for three of the last four games. No UH player has started all 23 games this season.

UH's latest lineup move took forward Julian Sensley out of the starting five for Monday's game against UTEP, as the junior came off the bench for the first time in his UH career. Two games prior to that, center Chris Botez was put on the bench as the 'Bows went with a smaller lineup. Botez then rejoined the starting group in Sensley's place on Monday.

Guard Jake Sottos and forward Jeff Blackett now own the team's longest starting streaks at nine games each.

The Rainbows (14-9, 6-8 WAC) ended yesterday's practice with a 10-minute scrimmage that ended tied at 25 after Sensley hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds to knot the score.

"He's trying to get back in there," Wallace said of UH's leading scorer and rebounder.

Wallace was pleased with the effort on both sides during the scrimmage and said he'd wait another day before settling on a lineup for the game with the Golden Hurricane (7-17, 3-11).

"They all played well," he said. "I'll sit down and look at it after we work out (today)."

Although the trip to Oklahoma is among their longest each season, the Rainbows have made themselves at home in Tulsa in recent years. UH has won four of the last six meetings at the Reynolds Center. Overall, the Rainbows have claimed eight of the last 10 games against the Hurricane.

Tomorrow's game will be UH's last visit to the Reynolds Center for a WAC contest as Tulsa will join Conference USA next season.

Like UH, Tulsa has endured its share of close losses this season. The Hurricane have lost nine games by six points or fewer and dropped three games in overtime. Among the tight games was a 76-73 loss to UH at the Stan Sheriff Center on Jan. 29.

"I keep looking at them and you look at them on film and you wonder how their record is what it is, because they really play hard," Wallace said.

Though wins have been hard to come by, Tulsa does have home wins over Fresno State and UTEP in conference play. Senior forward Jarius Glenn leads Tulsa with 17 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. Junior Anthony Price averages 14.1 points and had 23 in Tulsa's loss to UH last month.