The Hawaii basketball men's basketball team looks to regain its offensive swagger tonight. In turn, the Rainbow Warriors hope that will vault them back into the thick of the Western Athletic Conference hunt.

The Rainbows (9-7, 1-3 WAC) host San Jose State (7-8, 1-3) in a game that could prove crucial before UH enters another difficult portion of its conference schedule.

A sixth-place standing wasn't what coach Bob Nash had in mind with a quarter of the conference slate completed. He realizes the Rainbows can't afford to drop games at home against the bottom tier of the conference—especially with a road game at Nevada and a quick-turnaround home game against Utah State looming next week.

“;We want to stay in the race, and you can't stay in the race if you don't win games,”; Nash said. “;Obviously we gotta go out there and try to win it and take it one game at a time.”;

Following an offense-starved road trip—losses at Idaho and Boise State in which the Rainbows scored in the 40s—Nash turned the team's attention back to penetrating zone defenses and fullcourt pressure this week.

“;These last few practices that we've had have been very positive,”; he said. “;Guys have come in and worked hard. So we just covered all the bases, having gone on the road ... we saw some trends that were occurring, so we started to address the concerns we have.”;

The Stan Sheriff Center has been Hawaii's saving grace (nine wins in its 11 last games there), as UH hasn't yet won on the road in three tries. If recent history is any guide, playing SJSU could also help cure some of the 'Bows woes.

Hawaii has defeated San Jose State 11 straight times, with the Rainbows' last loss to the Spartans a 55-54 defeat on February 15, 2003. SJSU coach George Nessman is winless against Hawaii over his three years.

Neither team has been especially sharp of late. Hawaii has dropped three of four to start WAC play, while SJSU has lost four of five.

SJSU hasn't won consecutive conference road games since 1994, but has a chance tonight following a 71-68 overtime win at Fresno State last week. Impressively, the Spartans did it without their top two scorers, Adrian Oliver (16.7 ppg) and Tim Pierce (15.9), who were out with a knee and ankle injury, respectively. They arrived safely with the rest of the Spartans yesterday and are listed as game-to-game.

Nash is preparing for anything and is wary of Oliver, a Washington transfer who wasn't eligible to play in the fall semester.

“;He's a tremendous player, a great shooter,”; Nash said. “;He makes a difference for them. But they have good personnel. On those nights where they put it all together they can be pretty darn good. We understand that.”;

Expect the contest to be decided on the inside. San Jose State and Hawaii are two of the worst teams in the WAC in 3-point shooting at 26.9 percent and 27.7 percent, respectively. They're also two of the better rebounding teams in conference.

UH point guard Hiram Thompson missed both games of the road trip with an injured hamstring but practiced the past two days. His participation could jump-start the offense after Roderick Flemings was the only UH player to score in double figures in the loss to Boise State.

“;Obviously, conditioning is a concern (for Thompson),”; Nash said. “;But for the most part, yeah I think he's ready to go.”;

Flemings still leads all WAC players in scoring at 17.6 points per game.