The Hawaii men's basketball team is looking for a turning point.

Getting a win tonight against Utah State, the top team in the Western Athletic Conference, would go a long way toward establishing one.

A momentum shift came last year after Hawaii's defeat of USU in Honolulu, though it wasn't quite what the team envisioned. The Rainbows dropped their final seven games of the season after a thrilling 71-66 defeat of the Aggies at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The Aggies and Rainbows both arrived in Honolulu yesterday riding polar-opposite streaks. USU (18-1, 6-0 WAC) is on the cusp of being nationally ranked and has a 13-game winning streak, the second-longest in the country behind the 15 of St. Mary's.

Hawaii (9-9, 1-5), meanwhile, has dropped four league games in a row and will try to build on a successful second half in their 74-63 loss at Nevada on Thursday.

Hawaii coach Bob Nash didn't hold back praise for USU coach Stew Morrill's system. The Aggies run a multitude of preset plays garnered from many teams—including Hawaii—over the years. They use a flash-card system from the sidelines to call out plays.

“;They have a responsibility for where they need to be, when they need to be there,”; Nash said. “;They do certain things, and they're there. They play hard every single minute. They're just a well-coached basketball team that runs their stuff extremely well.”;

USU's smooth execution has led to its second-best start in school history and some eye-popping figures to go with it. Most notably, USU is tied with Kentucky for the best field-goal percentage in the country at 50.8. The Aggies are also 7-0 on the road this season, the best away record in the nation. And they've done all of it without last year's WAC player of the year, Jaycee Carroll.

Disrupting the Aggies' sets will be key if UH is to turn things around. When the Rainbows have allowed 50 percent shooting or better, they're 0-4.

“;We just gotta mess up their offense,”; forward Adhar Mayen said. “;Just be more aggressive, deny, make them speed it up.”;

Utah State forward Gary Wilkinson is third in the conference in scoring at 17.1 points per game, right behind Hawaii forward Roderick Flemings, who fell to second at 17.3. The Aggies also boast two of the top five WAC players in field-goal percentage—forward Tai Wesley is second at 64.4 and Wilkinson is third at 60.5.

At the other end of the spectrum, Hawaii is shooting just 39 percent in WAC play. The Rainbows counted on trips to the free-throw line (30 attempts per game) to boost their scoring in nonconference play, but since league play started, those chances have dried up to just 15.8 attempts.

Nash has shown a willingness to reach deeper into the bench for production. He inserted freshman scout-teamer Conrad Fitzgerald when he wanted a more athletic lineup in UH's second-half rally against Nevada.

“;It took me by surprise,”; said Fitzgerald, who scored his first career basket against the Wolf Pack. “;Of course, I wish I could have contributed much more than that, but I tried my best on defense.”;