Warrior Insider

The Hawaii basketball team is vowing to go “all in” against nationally-ranked Utah State on Saturday.

But in an effort to build a stronger hand, the Warriors are asking for a helping hand from their fans.

Saturday’s game is being hyped as “All In Against The Aggies” and the UH athletic department is promoting several discounts and added features to the game in an effort to attract a capacity crowd to the 10,300-seat Stan Sheriff Center.

“We kind of want to invite the fans in for this weekend by calling it ‘all in’ weekend so we can pack the house and have a great game against Utah State,” Hawaii head coach Gib Arnold said.

Perhaps most notable, UH-Manoa students can attend the game for free. Arnold and his staff spent much of Monday afternoon walking around the Manoa campus, encouraging students to attend the game.

“That’s something I really want to get going here – I really want the students to be involved at our games,” he said. “They’re off to a good start, we’ve had some good student turnouts at our games already, but I think we can really take it to another level at this game.”

There will also be a “Bud Light Backcourt Tailgate” held outside of the Sheriff Center before the game, from 5 to 7 p.m. Admission to the tailgate is $20, and includes food, drinks, entertainment, and chances to win lucky number prizes.

The last time a Hawaii basketball team played before a sellout crowd at the Sheriff Center was in March 2004 for a NIT game against Nebraska. That game – and the sellout crowd – became a reality after the Warriors upset nationally-ranked Utah State at Logan, Utah (prior to the Aggies joining the WAC).

Hawaii is now 12-8 overall and 3-5 in the Western Athletic Conference. The Warriors are on a three-game winning streak.

The only hotter team in the WAC is Utah State, which jumped into the national rankings this week at No. 25 in the Coaches Poll. The Aggies are 18-2 overall and 7-0 in the conference.

For ticket information and more details on the “All In Against the Aggies” promotion, please visit hawaiiathletics.com.

Here is video of Gib Arnold making an impromptu visit at a UH fraternity meeting to invite students to the game: