Oceanic will televise Hawaii’s CIT game
Big or small, a dance is still a dance.
The Hawaii basketball team will begin its postseason dance on Tuesday when it hosts Portland in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.
The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center, and it was announced on Monday that it will be televised live in Hawaii on Oceanic Cable channel 16.
While the Warriors are making their first postseason appearance since 2004, the Portland Pilots are veterans of the small dance known as the CIT.
Portland finished 20-11 overall and in fifth place in the West Coast Conference, and is making its third consecutive appearance in the CIT. The Pilots will bring a balanced offense to Hawaii, as well as one of the most proficient shooting arsenals in the country.
Jared Stohl and Nemanja Mitrovic are Portland’s version of a one-two 3-point combination as they combined for 178 3-pointers this season. Stohl, a 6-2 senior guard, is averaging 13.8 points per game and has 87 3-pointers (at a .431 percentage) this season; Mitrovic, a 6-5 guard, is averaging 13.7 points per game and has 91 3-pointers (at a .467 percentage).
By comparison, Zane Johnson leads Hawaii with 96 3-pointers and a .421 percentage from long range, and he and Bo Barnes have a combined 152 3-pointers.
Led by Stohl and Mitrovic, the Pilots are ranked No. 2 in the country in team 3-point percentage at .417.
Portland also has a solid low-post player in 6-8, 235-pound senior forward Luke Sikma. He averages 13.1 points per game and ranks 12th in the country in rebounding with 10.5 per game.
The Pilots are 3-0 against WAC teams this season, although all those games took place in November and December. They won at Idaho (66-53), and then beat Boise State (88-79) and Nevada (66-62) in Portland.
Hawaii’s biggest advantage will be the Sheriff Center. The Warriors are 13-4 at home this season, including 5-1 in their last six home games.
Johnson leads the Warriors in scoring with 15.8 points per game, and is followed closely by senior forward Bill Amis, who is averaging 15.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Sophomore forward Joston Thomas is contributing 9.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, and sophomore center Vander Joaquim is averaging 9.3 points and a team-high 8.2 rebounds per game.
The CIT features a 24-team field, using a single-elimination format. If Hawaii defeats Portland, it is expected to host a second round game on Friday at the Sheriff Center. The Warriors would likely play the winner of either the Northern Arizona/Santa Clara or Idaho/San Francisco games.
To give you an idea of what Hawaii might be up against on Tuesday, here are two video clips of Portland against WAC teams earlier this season. The first one is against Nevada, the second one is against Boise State:
Dayton,
Is Luke Sikma, the son of NBA Fame, Jack Sikma?
Yes, Luke is Jack Sikma’s son. Luke is No. 43 in white in the videos. Should be a good match-up with Hawaii’s big guys — Bill Amis and Vander Joaquim.
Pretty sure weʻll be seeing a lot less bad hair and inverted pivots than his pops would have brought to the islands.
Forget the TV, get down to the Stan Sheriff arena tonight, we need all Rainbow Warrior fans to show up in person ,the team really needs the sixth man out on the court, this is a exciting team to watch.
Please get to the game, students out there, show up and grow crazy!!!
I agree. Big or small, a dance is a dance is a dance. Big challenge tonite. I hope UH shows up with they’re A game. Go Warriors!!!
My friend and I were discussing (arguing) about whether or not UH played against Jack Sikma and Illinois Wesleyan in one of the post season tournaments around the Fab Five period or shortly after. I remember seeing him make his trademark above the head jumper over and over and we had no answer…and he ended our season (think it was NIT cause no record of UH in the 1977 NCAA). My friend insists it was Jack Sikma against Chaminade. Anyone reading this page know for sure?
Hawaii never played Illinois Wesleyan. Don’t know about Chaminade.
I believe Jack Sikma played at the Blaisdell Arena in one of those college all-star tournaments that were popular then, and was one of the top scorers over several other players from “name” schools. So maybe that was it?