Warriors playing for seeding in next two games
The University of Hawai’i basketball team did not play on Saturday, but still managed to put a stronger grip on its fourth place standing in the Big West Conference.
The Warriors are 19-9 overall and alone in fourth place in the conference at 8-6. Based on the results of other teams on Saturday night, Hawai’i can now finish anywhere from tied for second to tied for fourth at the end of the regular season. Numerous tiebreakers will likely come into play for the seedings for the Big West Conference Tournament, and the Warriors will likely be seeded No. 3, No. 4 or No. 5.
The Warriors will play at second-place UC Santa Barbara on Thursday, and then make a quick turnaround to host Cal State Fullerton at the Stan Sheriff Center on Saturday. If the Warriors want to have any chance of moving up in the standings, they will have to win both games, and receive some upset help from other teams in other games.
Here are some unofficial (and confusing) scenarios, based on whether the Warriors finish 10-6, 9-7 or 8-8:
• If Hawai’i beats both UCSB and Fullerton, to finish 10-6, it could be in a tie for second in the final standings, but will be seeded either No. 3 or No. 4. If Hawai’i and UCSB finish tied at 10-6, the Gauchos will be seeded No. 2 and the Warriors will be No. 3. If Hawai’i, UCSB and Long Beach State all finish tied for second at 10-6, the Gauchos will be seeded No. 2, Long Beach State No. 3, and the Warriors No. 4.
• Long Beach State is currently 9-5, and if it loses both of its remaining games to fall to 9-7, the Warriors will have to finish at 10-6 to claim third place. If both Hawai’i and Long Beach State finish tied at 10-6 or 9-7, the 49ers would win the tiebreaker.
• If Hawai’i goes 1-1 in its remaining games to finish 9-7, it will be the No. 4 seed because the only other team that could finish 9-7 is Long Beach State. The Warriors and 49ers could be tied for third place in the standings at 9-7, but the 49ers would get the No. 3 seed.
• If Hawai’i goes 0-2 and finishes at 8-8, it will still finish in at least a tie for fourth place, but could end up as the No. 5 seed. The only other team that could finish 8-8 is Cal State Fullerton, but the Titans would have to beat both UC Irvine and Hawai’i to get to 8-8. If the Titans are able to do that and finish in a tie with the Warriors, they would get the No. 4 seed and Hawai’i would be No. 5. In this scenario, the teams would face each other in the first round of the Big West Tournament.
Saturday’s Big West results
UC Irvine 55, Cal Poly 48
UC Santa Barbara 67, UC Davis 54
Cal State Fullerton 84, Long Beach State 76
UC Riverside, 106, Cal State Northridge 105 (2OT)
Thursday’s schedule (March 6)
Hawai’i at UC Santa Barbara
UC Irvine at Cal State Fullerton
UC Davis at UC Riverside
Long Beach State at Cal State Northridge
Saturday’s schedule (March 8)
Cal State Fullerton at Hawai’i
UC Riverside at Long Beach State
UC Davis at UC Irvine
UC Santa Barbara at Cal Poly
Same great effort at UCSB for 40 minutes, shoot well, REBOUND get the loose balls, the Defensive and Offensive boards. Williams will get his, shut down the other guys. UH has to score at least 77 pts to win. However, heck at this stage, if UH wins by one, GREAT!
Going to be the toughest turnaround road swing of the season, Tues, then game Thursday agains the Gauchos, next day fly home to Honolulu on Firday March 7, next day senior nite, with Fullerton Titan Senior nite hopeful spoiler team. Hope UH plays well, gets win against UCSB, then comes home tired, but beats Fullerton for their either 20th or 21st Win of season and momentum going into BWC tournament.
Love this team, coach, for or against, Gib has done a good job, Last years of Riley, about the last 4 years, and 3 years of Nash, some 7 years, Not too much excitement in MBB, now, a lot of fans, young and old, like when team plays fast, and gets wins on road, and home. Hopefully UH can go Post Season and have final record of 25-10 or better!
Thanks Gib, job well done, great upgrade in talent and character student athletes, Now ,get guys focuse, THEY have to EXECUTE, the ball will finally drop, and get that BWC title!!
Go Rainbow Warriors!! Go Bows!
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Very important that UH gets 2 wins, for momentum sake, Dayton thanks for breakdown, UH just has to play their perfect basketball, the week of BWC tournament, whether seeded 2, 3 or 4. Just win 3 games in a row , they are in the NCAA tournament.
The real drama. If UH finishes regular season at 10-6 BWC play, which included 5-3 home record,AND 5-3 road record. so pretty good finish. Overall record at that point 21-9… Then makes it to the BWC tournament championship game, but LOSES. They finish that tourney with record of overall 23-10, kind of figure ONLY post Season hope , the buy in CBI, more likely the CIT, Riley Invitational. if UH has 22 or 23 wins, and does not win BWC tournament championship game with NCAA invite, hope that UH and Ben Jay, and sponsors, big wheels, boosters, would support one of the smaller tournaments, the team could use more practice, and team could still play for a championship, however at this point MOOT.
UH MBB team, focus, get the final 2 wins of regular season, take one game at a time in the BWC tournament, and win it, go NCAA’s and you guys happy, and thousands of Hawaii MBB fans, elated!
Go Bows!!
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Aloha – so sorry but UHMBB will split next two games – go into tournament in 4th place and lose 2nd round, . . . just keepin’ it real. For all the hope and promise this team showed they just could not perform at championship level consistently.
Mediocre performance in key games + mediocre coaching = mediocre results. At the end of the day, with this talent and skills, UH should have won the BWC and went in top seed with vision on getting to NCAA’s. Not going to happen this year.
Prove me wrong ‘Bows – go kick some . . . . ! Mahalo.
Thatʻs the Spirit!
Go ʻBows!
Dallan was it you? or servante, Isaac, derek,jjay, DK, FUHA, akuhead2 , playhoopsa, UHF, Palolo, warrior, someone mentioned if UH had the Doctors,the sports psychiatrist Doctors, that helped, Riley’s team, or even Nash.
Maybe worth a try, could Ben Jay, summon one or two, to have guys focus,relax, and time to play ball they play smart, execute and finish. That Riley 27 win NCCA team, the whole team together, and had Xavier down 10 pts at half time. Even though they did their mantras, meditation, David West and the Musketeers, took them down.
Dallan , curious whether you are Laura Beeman or one her gal pals? Or one former or two former coaches or players, when things go south, you will pull the guys further down. to the south Pole.
I love the fight and agression of Nevels, Smith, Sham, Fotu…gotta get tougher, and Herr Standhardinger,..plus if Rozitis can make 6 pt s. 7 boards 2 blocked shots, and 2 assists, 1 steal and several shot clock violations for UCSB, UH can win.
Dallan, from Dallas, dear young girl or boy that you maybe…I know you loved Riley, maybe you are JOAN!
I go ONE UP ON YOU…fun part of year fans!!! The DREADED REVERSE PSYCHOLOGY…UH will stink in UCSB, lose by 30, one or two guys get suspended for fighting, and loss for season, key PF and PG. Fullerton, rehot UH not, UH gets blown out on senior nite by 29 pts, much sadness on final autograph day. UH gets on plane, one and done, they lose by 42 points to lites out shooting CSUN…right….WRONG—back to the future,UH MBB team everything to gain, get rest, hit weights, rebound, and shoot, shoot shoot FT line mid range to 3 line, and DEFEND. UH will win 2 games to end season, then go 3-0 BWC tourney, then Selection Sunday, 15th seed against, you guessed it…for the third time in 20 years, Syracuse, and UH goes out an upsets the by eight.
Hey Dallan, girl or boy…Anaheim Honda Center, close to Disneyland where dreams come true!!
Go Bows. and one final time Dallan, Delena, Mahalo and thankyou, thanyou very much!!
(sic,….:D tounge in cheek, relax Dallan, Riley your boy or whatever has cool job and is enjoying retirement, so is Bob Nash!)
Dayton, all in jest…Hope UH, seriously can make a 5 game run, starting thie thursday March 6 , go 5-0 and make NCAA dance, they can do it, have to play smart, hard and together, virtually every break, call, and shot , loose ball, steal, assists, and FT shooting, they have to make, The can win the Dan Nab it
touney in Anaheim, Mickey Mouse land. Just half joking fans, hard to believe season went by very fast, up and down, however MORE UP than down, and UH can end up on top, and going to THE DANCE,DANCE,DANCE..NCAA HERE WE COME!
(P.S.Dallan, you should post more, enjoy the ying and yang, not quite sure if you hate Rocha, Nash, Little, love Riley, hate Arnold, or love O’neil Halm, or Pitino? Have fun, brother or sister!)
FYI Dallan, this Hawaii team was picked to place sixth in the preseason. All the so-called experts in the magazines and websites also picked Hawaii in the middle. Nobody said Hawaii was going to win or was supposed to win the Big West (except for some of the really die-hard enthusiasts who share their feelings here).
By that standard, this team has exceeded expectations. As far as the Big West Tourney, Hawaii has as good a shot as anybody, no matter what seed they are. Top 3 are UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara and Long Beach State are all beatable. This is not like the old WAC, when Utah, BYU and UNLV were head and shoulders above the rest. Even the later WAC with Utah State and Nevada were considered tough draws for Hawaii. It’s been a long time since a UH team went to conference tournament and us fans think they have a real chance to beat every team, not a big underdog against anybody. Let’s enjoy this.
I agree with Dallan. The guys are just so inconsistent and often commit very stupid mistakes at key points in the game. Like Shamburger towards the end of the LBSU game. We also have a tendency to, when we’re ahead by a comfortable margin (8+ points), to switch game plan and play too defensively. If you’re up by 8, then keep up with the game plan. Why change something that isn’t broken?
The simple fact is that UH hasn’t beaten the top teams in the conference consistently. They lose to the top teams at home. That tells me that this team is not tough enough to get over the hump in the conference. There were close games down the wire but something is wrong, either a lapse on defense or a failure to execute on the offense end. I have also questioned the coaching and the substitution pattern. Example, against Long Beach State Spearman had a hot start with 11 points in the first half. After 2 fouls he came out and sat the rest of the half and Long Beach State came back to make it a tight game at the half when Hawaii was clearly in control most of the half. When someone is hot, keep riding him until he cools off. If Spearman picked up his 3rd foul in the first half, then I would take him out. Well, the 2nd half starts and Spearman goes in. By now, he is now cold after sitting for a long time, plus the halftime. What happens? Spearman doesn’t score a single point in the second half and ends up with the same 11 points he had after knocking 3 shots from down town. I also don’t understand why Thomas didn’t play, at all. Rozitis was having a hard time handling the ball and making some turnovers. Offensively, he’s so limited and he couldn’t score on any post up moves. The only 2 points he got was on a put back.
But, this team is still talented enough to win the BW tournament and make it to the DANCE. We have to shoot the ball for a good percentage, at least 50%, assuming our defense is decent.
Dallan, just go back in your time machine: Riley Wallace, your man, his last 4 years, MBB interest waning, No invite to NCAA’s or NIT’s , even the type of athletes, save for Ahmet Gueye, and underacheiver in Sensley, and various mix and match players, a good one in Matt Lojeski, who is very close to having a shot at NBA role player, next year.
So Wallace’s last 4 years, probably 9 years, NO Post Season, barely get win one in WAC tourney. Nash, 3 years, going nowhere, then gone. Gib, love him or loathe him as winbows says, at least he got us diehards, and dozens of newbies, talking about UH hoops in March! Kudos, to a very young NCAA D1 coach. As winbows says, the upgrade at guard and next year with Negus and Fleming, two 3 star rated athletes, to complement what they have coming back, team will be strong Offensively, more firepower, from rim to 3 line!
I don’t know, winbows just kidding you,…we need a laugh. I am sure you were not coach, or played sports at UH, like our family, was different back several decades ago, however, the kids, better students, long road trips, and better athletes. So Gib is on right track. The EXECUTION, UH, either the effort, or lack of on D or O, and losing some very close ones now, UH can fix that. Rebounding, block out, let Williams, get his, or at least body him, or get him into foul trouble, the whole thing about playing a good big like Alan, UH currently has no physical specimen to match him. Tim Shepherd could, so could Reggie Cross, Vincent Smalls, some real Animals, beasting it.
UH will have legitimate shot to win last 2 games, and go out and try to go 3-0 BWC tournament and to NCAA dance. I really believe, this team, just the focuse, the lack of execution, getting confused on what to run, look to the bench, timeouts or not, game managment, players plus Gib learning. They can fix those problems, just be balling perfectly, UH scared of no one. Play, like they did against Irvine on the road, effort at Mizzou first half, and 4 game winning streak on the road. Look for UH to come back with the BWC Tournament Title, NCAA invite, and the championship banner and trophy!
Go Bows! And sheeesssh! Dallan, lighten up, it is only a game, some of these guys, will be battling infirmities, some go off to war, after, their career over, let them enjoy their UH academic and athletic career! We don’t want to dump on the boys, they are trying hard, to a man, that last game against the Beach, the guys were going all out, and that is all we can expect, just tighten up, fix up, coach up, and win that Dang BWC tourney, will be the best gift to loyal, through wins and losses, for thousands of fans from Kapalama Heights to Latvia, Auckland , N.Z. to Chicago, Illinois!
Go Bows!
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Hey winbows1, playhoopsa, UHF, and the die hard UH basketball fans.
There is a growing fan base of the team here in KIWI Land. Although disappointed in the lost to LBSU, we are looking forward to next 2 games on regular season and then the Big West Conference tournament. I got good feeling about this team, building up to peak in the right time…
Keep the faith, the best is yet to come.
GO THE MIGHTY WARRIORS..
I know that UH was picked to finish 6th in the league but you can’t judge the performance on where they were projected to finish. UH should be a top 3 team in the BWC year in and out. The BWC is a very poor conference. There are 32 D 1 conferences and the BWC is #21 right above the WAC. Just for perspective the MAC conference is #12, Summit league is #17 and Ivy league is #18. UH should be far superior than these other teams in league.
I know UH has some challenges in regards to recruiting out to the islands but we have a lot more to offer in terms of education over most of the BW schools and basketball venue. Seriously most of the gyms in the BWC are nice high school gyms with the exception of UCSB, Davis, LBSU and UCI. A 4th place finish in this very weak league is not impressive. If we were in the MWC we would be in the cellar with San Jose St.
Q your one of my favorite players but you gotta hitthat 3 point shot when you are left open. You could do it in summer league, practice practice practice.
PONO–All valid points, however, to get 15 guys who are at least 2-3 star, scholie mbb athletes from USA and globe, it gets tougher, All the BCS type DI MBB programs, going to JC, europe, and that hotbed Sengal!. Plus NOW the NZ connection, and land of Oz. Gib can just get the best he can get, no head cases, solid students, not felons, and guys who can shoot, and NOW block shots, guard the paint, Rebound, be the best rebounding team in BWC and perhaps the nation. Gib gotta, get at least two athletic, shot blocking, rebounding machines, who can hit 55% FG and 70% FT line, plus have great hands like Fotu, and can finish either hand.
Isaac Fotu, the offensive game, one on one, against guys his size, he could probably score, on small forwards he would post in the NBA. Isaac, get bigger, stronger, develop your 3 point shot and ability to create, and run and finish, get more athletic, and bring some of your fellow Kiwis who are like you over to UH!
UH still THE HARDEST DI MBB NCAA program in the world to recruit to, love the uptempo style, can attract good athlets. And get guys that fit the system, or a 7’3″ 295, beast, who can average 20ppg 5 blocks, 3 assists, 2 steals, 70% from FG, and 38% from 3 line, and 85% from FT line, THEN GIB will adjust his system around that all world Senegal, India, athlete. Who knows, this Recruiting period spring to fall .. will be key, upgrade the bigs and bring in creative active scorers besides Negus, then play for the national titile. as Negus says: WHY NOT UH? don’t set goals low, set them high, and work for it!
The said former, limbo assistant was key in getting a great hybrid PF, hope things work out. Man, hope it is good, or singular, minor, thing,s we do not need the mid seventies, fluff and fold!
I’m a die hard fan like the rest of the people who post here but I am also a realist and want the best for the program. I feel like with international recruits from Europe and Australia Hawaii is on an even playing field with other mid major programs. Distance isn’t a big issue since they are already coming a long ways to the US. It’s all about a pipeline and establishing connections so they feel comfortable with the staff. Hawaii is mainly at a disadvantage with HS players b/c most of them do not know what it is like to live 2500 miles away from family and friends. To compound this if they are red shirting they do not travel with the team and won’t see family if they are from CA. On the JC level I think those guys are just looking for the best opportunity to get playing time to show their stuff since they have limited eligibility so UH can compete if they have the right opportunities available for them. These guys are also more mature and can make the adjustment to Hawaii easier.
With all that said I just think that with the talent we have we should be a perennial top 3 team in the BWC. It’s tough for us to travel but we also have the best home court advantage. The other thing that bugs me with Gib is his SOS. We could end the year with 20 plus wins but we still will only get consideration for the CIT if we don’t win the BWC tournament. Why play the cupcake games if it’s not going to help us in the post season picture? Gib’s just scheduling for the incentives in his contract which is why it is such a horrible contract for all parties.
PONO . Gib contract done deal by former AD and approved. He did say he knows SOS important and wants to get home and home with PAC 12 teams which makes sense . I believe he is building program right way ..why scschedule like LBSU if they could end up losing 17-18 games and only shot at any post season is NCAA or nothing at all.Wait til next year and year after with Negus..Jankovic with Fotu on board ..we love UH MBB.. to get to that consistent top 35 level and NIT or NCAA every year. Even took Riley 13 years to have that 2 x NCAA team with Savo NBA free agent. Pono UH will be good for years to come right fit and proper..go bows ..if UH wins BWC and goes to NCSA..all wiil be good in UH MBB FANDOM!!
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I meant NCAA’s!!
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Go Rainbow Warriors. Important, to do everything to get win at UCSB. Just the confidence and final push through last game against Fullerton. If UH can finish 10-6 , and on a 2 game winning streak, one on road in Cali and one at home, next week at Anaheim, UH should be ready. Hope that Enos, Valdes, Rozitis, Smith, and whomever called off the bench is ready to contribute. Also, the Starters have to, the next 2 games, score double figures, Standhardinger AND Fotu go off, as well as Nevels, Spearman, and Shamburger gets his 10 pts 10 assists, 1 turnover, UH will be ready, I don’t see QUIT in any guy on team, the are winners, fighters to the end.
Go Warriors. Go Bows!
Uhfanzonly1.
Looking forward to the santa barbara game.
Hawaii can play with anybody in the big west.
They just have to play a whole 40 min game.
I believe hawaii can win the bwc tourney
And make it to the big dance.lets go 5-0
And make to the NCAA’S .