Warrior Insider

Due to a recent schedule change, the University of Hawai’i basketball team will host UTEP on the opening night of the 2019 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.

The change was announced on Friday. The Rainbow Warriors were previously slated to face Ball State on the opening night of the tournament. Ball State will now face Washington in the first round of the tournament.

The Hawai’i vs. UTEP game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on December 22 at the Stan Sheriff Center. The Diamond Head Classic is a three-day tournament (Dec. 22, 23 and 25) featuring eight teams. Every game in the tournament will be televised on either ESPN2 or ESPNU.

The Miners finished 8-21 last season, including 3-15 in the Conference USA. Five players with starting experience are returning for UTEP, including 6-foot-9, 280-pound forward Efe Odigie who averaged 12.7 points and 10.1 rebounds per game as a freshman last season.

Here is the updated tournament schedule:

December 22
10:00 a.m. – Houston vs. Portland (ESPNU)
12:00 p.m. – Georgia Tech vs. Boise State (ESPNU)
4:30 p.m. – Ball State vs. Washington (ESPN2)
6:30 p.m. – Hawai’i vs. UTEP (ESPN2)

December 23
11:30 a.m. – Semifinal game (ESPNU)
2:00 p.m. – Consolation game (ESPN2)
6:00 p.m. – Semifinal game (ESPNU)
8:30 p.m. – Consolation game (ESPN2)

December 25
8:30 a.m. – Consolation game (ESPNU)
10:30 a.m. – Consolation game (ESPNU)
1:30 p.m. – Third place game (ESPN2)
3:30 p.m. – Championship game (ESPN2)