Warriors look to rebound at Cal Poly
The University of Hawai’i basketball team will have to rebound in more ways than one on Saturday.
The Warriors will try to get back on the winning track when they play a road game at Cal Poly. The Big West Conference game is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. Pacific Time (5:00 p.m. Hawai’i Time) at the Mott Athletic Center in San Luis Obispo, Calif. The game will not be televised, but will be available via online video streaming at www.bigwest.tv.
The Warriors are 14-7 overall and in second place in the Big West at 5-2 following a 76-66 road loss at UC Santa Barbara on Thursday. The Mustangs are 6-16 overall and tied for seventh place at 3-5.
Hawai’i got out-rebounded 33-23 and was out-scored 48-32 on “points in the paint” in the loss at UCSB.
“The last time we had something like this, it was at Irvine,” Hawai’i head coach Eran Ganot said, referring to an earlier loss at UC Irvine when the Warriors got out-rebounded by double-digits. “We don’t usually get the result we want when we get beat on the boards. I like the way we responded after the Irvine game. Right now we have to respond again and get our rebounding right.”
It might help that rebounding is not a strength for Cal Poly. The Mustangs rank eighth (out of nine) in the Big West in rebounding at 31.9 per game, and are last in the conference for rebound margin at minus 4.6 per game. By comparison, Hawai’i is averaging 33.7 rebounds per game have a margin of plus 1.2.
What’s more, the Warriors already own a 65-61 victory over Cal Poly on January 16 in Honolulu. Hawai’i had one of its worst shooting nights of the season in that win (32.8 percent from the field), but won the rebounding battle 47-35.
UH senior guard Eddie Stansberry scored 17 points in the win over Cal Poly last month, and will need regain his shooting touch. He was limited to nine points in the loss at UCSB. He leads the team in scoring at 16.6 points per game, and ranks second in the Big West with 65 3-pointers.
Senior forward Zigmars Raimo, who had a double-double of 11 points and 14 rebounds in the first meeting with Cal Poly, is averaging 9.7 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. Junior point guard Drew Buggs leads the Big West in assists at 6.3 per game, and is also averaging 9.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.
The Warriors have played the last three games without injured starting forwards Samuta Avea and Bernardo da Silva. Both players remain questionable.
Among the Warriors who have stepped up in recent games are freshman guard Justin Webster (8.3 points per game, 26 3-pointers), sophomore forward Justin Hemsley (9.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per game in conference games), and sophomore center Dawson Carper (5.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, .622 field goal percentage).
Cal Poly is coming off a 92-75 home victory over Long Beach State on Wednesday. It gave them one extra day to prepare for Saturday’s game while the Warriors were playing UCSB on Thursday.
Cal Poly is led by Junior Ballard, a 6-3 sophomore guard who is averaging 12.9 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. In Big West games, he is averaging 15.1 points per game. He scored 22 points in the win over Long Beach State on Wednesday.
The Mustangs often use 10 to 11 players per game, and Ballard leads the team with 25.0 minutes per game. By comparison, Hawai’i has four players averaging more than 30 minutes per game.
Kyle Colvin, a 6-6 freshman, had 11 points and eight rebounds in the loss at Hawai’i, and is averaging 7.2 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. Tuukka Jaakkola, a 6-10 sophomore center from Finland, is the Mustangs’ top post player. He is averaging 7.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.
HAWAI’I (14-7, 5-2) at CAL POLY (6-16, 3-5)
When: Saturday, Feb. 8, T7:00 p.m. PST/5:00 p.m. HT
Where: Mott Athletic Center (3,032) – San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Television: None
Streaming Video: BigWest.tv
Radio: ESPN Honolulu (1420 AM/92.7 FM), KRKH (Maui), KPUA (Hawai’i Island), and KTOH (Kaua’i).
Audio Webcast: ESPNHonolulu.com/Sideline Hawai’i App.
Live Stats: GoPoly.com
Saturday’s Games
UC Riverside at CSUN
UC Irvine at UC Santa Barbara
Hawai’i at Cal Poly
UC Davis at Cal State Fullerton
Avea and DaSilva out again… I think we should stop saying “Oh, let’s wish them a speedy recovery,” and instead say, “Damn, let’s hope they make it by the Big West Tournament.” Nothing “speedy” about these two. I hope that while they’re not practicing and playing, they’re getting their studies done and getting straight A’s… at least do something with all that extra time.
By the way, the absence of these two really makes a difference on the 2nd game on each road trip.