Rainbows looking for first road win

Last time Hawaii played in the intimate confines of Cal Poly’s Mott Gym, the Rainbow Warriors were dealt a dose of controversial heartbreak at the buzzer.

Coming off a disheartening loss at home, UH will look to avert any possible repeats of that Mott scenario and pick up its first road victory of the season today in San Luis Obispo, Calif.

A win at the 3,000-seat venue halfway between Los Angeles and the Bay Area would reverse some recent woes — the ‘Bows have lost three of four, and are 0-3 on the mainland this season. A loss sets a foul tone for three more consecutive road games.

In its last road trip two weeks ago, UH was dealt a pair of four-point defeats at UC Irvine and Long Beach State. Late turnovers cost Gib Arnold’s team both times.

"I think it’s going to come down to the teams that can go win on the road," Arnold said. "There were a couple teams that got road sweeps last week (Long Beach State, UC Davis), and I think that gives them a big advantage. It’s our opportunity now. Our opportunity is now to go get us some road wins, and put us in contention. We’re right there. … We feel we have every bit as much chance.

"Four straight road games, but OK, that gives us a chance to go win on the road, which will ultimately crown the champion of this league."

Both UH and Cal Poly started off Big West play 3-0, but have struggled since.

UH is coming off a 93-82 home loss to UC Davis on Saturday in which the Aggies, behind a UC Davis-record 40 points by guard Corey Hawkins, scored the most at the Stan Sheriff Center by a UH opponent since Cal Poly rang up 102 in a February, 2010, BracketBusters game.

Cal Poly is still reeling from an 83-81 double-overtime loss at rival UC Santa Barbara on Saturday.

UH junior forward Christian Standhardinger, UH’s top scorer (14.7 ppg), had 20 points and eight rebounds in the loss to Davis, rebounding from three straight subpar games.

Perhaps more so than any other Warrior, he enjoys a lathered-up, hostile road environment.

"I’ve got to provoke them or something," Standhardinger said. "I will try to play with a lot of emotions. And then normally the opposite crowd boos at me. Hopefully I get some fuel in my tank."

The ‘Bows arrived in Los Angeles on Wednesday morning, bused a few hours north to San Luis Obispo, then got in a practice at Mott Gym in the evening.

UH’s only other trip there was the team’s first road game under Arnold. The 54-53 loss at the horn on Dec. 1, 2010, was decided when the Mustangs’ Chris O’Brien got a putback that might not have left his fingers in time. There was no courtside monitor for officials to review, and the basket stood.

The Mustangs have stayed tough at home, putting together seven straight wins there against Big West teams going back to last season.

Cal Poly is second in the country in fewest turnovers committed at only 9.4 per game. That’s the polar opposite of UH, which took better care of the ball in the loss to Davis but is still last in the league in total turnovers (16.3 per game) and turnover margin (minus-4.3).

The Mustangs shoot an efficient 37.3 percent on 3-pointers, third-best in the league and 41st nationally. Cal Poly prefers to operate outside-in, by establishing its perimeter game first — essentially the opposite of UH with big men Vander Joaquim (14.5 ppg, 8.7 rpg), Standhardinger and Isaac Fotu (10.1 ppg, 7.1 rpg).

Poly’s signature win of the season was a 70-68 upset win over then-No. 11 UCLA at Pauley Pavilion on Nov. 25.

"We’re a pretty straightforward team. If we’re good with the ball and we’re hitting, we can play with anybody," fourth-year coach Joe Callero said. "If not, we can lose by 10, 15 points any night."

Junior forward Chris Eversley is not one of the team’s premier shooters, but is solid in a number of areas at 15.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.

UH could be thin on the wings in this one. Senior Hauns Brereton is questionable coming off a bruised knee and freshman Brandon Jawato is questionable with a hip ailment.

Freshman Ozren Pavlovic and senior Jace Tavita are expected to continue to split point guard duties.