Hawaii will be hard-pressed to replicate the drama of last year’s Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.

No earth-shattering, program-altering announcement from the NCAA is expected prior to the tournament this time. No top-five team like Oklahoma looms for the Rainbow Warriors to challenge in the semifinals.

But for a rebuilding team like the ’Bows, the Diamond Head still represents a chance to knock off some recognizable names on their home court on national TV. UH is still searching for its first DHC championship going into the eighth year of the ESPN-owned event.

Starting today against Illinois State, UH plays the customary three games in four days, capped off on Christmas.

The ’Bows (4-5) are no stranger to quick turnarounds, having already played in two multi-team events.

UH last played on Dec. 6 and 7 in the Pearl Harbor Invitational. The ’Bows dropped both games, the first time they lost back-to-back-contests under second-year coach Eran Ganot. They spent the last two weeks licking their wounds and preparing for their final concentrated set of games prior to Big West play.

“Turnarounds are tough, but everyone gets excited to play,” forward Jack Purchase said. “When it’s a big tournament like this, you don’t really think about how sore or tired you are. You want to get out on the court and compete. I think because we’ve had it before, we’ll be better off for it.”

Last Dec. 22, the first day of the tournament, UH learned it was hammered by the NCAA with a postseason ban and reduced scholarships. The miffed ’Bows played inspired, beating an NCAA Tournament team in Northern Iowa, giving third-ranked OU everything it wanted in the semifinals, then topping Auburn for third place — tied for their best finish.

This year’s DHC may not pack the same fireworks, but it does qualify as a reunion of sorts. Four former Western Athletic Conference schools — Hawaii, Utah, San Diego State and Tulsa — make up half the tournament. UH hasn’t played SDSU or Tulsa since 2002 and 2005, respectively. Utah came for the 2010 DHC, finishing last.

Getting out of their side of the bracket will be tough for the ’Bows. The other three teams — Illinois State, Utah and San Francisco — have a combined record of 21-7.

Illinois State will be a stiff hurdle right out of the blocks.

“It’s a very similar matchup to Northern Iowa. … They’re a team that looks like they’ll have a chance to be in the NCAA Tournament,” said UH associate coach Adam Jacobsen. “They’ve got experienced guard play. The hardest part about them, their two forwards, (MiKyle) McIntosh and (Deontae) Hawkins are both interchangeable. Those guys can play in the perimeter, and inside.”

Redbirds senior guard Paris Lee ranks in the NCAA top 25 in three individual categories: fourth in 3-point shooting (56.5 percent); 24th in assists (6.0); and 24th in steals (2.2). He’s taken two of the last three Missouri Valley player of the week awards. ISU coach Dan Muller thinks Lee is “playing as well as any point guard in the entire country.”

He drew comparisons to the opposing point guard in last year’s first DHC matchup, UNI’s Wes Washpun. UH managed to wear Washpun down and get him into foul trouble. Departed guard Isaac Fleming put that game away with four straight steals in the second half.

“It was the loudest I ever heard the Stan,” Purchase said of the wild sequence. “That’s what I remember from the Diamond Head last year, plays like that.”

Lee represents something at the point that UH has lacked this season: stability. Walk-on Brocke Stepteau has taken the reins for a team struggling with slow starts and turnovers.

“Not only is he a great shooter, he’s a great passer,” Jacobsen said of Lee. “He has 54 assists in nine games, which is as many as all of our point guards combined.”

As a team, Jacobsen likened ISU to last year’s ’Bows — a dangerous group that played through versatile big men. ISU was picked to finish second in the always-formidable Missouri Valley.

Muller was a Redbirds player when the program last made the NCAAs in 1998. They kicked off that season with a trip to Hawaii.

“That arena was electric,” Muller said of the Stan Sheriff Center. “Of course, they were really good. That was a tough game.”

The Dynamic Duo-era ’Bows — with Anthony Carter and Alika Smith — beat the visitors 84-63 to win the United Airlines Tip-off Tournament.

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Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (4-5)

Coach: Eran Ganot (2nd season)

Conference: Big West

Big games: vs. No. 5 North Carolina, 83-68 L; vs. Seton Hall, 68-57 L

Key players: F Noah Allen (14.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg); F Gibson Johnson (11.9 ppg, 57.5% FG)

Notes: The Rainbows are 12-9 all-time in Diamond Head Classic games. … The host has never played in the championship game or seventh-place game. … UH has had a guard on the DHC all-tournament team for three straight years: Brandon Spearman (2013); Isaac Fleming (2014); and Roderick Bobbitt (2015), and went 2-1 in the event each of those years.

Illinois State Redbirds (6-3)

Coach: Dan Muller (5th season)

Conference: Missouri Valley

Big games: vs. New Mexico, 79-74 W; vs. Saint Joseph’s, 81-72 W

Key players: G Paris Lee (15.7 ppg, 6.0 apg, 56.5% 3FG); F Deontae Hawkins (15.2 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 43.8% 3FG); F MiKyle McIntosh (13.4 ppg, 6.7 rpg)

Notes: The Redbirds lost to Tulsa 70-68 on Dec. 7 in an extra Diamond Head game on the mainland. … Highest-RPI team in the field at 61. … Lee has scored in double figures in all games this season. … San Diego State coach Steve Fisher went to school at ISU. … Muller played for the Redbirds (1994-98) and holds the school record for most consecutive starts (128, every game of his career) … The Missouri Valley is tied for the most DHC participation of any conference with five different schools in eight years, along with the Pac-12, Mountain West and WCC.

San Diego State Aztecs (5-4)

Coach: Steve Fisher (18th season)

Conference: Mountain West

Big games: at No. 14 Gonzaga, 69-48 L; vs. California, 77-65 W; vs. Arizona State, 74-63 L

Key players: G Jeremy Hemsley (17.1 ppg, 60.0% 3FG); G Trey Kell (14.1 ppg, 1.6 spg)

Notes: The Aztecs are having a down nonconference season by their high standards, dropping a Dec. 7 game at provisional Division I school Grand Canyon. … Fisher, 71, has nearly as much tenure at SDSU as the rest of the field’s coaches combined. … SDSU lost to Arizona 68-67 in the 2012 DHC championship game, when Nick Johnson blocked Chase Tapley’s would-be buzzer-beating game-winner.

San Francisco Dons (8-2)

Coach: Kyle Smith (1st season)

Conference: West Coast

Big games: at Eastern Washington, 96-90 L; vs. Portland State, 82-78 L

Key players: G Ronnie Boyce (17.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg); F Chase Foster (13.3 ppg, 45.2% 3FG)

Notes: Smith was a two-time finalist for the Hawaii head coaching job, including in 2015 when it went to Eran Ganot. He came over to USF from a successful stint at Columbia. The Dons are shooting 50.2 percent (14th nationally), hitting 11.0 3s per game (fifth) and are off to their best start under a new coach since 1980. They’ve scored at least 75 points in every game.

Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles (3-6)

Coach: Doc Sadler (3rd season)

Conference: Conference USA

Big games: at LSU, 78-61 L; at Florida State, 98-49 L; vs. Mississippi State, 86-44 L

Key players: G/F Quinton Campbell (10.8 ppg); F Tim Rowe (10.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg)

Notes: The Golden Eagles are decimated, coming off a two-year NCAA postseason ban that ended after 2015-16 for actions of ex-coach Donnie Tyndall, which included academic fraud. … Lowest-RPI team in the field at 342 (out of 351 Division I teams). … Sadler coached ex-’Bow Christian Standhardinger at Nebraska before the forward decided to transfer to Manoa in 2011.

Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (4-5)

Coach: Kyle Keller (1st season)

Conference: Southland

Big games: at No. 2 Kentucky, 87-64 L; at Arkansas, 78-62 L

Key players: G Ivan Canete (13.8 ppg, 45.9% 3FG); F TJ Holyfield (12.6 ppg, 7.7 rpg)

Keller, a former assistant at Texas A&M, replaced Brad Underwood, who led the Nacogdoches-based school to an 89-14 record and an NCAA Tournament win in his three years in East Texas. … SFA is the first school from the Texas-based Southland Conference to play in the DHC. … The Lumberjacks’ team strength is free-throw shooting; they’ve converted 75 percent (165-for-220).

Tulsa Golden Hurricane (5-4)

Coach: Frank Haith (3rd season)

Conference: American Athletic

Big games: at Wichita State, 80-53 L; vs. Oregon State, 75-64 W; vs. Oklahoma State, 71-67 L

Key players: G Jaleel Wheeler (13.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg); F Junior Etou (11.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 55.7% FG)

Notes: Haith left NCAA violations in his wake at his previous stops, Miami and Missouri. Missouri self-applied a postseason ban and vacated wins from his last season there in 2013-14, fresh off defections to UH by Negus Webster-Chan and Stefan Jankovic. … Haith’s son, Corey, is a senior on the team. … Tulsa is the first team to play in the DHC as a member of the recently rebranded AAC, formerly part of the old Big East.

Utah Runnin’ Utes (7-2)

Coach: Larry Krystkowiak (6th season)

Conference: Pac-12

Big games: vs. No. 18 Butler, 68-59 L; at No. 13 Xavier, 77-69 L

Key players: F Kyle Kuzma (16.0 ppg, 11.3 rpg); G Lorenzo Bonam (14.3 ppg, 60.2% FG)

Notes: The Utes are averaging a tournament-best 83.9 points per game with a scoring margin of nearly plus-20. … Kuzma is 10th in NCAA rebounding. … The Utes have more wins against Hawaii (47) than any other Rainbow Warriors opponent. UH forward Gibson Johnson briefly enrolled at Utah but didn’t play basketball. … Utah just got D-I transfers Sedrick Barefield and David Collette eligible. They combined for 29 points against Prairie View A&M on Saturday.

UH TIPOFF

ILLINOIS STATE VS. HAWAII
Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic Day 1
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WHEN: 8:30 p.m. today * WHERE: Stan Sheriff Center

ILLINOIS STATE REDBIRDS (6-3)
Projected starting lineup:

WHEN ILLINOIS STATE HAS THE BALL
Lee is a true floor general, setting the tone for the Redbirds at both ends of the court. His dribble penetration sucks in defenses and frees up Hawkins and McIntosh for perimeter jumpers. But those two are capable post-up players as well, especially once Fayne hits the bench and the others slide up a position.

HAWAII RAINBOW WARRIORS (4-5)
Projected starting lineup:

WHEN HAWAII HAS THE BALL
Stepteau has earned a tentative hold on the point guard position with struggles by Drammeh, Matt Owies and Leland Green in the backcourt. It’s also possible that freshman guard Drew Buggs could suit up during the tournament. Purchase will look to rediscover his shot after shooting a combined 3-for-14 on 3s in the last three games.

TV: ESPN2 * Radio: KKEA, 1420-AM