Hawaii to face Utah in Wooden Legacy basketball tourney opener
BRUCE ASATO / 2017
University of Hawaii forward Gibson Johnson pounds his chest after pulling down a crucial rebound in the waning moments of the second half of the North Dakota vs. Hawaii basketball game in the Outrigger Resorts Rainbow Classic tournament at Stan Sheriff Center in 2017. UH will face UNLV on Dec. 22 in the opening round of the 2018 Rainbow Classic.
The University of Hawaii men’s basketball team will play Utah in the Nov. 22 opener of the 2018 Wooden Legacy tournament in Fullerton, Calif., and UNLV in the Dec. 22 opening round of the 2018 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic in the Stan Sheriff Center.
Both tournaments announced their brackets this morning.
The three-day Wooden tournament will be played at Titan Gym on the Cal State Fullerton campus. The Hawaii-Utah game will be the featured event of the opening round. It will be televised on ESPN 2. The other first-round games are LaSalle against Miami, Northwestern against Fresno State, and Seton Hall against Grand Canyon.
In the Diamond Head Classic’s first round, the Rainbow Warriors will play host to UNLV in the noon game. The other first-round games match Indiana State and Colorado; Rhode Island and Bucknell; and Charlotte and TCU. TCU’s head coach is Jamie Dixon, a former UH assistant coach.
