Despite winning as many games as it has lost, this has been an uneven season for the University of Hawaii basketball team.

In particular, the 4-4 Rainbow Warriors are seeking a defensive improvement when they host UH Hilo tonight in the Stan Sheriff Center.

“More consistency there,” UH head coach Eran Ganot said of his wish list.

It has been 10 days since the ’Bows completed a 1-3 trip to California. UCLA created matchup problems with accurate 3-point shooting that widened the driveways to the lost post. In the ’Bows’ statement-making upset over Utah in the Wooden Legacy, the Utes still managed 15 offensive rebounds and scored 23 second-chance points.

Ganot said the ’Bows’ defense, particularly in man-to-man coverage, “has been our hallmark.” But against UCLA’s taller lineup, the ’Bows opened in a zone. It then devolved into a pick-your-poison dilemma against the Bruins’ eclectic offense.

“You can clearly see some slippage,” Ganot said of the ’Bows’ recent inconsistency on defense. “A lack of practice can do that for you. You can’t use that as an excuse.”

The ’Bows opened the season with eight games in 20 days. In six practices leading to tonight’s game, they have focused on defensive positioning, rotation and support. Ganot is hopeful of reversing a recent trend of being out-rebounded.

“We’ve gone against bigger teams,” Ganot said, “but we’ve got to rebound against bigger teams.”

Hilo (3-3) presents a different challenge. The Vulcans’ three-guard offense does not have a starter taller than 6-foot-8 Denhym Brooke. In the first six games, 40.8 percent of their shots were launched from behind the 3-point line. James Griffin, a 6-5 wing from Australia, averages 17.3 points per game and is second in rebounding (5.5) to Kalaheo High graduate Kupaa Harrison’s 5.7 average.

“I think they do a good job moving the ball offensively and being threats from several positions in terms of shooting the ball and driving off the bounce,” Ganot said. “It’s going to be a good challenge.”

The ’Bows are viewing this as a swagger check.

“We’re on a (three-game) losing streak right now, so it’s going to be a big game,” post player Zigmars Raimo said. “We need to get our confidence back. That’s all it is about this game. We need to compete and get the taste of winning again.”

For the ’Bows, it begins on defense.

“Everyone has to take pride in defense a little more,” guard Brocke Stepteau said. “We have to understand getting stops is the key to winning games. As we’ve seen in the last couple games, your offense isn’t always going to be there. Your defense is something to keep you in games when you’re not hitting every shot.”