This is a big game for the University of Hawaii — not just because the Rainbow Warriors figure to be staring up at 7-foot, 6-inch Mamadou Ndiaye all night.

And it has been a while since we’ve been able to use the term "big game" about a ‘Bows appearance at this point in a season.

To put it in perspective, the last time UH was in the thick of a conference race much after Valentine’s Day, "Little" Matt Gibson and Bobby Nash were still chucking 3-pointers in the Western Athletic Conference and Nash’s father, Bob, was a rookie coach waving a towel on the bench.

That was the 2007-08 season and UH was 7-4 in the WAC and 21/2 games behind Boise State in the standings before it went on a five-game tailspin, nary to be seen on the radar again in prime time.

Now, after seven consecutive seasons of being relegated to no better than fifth-place finishes, the ‘Bows (18-7, 7-4 conference) are poised to make a run up the standings for a change. That’s if they can get past the Big West leader, UC Irvine (17-9, 8-2), and its shot-blocking center from Senegal, Ndiaye, on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The combination of four consecutive road victories by UH, including one at UC Irvine last month, and the inability of anybody else to separate from the pack has left three teams — UC Santa Barbara (7-3), UH and Long Beach State (7-4) — no further than a game and a half off the Anteaters’ tail.

It is any of the four teams’ title to grab, and it might as well be UH’s. For sure there is plenty of room in the trophy case.

With three weeks left in the regular season and three of its final five games at home, the ‘Bows are well positioned to contend for what would be their first regular-season title since 2001-02.

It won’t be easy, of course, with road dates remaining at Long Beach and Santa Barbara the biggest potential roadblocks, but get past the Anteaters on Thursday and there are possibilities that have escaped UH in the past.

While reaching the NCAA Tournament is the ultimate goal here after an 11-year wait, the importance of nailing down the regular-season title is unmistakable. Apart from the top seeding in the Big West tournament March 13-15 in Anaheim, Calif., it would provide a National Invitation Tournament safety net since any conference regular-season winner that does not earn an NCAA automatic or at-large berth is assured an NIT spot.

That’s something that shouldn’t be overlooked since UH’s No. 266 (of 351 teams) strength of schedule won’t deliver an at-large bid on its own.

After dipping into its wallet to twice buy places in the Collegeinsider.com Tournament, also known as the Riley Wallace Invitational, the NIT would represent a significant step up for UH should the conference tournament title and NCAA bid elude it.

Meanwhile, there’s a long overdue championship to chase with Ndiaye and the Anteaters blocking the way. But, then, when you have been denied as long as UH has, what’s another 90 inches to surmount?

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.