It’s go time for ‘Bows and Nevada

The clash of the titans is at hand.

Two talented teams gunning for a regular-season title need a win tonight to stay at the Western Athletic Conference forefront heading into the season’s stretch drive.

First-place Nevada can reassert control after having its school-record 16-game winning streak snapped at home on Saturday against Idaho. Third-place Hawaii (13-9, 5-3) can cut the Wolf Pack’s two-loss advantage in half with five games to play.

It amounts to one of the biggest WAC home games in recent years for the Rainbow Warriors.

"This is where we want to make our run, and it starts right now," point guard Miah Ostrowski said. "Big opportunity for us … big game for basketball fans in Hawaii."

To darken the Wolf Pack’s hopes for a bounce-back win, the game is being billed as "Blackout" night. All fans at the Sheriff are encouraged to wear black to kick off a three-game homestand. It is UH’s first home game since Jan. 21, a span of nearly three weeks.

"I want it to be an unbelievable college atmosphere," UH coach Gib Arnold said. "I think there’s nothing better than getting the student body out here and we’re going to be wearing black as a coaching staff. We’re looking forward to getting this place packed with Hawaii fans and just enjoying a great night of college basketball."

UH and Nevada just might boast the most talented lineups in the WAC, with Zane Johnson (15.7 ppg), Vander Joaquim (14.3 ppg, 9.9 rpg) and Joston Thomas (14.0 ppg, 6.1 rpg) leading the way for the ‘Bows and Deonte Burton (15.5 ppg, 4.4 apg), Malik Story (14.4 ppg), Olek Czyz (11.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg) and Dario Hunt (9.4 ppg, 8.9 rpg) pacing the Pack.

Arnold called Nevada "the best team in the conference," but is confident in his own team’s abilities after it won its past two road games at Idaho and San Jose State.

It was just as compelling up in Reno, Nev., on Jan. 14. UH led most of the second half until Burton took over late for a 77-74 Nevada win, keeping the ‘Bows winless there all-time.

UH employed several defenses in the loss. Most notably, it threw a triangle-and-2 scheme to slow down the backcourt of Burton and Story. It seemed to work until the final minutes.

Burton, a strong WAC Player of the Year candidate and NBA prospect, has a knack for taking over late in games, no better illustrated than his 25 points as he carried the Pack from a seven-point deficit against the ‘Bows.

Story is just as dangerous if left alone; the sharpshooter is sixth nationally in 3-point percentage at .461. Czyz also had a field day against UH with 24 points on 11-for-14 shooting and 11 rebounds.

UH associate head coach Benjy Taylor has scouted the Wolf Pack. He said little changed in preparation.

"The WAC has been very tough this year in that most of the games have been close, competitive, and we think Thursday night’s game is going to be the same thing," Taylor said. "It could go down to the wire, and hopefully we make more plays at the end than they do this time around."

UH will be without suspended forward Trevor Wiseman, but will turn to several others who have played well of late.

Hunt can go for a double-double on any given night, but has decisively lost his individual matchups with Joaquim. In three career games against Nevada, the UH center has averaged 22.7 points and 9.6 rebounds. He had a career-high seven blocks in Reno last month.

What’s made him so effective against the Pack?

"I don’t know, you know, that’s a good question," Joaquim said with a laugh. "They’re competitive, so the more you’re competitive, the better I play. I feel like they’re a pretty good team, they try to get at me, and the more they try to get at me, I try to get at them."

Nevada coach David Carter called Joaquim "the best big guy in the league." It might be hard to argue with the Angolan shooting 70.1 percent in WAC play.

"They’re starting to gel and play a lot better as a team," Carter said. "That’s always a bad combination, especially when you come over here, because they play so well at home."

Nevada leads the WAC in scoring defense (63.2) and field-goal percentage defense (.406) while UH has led the league in scoring in WAC games (77.8) and in field-goal percentage (.491).