As consolation prizes go, a victory over Oregon State would be quite the gift for Hawaii.

UH will go for its third Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic consolation championship in the past four years against the Beavers of the Pac-12 today at 11 a.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Rainbow Warriors coach Gib Arnold was optimistic for a solid Christmas Day showing from fans coming off a thrilling 76-74 win over Saint Mary’s on Monday night. UH forward Christian Standhardinger supplied the winning basket on a 15-foot baseline jumper with 1.4 seconds left.

And there’s the possibility — however slight — of a second tournament appearance by President Barack Obama to support his brother-in-law, OSU coach Craig Robinson.

"I mean, obviously all the diehard fans will be there," Arnold said. "They’re there night in and night out. So playing a Pac-12 team on a Christmas Day, (and) a chance that the president will be there. I think it’ll probably be a good group."

Indications are an Obama showing isn’t likely. He and the First Family took in the Beavers’ opening-round loss to Akron on Sunday, but did not appear for OSU’s consolation win over George Mason on Monday.

"Well, he called me for a ride in, so I think there’s a chance," joked Arnold, who lives only a few blocks away from where the Obamas are staying in Kailua.

UH (8-3) was in a jovial mood coming off its best win of the season against a quality opponent in Saint Mary’s (9-2). A win over the Beavers (7-3) would give the ‘Bows a 2-1 record for their challenging holiday tournament and a seventh victory in eight games.

"People been asleep on us," point guard Keith Shamburger said. "People will continue to sleep on us, but we just got to continue to play the way we play. People will notice us. We’re going to be an NCAA Tournament team. I mean, a lot of people can see that. We just gotta keep believing in ourselves and we’ll get there."

At 3:30 p.m., No. 14 Iowa State (10-0) takes on Boise State (10-2) for the Diamond Head championship. The Broncos edged UH 62-61 in the first round.

UH responded against the Gaels with a big night from Standhardinger (22 points, nine rebounds, four steals) and efficient performances by forward Isaac Fotu (6-for-8 shooting), guard Brandon Spearman (12 points, seven boards) and Shamburger (six assists, no turnovers).

"We really needed that one. We need this next one too," said Shamburger, who probed the Gaels’ defense before dishing to Standhardinger on the final play. It was UH’s second game-winning shot in the DHC in three years; Joston Thomas had the other over No. 14 Xavier in 2011.

"We just gotta keep going at it," the point guard said. "The way we play is just unique right now. We just having a lot of fun and we just want to continue that and get the next win."

Shamburger had a stomach flu and was vomiting early Tuesday morning and sat out part of practice. But he said he’d be ready to play today.

Freshman Aaron Valdes continues to play through what Arnold said Tuesday was a torn medial ligament in his non-shooting elbow — not a chipped bone, as was previously thought. Valdes, who was scoreless in the previous two games, scored all 10 of his points in the first half off the bench against the Gaels.

"Not a chip, it’s a torn medial ligament, which would end his pitching career," Arnold said. "It’ll be sore, but he can play basketball with it."

Oregon State, too, has dealt with a key injury in this tournament.

Beavers 6-foot-10 starting center Angus Brandt hurt a knee in the loss to Akron. He will be a game-time decision, according to OSU. The senior carries averages of 12.0 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.

OSU does the bulk of its damage behind junior guard Roberto Nelson (21.4 ppg, 4.1 apg) and senior forward Devon Collier (19.3 points, 8.3 rpg). Nelson is the leading scorer in the Pac-12, while Collier is second in the league in field-goal percentage (.653).

The Beavers were held mostly in check offensively in two Diamond Head games, an 83-71 loss to Akron in the first round and a 58-54 win over George Mason in the consolation semifinals. Nelson and Collier averaged 43.4 points combined entering the tournament, but in the two games at the Sheriff they are putting up just 31.0 together.

UH is expecting plenty of Princeton-style motion offense from Robinson’s Beavers, and a 1-3-1 defensive formation at least some of the time.

"It’s a lot of prep, and it’s hard to do it in one day," Arnold said. "We spent about an hour in the film room going over things, and 100 minutes on the floor. You can only pick up so much, but I think the guys did a good job."

OSU has dominated the series 21-7, with the majority of those encounters coming between the 1950s and the 1970s. But UH has won the past three meetings, including a 44-point blowout of the Beavers on Nov. 11, 2006, in Riley Wallace’s last season as coach. That stands as the fifth-largest margin of victory in program history.