Bigger than big

The stakes couldn’t be much clearer, or much higher.

Win at home over UC Irvine on Thursday, and Hawaii has a legitimate shot at its first Big West regular-season title. Lose, and the Rainbow Warriors are playing for secondary seeding in the conference tournament in mid-March.

"I think we both understand what’s on the line here," UH coach Gib Arnold said. "I think it’s two teams trying to win this conference. I think if Irvine wins this game, they’re going to be the conference champs. I think if we win this game, it’s going to go down to the wire. We’ve got a shot. I think it’s going to be a heavyweight bout … and we’re late in the rounds here."

The ‘Bows floored the Anteaters with a haymaker on Jan. 25, punctuated by Keith Shamburger’s improbable, banked 3-pointer to send the game to overtime, where UH won 90-86 over the shell-shocked hosts.

UCI has recovered and has otherwise been the class of the league, having won four straight and 10 of 12. It is 4-1 on the road in league play.

UH rides some momentum too, coming off its record fourth straight conference road win. But the ‘Bows previously dropped key contests at the Stan Sheriff Center to Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara, placing them in catch-up mode with five games to play. A sweep of Irvine would draw third-place UH within a game in the loss column and swing things the Rainbows’ way in the event of a tie in the standings.

"We’re looking for another battle," Shamburger said. "You know, we know this is a big game for us and we know this team’s going to come in here wanting revenge. So we just gonna have to start from the beginning and not hold nothing back."

Balanced UCI shot 55 percent and six ‘Eaters scored in double figures in the last meeting, but it was still not enough. UH forward Isaac Fotu scored a career-best 30 points on 13-for-16 shooting, despite the presence of 7-foot-6 Irvine freshman center Mamadou Ndiaye, the tallest player in the country.

UH made up ground late in the second half as Fotu rained shots from the short corner and the ‘Bows gradually solved UCI’s 2-3 zone defense. Arnold even called for a little "Hack-a-Mamadou," which helped UH make up some points late with the 38.5 percent foul shooter at the line.

"I didn’t think we played poorly against Hawaii at all," UCI coach Russell Turner said. "I thought we played well enough to win that game, but Hawaii played better to win it. … We respect them. They scored against us at a better rate than anybody had in the league to that point. So we’ve got our work cut out for us to play them. They put pressure on you at every position, a little bit like we do. So, should be a good game."

Turner said he thought he stuck with the zone a little too long in the last meeting, adding, "There’ll be a few things we try to do differently."

UCI remains one of the best defensive teams in the country, anchored by Ndiaye and forward Will Davis II. It entered the week seventh nationally in field-goal percentage defense (.381) and eighth in blocked shots per game (6.5).

Ndiaye is fourth in the country with 84 total blocks. He needs four swats to tie Davis’ program-record 88, set last season. And the Senegalese center made 25 straight field goals over most of January, one shy of the NCAA record. That included his 5-for-5 outing against UH.

"He doesn’t even have to jump. He can stretch his arms and he will block me," said reigning Big West Player of the Week Christian Standhardinger, who succeeded in fouling out Ndiaye in overtime last time. "He obviously changes something. When they play in the zone and he’s down there in the middle, there’s not a lot of penetration drives. I’m a guy who’s always penetrating. But you just have to adjust and have got to make the midrange shots."

UH has generally found a way. It still leads the Big West in scoring (81.4 ppg) and rebounding margin (plus-5.3).

UCI has options with sharpshooter Luke Nelson (12.1 ppg), dynamic guard Chris McNealy (11.6), the athletic Davis (10.3) and playmaker Alex Young (9.2 ppg, 4.5 apg). Turner tends to go 10-deep, while UH usually plays an eight-man rotation.

"They got, very much like us, four or five guys who can get 20 points any night," UH associate coach Benjy Taylor said. "They’ve made big shots. They’ve run their stuff very well, they execute, and for the most part they play smart basketball."