In "Hoosiers," coach Norman Dale demonstrates to his team that the basketball court dimensions of the Indiana state championship venue, Hinkle Fieldhouse, are identical to those of their much smaller gym back at Hickory High.

In Hawaii, assistant coach Scott Fisher was tempted to employ a similar tactic — in the Rainbow Warriors’ own arena.

"We haven’t been shooting well at home, there’s no doubt about that," Fisher said after Friday’s practice. "To me, it’s just, we have to remind ourselves that the basket is still 18 inches across and 10 feet high and all that."

UH shot a season-low 29.6 percent against UC Irvine on Thursday, resulting in the Rainbows’ lowest point total of the season — even given five minutes of overtime.

The 60-56 defeat knocked UH out of contention for the Big West regular-season championship with four games remaining before the conference tournament.

That includes just two at the Stan Sheriff Center. UH is 3-3 in league home games heading into Saturday’s meeting there with UC Davis.

Bafflingly, the ‘Bows have been better on the road in the Big West at 4-2. Guard Brandon Spearman could only offer up a smile at that.

"I don’t know, that’s unheard of," he said. "That’s just how the ball drops I guess. But you know, we’ll be ready. I’m sure we’ll shoot better tomorrow. And I’m sure we’ll see Irvine again."

Over the past four games at home, UH is shooting 38.7 percent from the field and just 19.7 percent on 3-pointers. The ‘Bows were especially off against the Anteaters, with shots caroming off the side of the backboard and the rim.

The shooting figure "29 percent" was brought up by head coach Gib Arnold several times during Friday’s practice.

Guard Garrett Nevels is reliably among the last to leave the gym on any given day. This time, several ‘Bows stayed later than usual to work on their shots — the Irvine loss clearly stung.

"I mean, it’s tough," Nevels said. "Like, it’s the third time we’ve come home and lost on a Thursday. So I mean, we gotta come out and win tomorrow. Bring a lot of energy and focus."

Asked to elaborate on the woes at home — so often a source of reliable wins for Hawaii — Nevels basically went palms up.

"I don’t know. It’s real weird," said Nevels, who started to explain further, then repeated, "I don’t know. It’s weird."

UC Davis can be counted on to test their range in the Sheriff. The Aggies came out firing here last season, burying 16 3-pointers in a 93-82 upset.

In five meetings to date with UC Davis, each has been decided by double figures. UH had the most recent word with its biggest victory margin in the series, a 90-73 rout at The Pavilion in Davis, Calif., on Jan. 23 behind 22 points and 10 rebounds from Christian Standhardinger. That game started UH’s active four-game conference road winning streak, a school record.

When it comes to the lengthy trip to the islands, Davis coach Jim Les has discovered that less is more.

"You can’t make too big of a deal out of it," Les said. "If you’re emphasizing the travel and the distance and the time change and all that kind of stuff with your guys, then they start to buy into it. We don’t talk about it too much. Guys understand it’s a business trip and we’re coming out here for one reason, and that’s to play a basketball game and win a basketball game."

UCD is fighting to stay out of the Big West basement. A last-place finish means missing the league tournament. The Aggies have fought through season-ending injuries to key big men J.T. Adenrele and Josh Ritchart.

Guard Corey Hawkins memorably scored 40 on just 14 shots here last time, one point off the Sheriff scoring record. He’s back as a junior and is the league’s second-leading scorer (18.5 ppg).

The ‘Bows expect plenty of ball screens to spring 1,000-point career scorers Hawkins and Ryan Sypkens (11.7 ppg). Sypkens recently passed 300 career 3-pointers.