If the University of Hawaii men’s basketball team is going to return to being a championship contender in the Big West, the Rainbow Warriors will have to take advantage of what the conference schedule gives them.
And from first glance, this year that is the opportunity for a quick-out-of-the-blocks start to the league season.
According to the conference schedule marked “approved” and circulated among members, UH will play five of its first seven games in the Stan Sheriff Center. (UH has yet to announce its nonconference portion).
Pair that home floor start with those first two road dates coming against the bottom two teams from 2017-18 — Cal State Northridge (6-24, 3-13 in conference) and UC Riverside (9-22, 4-12) — and there is potential for a running start.
| HOME COOKIN’ TO START
Big West Conference schedule
Jan. 10 — Cal State Fullerton
17 — at CSUN
19 — at UC Riverside
24 — UC Irvine
26 — UC Davis
31 — Long Beach St.
Feb. 2 — UC Santa Barbara
7 — At Long Beach St.
0 — At UC Irvine
14 — Cal Poly
16 — UC Riverside
21 — at UC Santa Barbara
23 — at Cal Poly
March 2 — CSUN
7 — at UC Davis
9 — at Cal State Fullerton
14-16 Big West Tournament, Honda Center, Anaheim, Calif.
Source: Big West
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That’s no small consideration in a season in which the strength of the Big West is expected to be at its best in years.
Certainly better than the past two seasons, when the Big West’s Ratings Percentage Index, a key power metric, ranked a woeful 29th and 22nd among the 32 Division I conferences, according to the NCAA.
Conference tournament champion Cal State Fullerton (20-12, 10-6) returns four starters, as does Big West regular-season titlist UC Davis (22-11, 12-4). UC Irvine (18-17, 11-5) brings back all five starters.
Of course, the flip side to having such a home-friendly start to the season is that the second half is heavily back-loaded with road games. Four of the last five games and six of the final nine take place in California heading into the conference tournament.
So, it behooves the ‘Bows to capitalize on the first half to not only build some momentum but as their best chance to bank some victories.
If they can, that is, because last season UH’s home record in the conference was just 4-4, a big reason the ‘Bows slumped to a sixth-place finish, their worst in six seasons of Big West membership.
The hope is that a more competitive nonconference schedule than we’ve seen in recent years will set them up well for the start of the conference. The full schedule is due by July 15 under guidelines announced earlier this year by athletic director David Matlin.
Last year’s schedule ranked 236th among 351 Division I teams, according to NCAA strength of schedule metrics.
So far, it appears UH will be playing Nevada-Las Vegas in a stand-alone game and adding North Texas and Portland to its tournament lineup with several pukas remaining to be filled.
In addition to the Diamond Head Classic (Dec. 22, 23 and 25) that ESPN Events owns and operates and UH hosts, the ‘Bows are scheduled to play in another ESPN property, the Wooden Legacy (Nov. 22, 23 and 25) in Fullerton, Calif.
UH’s matchups have yet to be announced in either tournament, but the Diamond Head field includes Bucknell, Charlotte, Colorado, Indiana State, Rhode Island, Texas Christian and UNLV. The Wooden Legacy lists Seton Hall, Utah, Northwestern, Miami, La Salle, Grand Canyon and Fresno State.
For the ’Bows this conference season, a fast start is their best insurance against getting left in the dust.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.
