Hawaii grabbed the attention of the college basketball world in late 1997.

It was being discovered they could shoot the rock out on the rock.

Never mind Arizona’s Mike Bibby and Miles Simon; Dick Vitale called UH’s Anthony Carter and Alika Smith the best backcourt tandem in the nation.

And, after they won in the semifinals of the Rainbow Classic to run their record to 9-1, all at home, Jerry West credited the Rainbows’ sixth man. Well, make that their sixth through 10,300th men, women and children — the boisterous Stan Sheriff Center crowd.

“The fans here make Hawaii hard to beat,” said the Lakers general manager, in those days a courtside regular at the holiday tournament. “The crowd’s always a factor when they’re this loud and vocal. They’re really into the game partly because of Hawaii’s style. They play an up-tempo type of game where you see a lot of exciting plays that get the fans going.”

The next day, UH would host No. 2 Kansas in the tournament final, a test to see if the ’Bows were for real.

Turned out they were unreal.

On Dec. 30, 1997, the Rainbows beat the Jayhawks 76-65 in the biggest win to that point in UH basketball history. The Star-Advertiser sports staff voted it as the most memorable athletic event in the first 25 years of the SSC, which opened Oct. 21, 1994.

It didn’t matter to Hawaii that Kansas was college hoops royalty, that its first coach, James Naismith, invented the sport. KU won national championships even before they technically existed.

The Jayhawks were 34-2 in 1996-97. This team, celebrating the program’s 100th season, was 16-1. Its only loss was to No. 23 Maryland.

Hawaii showed from the season opener it feared none, regardless of pedigree, when UH blew by Indiana 82-65. Legendary Hoosiers coach Bobby Knight was so disgusted he walked back to the hotel rather than ride the bus with his team. UH’s only loss was 86-82 to Arkansas State, a team that would go 20-9.

While Hawaii advanced to the Rainbow Classic final with 20- and 15-point wins over BYU and Nebraska, Kansas beat Ohio State and Vanderbilt without 6-foot-11 Raef LaFrentz, who broke his right arm in practice.

He would return to average 18 points and nearly 10 rebounds per game and earn his second consecutive first-team All-America honor. But the third pick of the next NBA Draft was definitely out for this one.

It is debatable how much the absence of LaFrentz mattered.

Sophomore Lester Earl, his replacement, scored nine points with 14 rebounds. Hawaii forward Eric Ambrozich scored 18 points — 10 above his average for the season — with nine rebounds.

It is not debatable that Hawaii outplayed Kansas.

The Rainbows never lost the lead after Ambrozich’s free throws gave them a 22-20 advantage with about five minutes left in the first half — an opening 20 minutes in which Carter went scoreless, missing all eight of his shots. It was 29-26 at the break, as Ambrozich had 10 points and five boards.

UH steadily built on its lead in the second half, but Kansas’ other All-American, Paul Pierce, kept the Jayhawks in it with 22 points.

Whenever Kansas got close, Hawaii would regain control. Twice, late in the game, KU closed the deficit to six. UH responded both times.

Carter recovered to score 19 points to go with his seven assists and four steals. His 30-foot bomb with a second left on the shot clock put UH ahead by 10 with six minutes left.

Hawaii made 25 of 34 shots at the free-throw line. Kansas connected on 11 of 15.

“That means they were much more aggressive and more active,” Jayhawks coach Roy Williams said, refusing to blame the officiating. “They got the ball to the basket. They made us foul them instead of playing defense. … They were so much more active than we were. On offense we never really got in sync.”

Neither team shot well from the floor, but Hawaii’s 42 percent to 35 for Kansas was decisive.

“It was so fun,” Carter said. “The crowd is No. 1 over here. They’re the ones who get us going, and without them we couldn’t have done it.”

UH coach Riley Wallace had tired of the underdog role.

“I don’t want to hear anybody say, ‘Nice little team.’ People come out here and say, ‘You got a nice little team.’ Well, we’ve got a nice big team.”

Forward Micah Kroeger, who scored nine points, credited heart.

“The world of college basketball, there’s not a lot of love in it,” he said. “That’s why there are a lot of teams that have all these problems. We truly like and love each other. When you win a game like this, it makes it so much more special when you enjoy it with a bunch of guys you love.”

Smith, who led Hawaii with 22 points, reflected, but also dared to look ahead.

“To beat Kansas and Indiana all in the same year … it feels great,” he said. “This tells the WAC that we’re here. We may be far away, but we’re coming after them. We’re on the map.”

Wallace was overjoyed, but also sadly prophetic.

“A win like this can push you to the next level. But you have to take it to the next level and do something with it,” he said.

After the monumental win, UH entered the Associated Press poll at No. 21. But it lost two of the next three games, including the conference opener; after the calendar turned to 1998, the ’Bows were 11-8, including 4-4 on the road.

There were two NIT wins at the Sheriff Center, but also an 85-83 home loss to Fresno State when a victory would have sent UH to Madison Square Garden and the semifinals.

Chris Herren, the Bulldogs bad boy Hawaii fans loved to hate, took over the SSC with a 35-point performance in a Fresno win the year before. He scored just 14 this time, but Tremaine Fowlkes had 25 and 14 boards.

Carter scored 24 and Smith 22 in their last UH game. Hawaii finished with 21 wins and a loss in the NIT, as it had the season before.

But nearly three months earlier, on the night before New Year’s Eve, it was time to break out the champagne.