Hawaii basketball coach Eran Ganot’s favorite board game is monopoly.

“Whatever style you play, you’re going to have to be good on the boards,” said Ganot, whose Rainbow Warriors are 8-0 when out-rebounding an opponent. Under Ganot, who was hired as head coach in 2015, the ’Bows are 61-8 when winning the battle of the boards.

The ’Bows experienced a rebounding deficit — 49-34, including 16-9 off the offensive glass — in Saturday’s road loss to UC Irvine. They have set a goal of controlling the boards in tonight’s game against Cal Poly. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. in the Stan Sheriff Center.

“The boards are a big part of the game,” Ganot said. “We knew that coming in (against Irvine). It didn’t go in our favor. … I think at times the rebounding disparity deflated us a little bit and affected other areas.”

This season, the ’Bows have upsized the post, with 6-foot-9 Zigmars Raimo moving to power forward, and the center position split among 7-foot sophomores Dawson Carper and Mate Colina and 6-9 freshman Bernardo da Silva. Raimo has benefited from the centers’ box-outs, grabbing 7.1 rebounds per game. Da Silva is averaging 7.3 rebounds since breaking into the starting lineup three games ago.

Of the center rotation, Ganot said da Silva has “been the most consistent. Everybody is ready to go, and we’re going to need everybody. Sometimes it’s matchups, sometimes it’s who’s been performing. He’s earned it. I’m proud of his approach and demeanor. He’s really mature and calm and collected for a guy at this stage, and I think that’s helped him. I think he’s not afraid of the moment. Even though he got thrown in the fire, we talked about it, that would help him in the long term. And even thrown in the fire, he had some success.”

With a 7-foot-2 wing span, da Silva is an accomplished shot blocker. But he also has proven to be an agile-footed defender and an aggressive low-post attacker. He is averaging a team-high 2.4 free throws per 10 minutes.

“He gets to the line,” Ganot said of da Silva. “That’s a great quality for a player. Getting to the line is a talent.”

Da Silva said he is adjusting to the Big West’s physical style. “I feel I need to hit the weight room more and get stronger,” he said.

Ganot said: “He’s really working on that, and not just after the season. He’s working on it this season.”

Ganot praised another true freshman, Justin Webster, who is emerging as another scoring option. Despite averaging 16.7 minutes as a reserve guard, he is third on the team in 3s with 18. Against Irvine, he scored seven points in a row to rally the ’Bows.

“He’s such a good scorer,” Ganot said. “He’s done a better job being a playmaker for us. He defended reallly well the last game. We’re excited about having young guys like that in the program.”

The ’Bows will need the rotation flexibility, as well as rebounding presence, against the scrappy Mustangs. Cal Poly used 12 players in each of the past two games, including an upset of Cal State Northridge. Hank Hollingsworth, a 6-10 post, is out for the season because of an injury. But Tuukka Jaakkola scored 18 against Iowa and 17 against CSUN.

“We’re just trying to build on what we did the last game, and take it game by game,” Poly coach John Smith said.