For the Hawaii basketball team, this week’s road games will be about blood, sweat and tiers.

In the second half of a stretch of four games in eight days, the Rainbow Warriors face top-tier opponents UC Irvine on Thursday and UC Riverside on Saturday. UCR is atop the Big West at 6-1 in league games. The 5-1 ’Bows are grouped with UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine in second place.

“We know what’s at stake,” UH coach Eran Ganot said. “These are intelligent young men. … We’re process driven, We focus on the now.”

Ganot emphasized the ’Bows’ steps of self-evaluation, correction, and then preparing for the coming opponent. “You skip steps, you’ll get burned,” Ganot said. “We know what’s at hand.”

Early in the 20-game Big West schedule, Ganot said, the ’Bows are not watching scoreboards. The ’Bows’ focus has been on maintaining a defiant defense, avoiding lapses — they squandered a 19-point lead before prevailing against Cal State Northridge — and restoring reserve power. In the recent sweep of Long Beach State and CSUN, the UH starters accounted for 134 of 137 points. On Monday, Beon Riley’s free throw was the only bench point against CSUN.

Against CSUN, each of the UH starters played at least 32 minutes. Guard Noel Coleman logged 39 minutes, 10 seconds on Monday after playing 38:04 against LBSU two nights earlier.

“We have some great athletic trainers who keep our bodies going and flowing,” point guard JoVon McClanahan said. “We do have some guys who are out right now.”

The backcourt has been thinned because of ailments. Point guard Juan Munoz, who suffered an Achilles injury during the preseason, is harboring the slim chance he will return for the Big West Tournament in March. Amoro Lado is recovering from stress fractures in his left leg that required surgery. Justus Jackson, the primary backup to roommate McClanahan, is hopeful of playing this week after missing the past two games because of an ailment.

Kody Williams, a walk-on freshman, was pressed into extended duty when McClanahan incurred early foul trouble against CSUN. Williams, who is 6 feet, had a team-best 44 1/2-inch vertical jump in preseason testing. He ran three-quarters of the court — 70 feet, 6 inches — in 3.05 seconds.

“Game experience is the biggest thing, especially with college basketball,” McClanahan said of Williams. “I remember when I was a young guard here, and I was learning and getting spot minutes and stuff like that. It all matters. It all builds up later on in the end. I’m just trying to coach him as much as I can when he’s in. And when he’s out, what he needs to see and what he needs to do going forward. I think he’s fine coming in and getting minutes and doing his job. I’m proud of him.”

Freshman forward Harry Rouhliadeff, who did not play against CSUN after suffering an adverse reaction to prescribed medication, is set to join Mor Seck as backups to posts Bernardo da Silva and Kamaka Hepa. In UH’s defensive scheme — known as the wall — the posts slide off to impede drives into the lane. The ’Bows are holding Big West opponents to 38.6% shooting, including 26.7% on 3s.

“Kamaka and Bernardo have been great,” McClanahan said. “They’re very long. Kamaka’s 6-10. Bernardo’s 6-9 with long arms. If I (were) to get beat off the dribble, or any of our other guys, they usually clean up for us. I’m so happy they’re back there. It’s very tough to finish over them.”