The entire Hawaii basketball department, both the men’s and women’s programs, have a lot to be proud of this week as each has responded well to different forms of adversity. The men picked up a big win against a very
The entire Hawaii basketball department, both the men’s and women’s programs, have a lot to be proud of this week as each has responded well to different forms of adversity.
The men picked up a big win against a very good Northern Iowa team in the opening round of the Diamond Head Classic, then hung right with unbeaten Oklahoma in an 84-81 loss on Wednesday.
The women bounced back from four-straight losses with a pair of road wins against Sacramento State and San Jose State.
So as we sit here on Christmas Day, the Rainbow Warriors could be on the verge of a Top 25 ranking if they can beat Auburn today (1:30 p.m.), and the Wahine could be turning the corner and returning to conference-winning form of last season.
Tuesday was a difficult day for the Warriors with the NCAA’s announcement of its penalties for transgressions under Gib Arnold. But the team and the fans used that as fuel to scream past Northern Iowa, 68-52. The Panthers had a pair of top-five wins already this season, so they are a talented team with a high ceiling.
While they couldn’t follow that up with another win over No. 3 Oklahoma, Hawaii’s effort in that semifinal contest may get them even more respect than the UNI victory. Coming back from an initial 21-5 deficit, the ‘Bows closed to within a single point at halftime and traded the lead with the Sooners until the closing minute.
The fans, knowing the team needed their support to not only take on one of the country’s best teams but to also continue moving forward under difficult circumstances, were electric and certainly helped feed into the frenzied pace Hawaii set all game.
Roderick Bobbitt adjusted to exactly what his team needed from him each night. Against Northern Iowa, he was the creator with eight assists and just four points. Against Oklahoma, he scored a career-high 32 points on 8-of-12 shooting.
The only downside to the intensity was the lack of composure from Isaac Fleming against the Sooners. Fleming has been a fiery player since day one. He received a few lectures from Benjy Taylor last year and another this season from Eran Ganot after some comments following the Nevada victory in November.
But for the most part, the team has used the emotion as a positive and could start to gain some national attention, thanks to the nationally televised Oklahoma contest. It may not be quite enough to propel them into the Top 25, but they should pick up a few votes and move into the conversation with some continued out-of-conference success.
For the Wahine, the narrow wins over Sacramento State and San Jose State won’t do much to erase the previous blowout losses, but it should at least get their own confidence back on an upswing. They shot the ball well in both contests, going a combined 13 for 33 on three-point attempts. That’s a huge improvement considering they went 0 for 13 in the previous game against Texas A&M.
Center Megan Huff is continuing to carve out a huge role for herself. She averaged 14.5 points and 7.5 boards in the two wins and while still playing just 21 minutes a game. Huff is becoming the backbone of the Wahine’s rugged style.
The women are off until Wednesday when they play their third-straight game in California, as they play CSU Bakersfield. Now back over .500 at 6-5 for the season, the Wahine can put the losses out of their minds and focus on defending their Big West championship.
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David Simon can be reached at dsimon@thegardenisland.com.
