Court Sense

Though many still consider it a down year for Western Athletic Conference basketball (witness the losing records of usual contenders New Mexico State and Nevada) the WAC still managed to send five teams to postseason tournaments. >> Utah State (30-3) earned a 12th seed in the NCAA Tournament and meets No. 5 Kansas State in the opening round. Tough going here for the Aggies, who did pretty much all anyone could have asked of them all season, only to get […]

Despite the first-round losses of the Hawaii men’s and women’s basketball teams, I’m still here in Las Vegas, and I’ll have a daily report on the WAC tournament at the Orleans Arena until a champion is crowned. With a decent amount of momentum heading into the tournament for both UH teams, it was reasonable to expect one of them to advance. Instead, you had a suddenly hot San Jose State team stun the Rainbow Warriors at the buzzer and New […]

This is it. WAC tournament time, where postseason dreams are made (or crushed). I’m currently set up courtside while Hawaii warms up. Everyone is healthy, with the exception of senior point guard Hiram Thompson, who is still unable to play because of the ligament damage in his left arm. Can UH make it 3-for-3 against San Jose State this season? We’re about to find out. It seems like the team was able to shake off the malaise that plagued them […]

Hawaii held up its end of the bargain last night for a shot at the No. 4 seed in the WAC tournament, defeating San Jose State 77-71 on the road. But two close games around the WAC sealed the Rainbow Warriors’ fate to go without a first-round bye. UH needed help from either Fresno State or Louisiana Tech, but Idaho came from behind to beat Fresno 69-66 and Nevada won at LaTech 73-70. Even if the Rainbows finish 9-7 by […]

Junior point guard  Miah Ostrowski’s unforeseen large role with the Hawaii men’s basketball team has many wondering if he’d forsake football next season (where his scholarship is) to play hoops full-time for Gib Arnold. The answer: No. Ostrowski said before the team left for its road trip this week that the loyalty the football team has shown him with a scholarship is important to him and he’s going to stick it out as a multi-sport athlete. He will still come […]

Who would you nominate as Hawaii’s candidate for WAC player of the week? There are three legitimate choices, as UH beat Louisiana Tech 71-58 and New Mexico State 76-70 at the Stan Sheriff Center. >>  Junior guard Zane Johnson averaged 19 points and hit nine 3-pointers >> Senior forward Bill Amis averaged 16 points and eight rebounds >> Sophomore center Vander Joaquim averaged 14.5 points and 12 rebounds and 2.5 blocks We’ll find out this morning if any made the […]

Three games left for most WAC teams (two for the rest) means a lot could still happen before the WAC tournament March 9-12 in Las Vegas. Utah State has first place clinched at 12-1. Here’s the current placement and remaining WAC games for the rest of the league. Much could change before the end. No. 2 New Mexico State (8-5): at Hawaii Feb. 26, vs. Utah State March 2, vs. Nevada March 5. No. 3 Boise State (8-6): at Nevada […]

The rest of the 2011 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic field is set to be released today. UPDATE: As expected, those teams are Auburn of the Southeastern Conference and Southern Illinois of the Missouri Valley Conference. The six previously known teams in the field are Long Beach State, UTEP, Kansas State, Clemson, Xavier and, of course, host Hawaii. That leaves two spots. It’s shaping up to be a solid follow-up from last year’s holiday tournament, won by Butler. ——— Word […]