The University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team (16-6, 7-3 Big West) begins the second half of its Big West regular-season schedule on the road when it takes on UC Davis on Thursday, Feb. 2 at University Credit Union Center. Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m. PT/4:00 p.m. HT. 

The Rainbow Warriors currently sit in fourth in the Big West standings two games behind first-place UCSB and one game ahead of fifth-place UC Davis and Long Beach State. This will be the second meeting between the teams which opened the Big West season on Dec. 29 in Honolulu. The Rainbow Warriors pulled away for a 74-66 win in that game. Following its contest with UC Davis, the ‘Bows will travel to San Luis Obispo to take on Cal Poly on Saturday, Feb. 4.

GAME 23: Hawai’i (16-6, 7-3 Big West) vs. UC Davis (13-9, 6-4 Big West)
Opponent | Date | TimeUC Riverside |  Thursday, Feb. 2  |  6 p.m. PT     
LocationDavis, Calif.  – University Credit Union Center
TelevisionNone
Live StreamESPN+ 
RadioESPN Honolulu / Sideline Hawaii App
Live StatsStatBroadcast.com
Game NotesHawai’i  (PDF)
Social Media@HawaiiMBB Twitter | #HawaiiMBB | @HawaiiBasketball Instagram | Facebook Facebook
TicketsUCDavisAggies.com

HEAD COACH ERAN GANOTOverall record: 133-85 (9th season)
At Hawai’i: 130-83 (8th season)

ALL-TIME RECORD vs. UC DAVISOverall: UH leads, 13-8
In Honolulu: UH leads, 7-2
In Davis: UCD leads, 6-5
Streak: UH, 1

‘BOW BITS

  • UH is coming off a 72-69 home win over CSU Bakersfield in a game they led by 17 at the half. In its last outing, UC Davis fell to Long Beach State, 75-72, on the road.
  • Elijah Pepper is averaging a Big West best 20.3 ppg in league games. Pepper scored 16 vs. UH in the first outing but was limited to 7-of-21 shooting.
  • UC Davis leads the Big West and ranks ninth nationally in free throw attempts/game (24.3) and ranks second in the league and 27th in the NCAA in offensive rebounds/game (12.5).
  • JoVon McClanahan has scored in double-digits in nine of 10 Big West games and is averaging a team-best 14.3 ppg in league play.  
  • UH led from wire-to-wire for the fifth time this year with its victory over CSU Bakersfield. It was the third time in conference play (also vs. Cal Poly and at UC San Diego). 
  • UH scored a season-high 45 first-half points vs. CSUB. After the break, they tied a season-low with 27 second-half points. 
  • Noel Coleman saw a streak of 28 straight free throws made come to a close when he missed his second attempt of the evening in UH’s win over CSU Bakersfield.
  • Coleman currently ranks second in the Big West in free throw percentage in conference games converting 90.4 percent (47-of-52).
  • He also leads the conference in minutes/game (35.2) in overall games.

Five Alive

  • Four Rainbow Warriors starters (Noel Coleman – 13.7 ppg, Kamaka Hepa – 10.9, JoVon McClanahan – 10.7 and Bernardo da Silva – 10.4), average double-digits in scoring with a fifth player, Samuta Avea, on the cusp at 9.7 ppg.
  • The UH starters have accounted for 81 percent of the team’s scoring this year, including 86 percent (582 of 673) in league play.
  • UH is one of only seven teams nationally to have the same starting lineup in every game this year.

A Smothering Defense

  • The ‘Bows have allowed just 61.7 points a game, which ranks 19th nationally.
  • Eight opponents failed to get past 55 points, while 16 scored 66 or less.
  • UH has held its opponents to a Big-West best 40.0 percent shooting from the field, 32nd nationally. That includes 27.1 percent shooting on three-pointers, which ranks 5th nationally.
  • UH limited Cal Poly and UC San Diego to under 50 points in back-to-back games and in each contest held their opponent to a scoreless stretch that lasted nine minutes.
  • UH has also registered 89 blocks (4.0/game; 1st in Big West and 80th NCAA), including 12 blocks versus UC Davis which was one shy of a single-game school record.
  • UH had just 60 blocks all of last year and averaged just 2.1 per game which ranked 319th nationally.