After all the scenarios have been explained, all the scoreboards watched, and all the jockeying for position, the “magic number” for the University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team is now 1.
That’s it. One.
Either one loss by Cal Poly San Luis Obispo at Long Beach State on Saturday, or one victory by the Warriors at Cal State Northridge about one hour later … and UH will finally secure the eighth and final berth into next week’s Big West Conference tournament in Henderson, Nev.
But while on paper it looks very simple, either outcome will be a challenge to materialize.
The Warriors (15-15 overall, 7-12 in league) were blown away by CSUN at home, 83-60, back on Jan. 16. It was Hawai’i’s worst home loss of the season. Meanwhile, the Matadors (21-9, 13-6) have secured a top four finish and first-round tournament bye, and are 9-3 at home.
Tipoff for Saturday’s game is set for 3 p.m. Hawai’i time, and the game will be available via livestream on ESPN+ and broadcast live on radio via ESPN 1420AM.
As for Cal Poly, the Mustangs (13-18, 7-12) have won two straight games and three of their last four, and already own a 78-69 home victory over Long Beach State (7-24, 3-16).
Then again, “March Madness” sometimes starts before the actual tournaments begin.
“Especially in March in college basketball, you don’t know what’s going to happen,” UH sophomore guard and co-captain Tom Beattie. “So (we’re) just embracing that challenge, embracing where we are at and doing whatever we can to get out of this and get to the tournament.”
The Warriors are coming off a 76-64 loss at Cal State Bakersfield, after leading 37-33 at halftime and 42-35 with 11:31 remaining in the game.
Among other issues, Hawai’i made just 1 of 13 attempts from 3-point range in the second half — missing 12 straight in the final 15:39.
Despite that drought, Warriors coach Eran Ganot said his shooters must be careful not pass up open shots.
“Even if we miss good looks, they still need to be confident,” Ganot said in a postgame radio interview Thursday. “They got away from that. Sometimes after you miss some good looks, you hold onto the ball too long and become passive. We need to be aggressive coming back.”
Most importantly, Ganot said the team needs to stay locked in on the game at hand, and not get caught “scoreboard watching” and letting the mind wander. With the Cal Poly-Long Beach State game starting an hour earlier than UH-CSUN, the temptation may be difficult to resist.
“Living in the now is really important,” Ganot said. “It’s easy to say, (but) hard to do, because you’ve got the noise around you. You want some things back, and you know what’s ahead, but you can’t do that .
“We all wish it were smooth and easy all the time, but you grow the most through this. I’m excited as a coach to go through it with them, and see what we’re made of.”
Big West Conference Standings
- UC San Diego 17-2
- UC Irvine 16-3
- Cal State Northridge 13-6
- UC Riverside 13-6
- UC Santa Barbara 11-8
- UC Davis 9-10
- Cal State Bakersfield 8-12
- HAWAI’I 7-12
- Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 7-12
- Long Beach State 3-16
- Cal State Fullerton 1-18
NOTE: Only the top eight teams at the end of the regular season will qualify for the Big West Tournament set for March 12-15 in Henderson, Nev.