The University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team will have one last chance at the elusive back-end road trip victory when it visits Cal State Fullerton on Saturday.
Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. Hawai’i time at Titan Gym; the game will be available via livestream on ESPN+ and will be broadcast live on radio via ESPN Honolulu 1420AM.
The Warriors are 20-7 overall and 12-5 in the Big West Conference, tied with UC Irvine for first place. Cal State Fullerton is 15-14 and 10-7, tied for fifth place and coming off an 88-80 win at Cal State Bakersfield on Feb. 21.
UH is coming off a 77-73 victory at UC Davis on Thursday, but has yet to complete a road sweep with a Saturday victory in its four previous Big West road trips.
“You gotta flip the script,” Warriors coach Eran Ganot said in a postgame radio interview on ESPN Honolulu Thursday night. “This is another week where we’re playing a team that had a bye, didn’t play on Thursday and we traveled (Friday). Everybody has that at some point, (but) we’ve had the most of it. And instead of whining and complaining about it, which we haven’t done … we’re like, ‘This is a great test for us.’ First of all, Fullerton is really good, and they’re playing really well and they can really attack and they’re good at home. And it’s a program that has won championships. And they have great seniors that they’re going to honor on Saturday.
“It’s a hell of a challenge for our guys to come off an emotional, physical game, travel and be ready for a fresh team. But you’re blessed to have challenges, and so I’m looking forward to the opportunity to travel with our guys and get ready for a tough game.”
Big West Conference Standings
*HAWAI’I 12-5
*UC Irvine 12-5
*Cal State Northridge 11-6
*UC Santa Barbara 11-7
*UC San Diego 10-7
*Cal State Fullerton 10-7
*UC Davis 10-8
*Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 9-8
Long Beach State 4-13
UC Riverside 4-14
Cal State Bakersfield 2-15