Even without its starting backcourt, the University of Hawaii basketball team had a decent shot to win against Louisiana Tech on Thursday. But if UH is without Miah Ostrowski and Zane Johnson again tonight, against New Mexico State? Sorry, no chance.

LaTech is arguably the worst team in the Western Athletic Conference. New Mexico State is one of the best, up there with Nevada, at 14-5 and 4-0 in the league. The Aggies have forward Wendell McKines, the best front-line player in the conference.

We might have given UH center Vander Joaquim that title before Thursday’s 74-70 loss to the Bulldogs, who won their first WAC game.

The development of Joaquim — who played so well on the recent road trip he was named WAC Player of the Week — has usually been one of the best things about the Rainbows for the past season and a half. That wasn’t the case Thursday. He should have been able to dominate in the low post. Instead, he was pestered into frustration.

Coach Gib Arnold didn’t name names when he said UH got no leadership. He didn’t have to. With Ostrowski and Johnson out, Joaquim was the only captain left on the court.

In fairness, the LaTech defense sagged more on Joaquim with UH’s inside-out game debilitated by the absence of 3-point ace Johnson. But that doesn’t explain two silly fouls in the second half that put Joaquim one short of expulsion with more than 8 minutes left. When LaTech scored two quick buckets in the paint, Arnold didn’t keep him out long — and then Joaquim didn’t stay in long, fouling out with 5:08 left.

Joaquim finished with 11 points and eight rebounds. He should have scored more, but he missed six free throws (including the front end of a 1-and-1) in 11 tries. He had six of UH’s 17 turnovers.

The absence of the starting guards disrupted Joaquim’s rhythm, and that of the team. This game served as a reminder of the fragility of most basketball teams. The Rainbows are the kind of squad that, despite some depth, can be dysfunctional with one of its key parts missing. And in this game, two were out.

Bobby Miles was OK at the point, and got better as it went along. Shaq Stokes had his moments. But neither is ready to fill the spots of Ostrowski or Johnson for more than a few minutes at a time. Definitely not both for an entire game. It’s good to remember one is a sophomore and the other a freshman. They’ll get better.

Arnold conveyed huge disappointment after the loss. He hinted that perhaps Johnson could have tried harder to play Thursday.

“I don’t know how long you stay out for a cold and diarrhea,” Arnold said in obvious disdain. “You’re talking to a guy who never takes a sick day.”

One of the popular criticisms of Arnold after this game is that he didn’t recruit Ostrowski and Johnson. Supposedly, he wins with players who aren’t his — kind of like what we hear often about June Jones winning with Fred vonAppen’s players in 1999.

When that comes up, remember this: Joston Thomas is a Gib Arnold recruit. So is Joaquim. And after a sophomore slump, June Jones went on to win a lot of games with his own players.

The Rainbow Warriors might have a rough time of it tonight, especially if Ostrowski and/or Johnson don’t play.

But it doesn’t mean the season is a lost cause. It just means that the Rainbows, like most other basketball teams, are fragile.