Even going up against last-place teams takes on special meaning at this stage.

Entering the second half of Western Athletic Conference play, the Hawaii men’s basketball team needs a win today at last-place San Jose State to keep alive any thought of a WAC regular-season championship.

Tipoff is at 4 p.m. at the 5,000-seat Event Center, which typically draws sparse crowds. It might not feel like a big game, but UH coach Gib Arnold is doing his best to convince his team otherwise.

The stakes are certainly different for the two teams. UH (12-9, 4-3 WAC) has sole possession of third place after a big 76-70 win at Idaho last Saturday. SJSU (7-15, 0-7) is still hunting for its first conference win.

"This is a very, very important game. There’s no way that we can go in there and underestimate anybody," Arnold said. "You look at San Jose, they had five road games among the first seven in conference. It seems unfair, quite honestly, that they have five to two. And they have a winning record at home (5-4). So we understand that we have to approach this game as important.

"Heck, it is THE most important game of the year, as is every one from here on out. So we’re approaching it that way and trying the best we can to make sure we’re prepared and we’re going in there to play our best ball."

UH arrived in San Jose on Thursday night and got in a full day of practice preparation on Friday. As far as WAC travel goes, it doesn’t get any easier than a straight shot to San Jose. After last week’s split road trip to Utah State and Idaho, UH even got to spend most of the week at home to keep up with schoolwork.

"At least this one’s only one game. We just go up there, take care of business, and come right back," point guard Miah Ostrowski said. "We don’t gotta catch any bus rides or any double trips. We land right where we’re gonna play. That’s going to be good for our legs. … Mentally I think we’ll feel a lot fresher."

The ‘Bows will turn to their usual sources of scoring, shooting guard Zane Johnson (15.5 points per game), center Vander Joaquim (14.2 ppg, 9.9 rpg) and power forward Joston Thomas (13.3 ppg) to carry the bulk of the offensive load.

In UH’s 82-69 win over SJSU in both teams’ WAC opener on Jan. 7, Thomas had a career-best 27 points with eight rebounds, and Joaquim had a double-double of 20 points and 14 boards.

While those two have been the most consistent in WAC play, Johnson has quietly crept toward record-breaking territory; he is fourth all-time in UH 3-pointers with 160. He needs just one more to tie Alika Smith for third and two more to tie Carl English for second. Predrag Savovic is No. 1 with 178.

Ostrowski tallied 25 assists against one turnover in UH’s past three games against the Spartans.

"We’ve got good legs and everybody’s healthy," Arnold said. "That’s what you want to see when you’re coming down the home stretch."

In the past meeting, UH did an effective job of keeping the Spartans’ high-scoring backcourt of James Kinney and Keith Shamburger in check; they shot a combined 5-for-19. However, center Wil Carter put up 21 points and 20 rebounds in that game. Kinney is still third in WAC scoring at 16.0 ppg.

SJSU has given itself chances to win almost every WAC game this season, but its youth has shown in its inability to finish games.

"We have to be better under duress," SJSU coach George Nessman said this week. "Really in almost every game in conference, we’ve had a chance to win deep into the second half. … We kind of lose our focus. I think some of that’s our youth and our inexperience. But we need to be more composed. We need to be harder-edged when that game’s on the line."

San Jose is one of the few WAC locales UH has enjoyed regular road success. The ‘Bows have won nine of 17 meetings there all-time.