How will the UH men’s basketball team fare in its first season in the Big West Conference?

No games at altitude, all road contests in the Pacific time zone, no opponents in the Top 25 polls — or even receiving votes — and having the dominant big man, Vander Joaquim.

Next to playing all home games — or a steady diet of Houston Baptist, Maryland Eastern Shore and opponents of that ilk — what more could UH ask for in a new conference for 2012-13?

The Big West won’t be the waltz it was for the Rainbow Wahine in women’s volleyball, but it is hard to see how the Rainbow Warriors’ basketball team shouldn’t win the majority of its games in its new home in this inaugural season. UH goes 11-7 in the conference regular season and gets to the championship game of the postseason tournament.

Hawaii center Vander Joaquim showed he can shoot from 3-point range in the nonconference season. Too bad he can’t be tasked with another responsibility normally left to guards: bringing up the ball.

As was feared, UH will enter its first season in the Big West without a solid point guard and mostly mediocre shooting from the wings. Coach Gib Arnold tried several combinations but no one displayed enough consistency. Senior Jace Tavita is probably the best option at the point for now, but it’s anyone’s guess who will eventually be at the helm. As for shooting, Tavita, Brandon Spearman, Brandon Jawato, Manroop Clair and Hauns Brereton have all had their moments from beyond the arc … but mostly just that, only moments.

Unless the freshmen, Jawato and Clair, develop quickly, the Rainbow Warriors will only go as far as Joaquim and the rest of the bigs will take them. Christian Standhardinger and Isaac Fotu flank him to form the Big West’s most formidable front court, and perhaps UH’s best since the Reggie Cross-Terry Houston-Vincent Smalls days in the 1980s. But will they be good enough to negate the backcourt concerns, which also include perimeter defense?

A wide-open Big West makes for a tantalizing target in Hawaii’s first year in the league.

UH should have an advantage up front on a nightly basis, but how well the Rainbow Warriors contend with an expected slew of full-court presses and zone defenses will go a long way toward determining their degree of success down low. Guard play — something the BWC has an underrated reputation for — will continue to be a focal point of opponents looking to exploit a perceived UH disadvantage on the perimeter.

When the ’Bows can rebound and run, they’re at their best. That trait should allow them to stay in the hunt for a top-four seeding going into the BWC tournament in Anaheim, Calif., in March. But defending champion Long Beach State is still the team to beat, and teams such as Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Northridge, Pacific or UC Irvine could stop cold UH’s bid for its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2002. Look for LBSU, buoyed by three Division I transfers for BWC play, to keep its crown.

The Rainbow Warriors’ frontcourt will be a tough matchup for most teams in the Big West, but ball security in the backcourt figures to be a lingering issue going through the conference schedule.

Maximizing the advantage inside could hinge on UH’s perimeter defense in a guard-oriented league or risk having the UH big men dealing with foul trouble on a regular basis. The post production of Vander Joaquim and Isaac Fotu keeps UH in contention well into February before finishing third in the regular season and advancing to the semifinals of the league tournament in Anaheim, Calif.

Since Miss Cleo’s psychic hotline is no longer in service, I’ll try my best to cast an outlook for the ’Bows’ future in the Big West conference. Luckily, this next minute will not cost you a dime.

Excellent guard play has highlighted the Big West in recent memory.

Unfortunately, for Hawaii, that is the area the ’Bows lack exceptional talent. Manroop Clair has emerged as UH’s starting point guard, but the freshman is more comfortable at the 2 spot. Meanwhile, the two Brandons (Jawato and Spearman) have a combined nine starts on their resumes. The remedy to that lies in the post, where Vander Joaquim, Christian Standhardinger and Isaac Fotu will give UH a dominant physical presence that most Big West schools cannot match. That means running their offense from the inside-out will be vital to their success.

If Hawaii’s makeshift backcourt steadily improves and gains confidence, there is no reason UH will not contend for one of the top two spots in the conference.