UH hoops looking to break through in Matadome

It might be a glorified high school gym. It’s also one of three sites Hawaii has not won as a Big West men’s basketball member.

The oft-derided, 1,600-seat Matadome of Cal State Northridge has thus far been a tough place to play for the Rainbow Warriors. Sixth-place UH (14-7, 2-3 Big West) hopes to rectify that curious fact against the Matadors (6-15, 2-4) at 5 p.m. (HST) Thursday in the first of four straight games on the road.

UH held what coach Benjy Taylor called a "high energy" practice at CSUN on Wednesday night.

"They’re very good at home. They have some good players," Taylor said of CSUN in a phone interview. "I think we lost here by one (79-78) last year. But we haven’t won here yet. We need to break through here tomorrow night, and hopefully we can."

The Matadome was once termed the "Mata-gym" by former coach Bobby Braswell. But CSUN has done some refurbishments, most notably to the court. Now nicknamed "The Blacktop," CSUN’s home has a unique feel to it that goes beyond the cramped environs. The Matadome’s playing surface has been shaded dark gray and black, going for the feel of hooping it up on the playground.

It’s part of a recent rebranding effort by CSUN, which desires to be known exclusively by that acronym. It picked up well-known former NBA player and coach Reggie Theus last season.

The ‘Bows got a measure of payback on Jan. 10 for their 2014 Big West tournament loss to Theus and CSUN, swarming the Matadors for a program-record-tying 20 steals among 28 forced turnovers in an 83-68 UH win at the Stan Sheriff Center.

"They’re athletic. I expect a much better game from them," Taylor said. "But if you remember correctly, that (last) game started off (close) and it was nip and tuck the whole way. I don’t anticipate them turning it over like that, like they did last time. We’ll have to do some things better in order to win on the road."

Freshman Isaac Fleming was sick from the flu as UH boarded its plane to Los Angeles on Tuesday, but Fleming was able to catch a Wednesday flight and rejoined the team, and is expected to play.

Aside from guard Brandon Jawato (back spasms), UH isn’t expected to miss any players for this game. UH is looking into allegations of marijuana smoke in two hotel rooms from its previous road trip to UC Riverside. Taylor said the team has moved past it.

"You know, this is something we dealt with when it happened," Taylor said. "We dealt with it then. If my players do anything wrong, I’ll be … in the front of the line to discipline them, and make sure they are doing what they’re supposed to do. This was something that was dealt with way before all of this (news coverage) developed. We’re excited to play, we know we have some work to do and some catching up to do. We gotta get this pressure off us and enjoy playing again."

UH is coming off a 78-72 home loss to UC Irvine in which the ‘Bows shot only 32.9 percent. The Rainbow Warriors have yet to lose back-to-back games this season; they are 6-0 immediately following a loss.

Point guard Roderick Bobbitt had eight steals in the last meeting with the Matadors, while forward Aaron Valdes scored a career-high 34 points on 13-for-18 shooting.

Valdes (15.3 ppg) has been hot and cold since, scoring two, 21, and six points in succession. As Valdes went in those games, so did UH, losing when he’s been off and winning when he’s scored aplenty.