A familiar face helped brighten up the Hawaii men’s basketball 2014-15 schedule.
The Rainbow Warriors will play Pittsburgh of the Atlantic Coast Conference at Maui’s War Memorial Gym on Nov. 21. The Panthers are headed up by Jamie Dixon, a former UH assistant from 1992 to 1994 under Riley Wallace.
It will be UH’s third game on Maui in five seasons and its first meeting with Pittsburgh, an annual threat to make the NCAA Tournament, since 1990.
It is a convenient opportunity for Dixon’s Panthers, who will play in their first EA Sports Maui Invitational in Lahaina three days later.
"Excited about the schedule and the upcoming year," UH coach Gib Arnold said in a statement to the Star-Advertiser. "Pitt will be a great game in Maui and it looks like we will continue the series with us playing there next year and then having them return the following year to the Stan Sheriff."
Preceding the Pitt game, UH opens up the season in the Outrigger Resorts Rainbow Classic — this time against Cal State Bakersfield on Nov. 14. The four-team round-robin tourney is filled out by Arkansas-Pine Bluff and High Point. The latter, a private school in North Carolina, made the NIT last season.
The Rainbow Warriors play their fair share of home games –19 — in the coming season, including eight in the Big West Conference. But besides the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic on Dec. 22, 23 and 25, UH will not encounter its "name" opposition at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Arnold’s team will play BYU in Salt Lake City on Dec. 6 and Washington State in Seattle on Dec. 13. The BYU game will be in the Utah Jazz’s EnergySolutions Arena, while the WSU game is in KeyArena — the former home of the Seattle SuperSonics.
First-round pairings in the Diamond Head field haven’t been set, but UH will play three among the eight-team field of Colorado, DePaul, George Washington, Loyola Marymount, Nebraska, Ohio and Wichita State. Gregg Marshall’s Wichita State Shockers were ranked as high as No. 2 last season and entered the NCAA Tournament undefeated.
In an interesting quirk, UH will play Chaminade on Dec. 19 at the Neal Blaisdell Center, the former home of the ‘Bows. It will be UH’s first game there since it transitioned to the Sheriff Center in 1994.
Combined with a home meeting against Hawaii Pacific on Nov. 26, it is the second straight year UH will play two non-Division I opponents in a season. Prior to 2013-14, the last time that happened was in 1982-83.
While that may not excite UH fans, Arnold has talked about arranging home-and-home meetings with Pac-12 schools since his arrival in 2010. He may have a breakthrough on that front.
"We finally have a home and home with a Pac-12 team in WSU after trying for four years," Arnold stated. "They will be returning next year (2015-16). As always the Diamond Head Classic is loaded. I think it will be great to play in the Blaisdell Center, maybe we will bust out the aloha print short short(s) for a retro night."
Hawaii men’s basketball 2014-15 schedule
All times to be determined
Home games at Stan Sheriff Center
* Big West Conference game
November
Outrigger Resorts Rainbow Classic–14: Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs. High Point, Cal State Bakersfield at Hawaii; 15: High Point vs. Cal State Bakersfield, Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Hawaii; 17: Cal State Bakersfield vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, High Point at Hawaii.
21: vs. Pittsburgh at War Memorial Stadium, Maui
26: Hawaii Pacific
December
2: Delaware State
6: vs. BYU in Salt Lake City
13: vs. Washington State in Seattle
19: vs. Chaminade at Blaisdell Center
Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic–22, 23, 25 (TBD of Colorado, DePaul, George Washington, Loyola Marymount, Nebraska, Ohio, Wichita State)
29: Southern
January
3: Florida Gulf Coast
7: Cal Poly*
10: Cal State Northridge*
17: at UC Riverside*
22: UC Davis*
24: UC Irvine*
29: at Long Beach State*
31: at Cal State Northridge*
February
5: at UC Santa Barbara*
7: at Cal Poly*
12: UC Riverside*
14: Cal State Fullerton*
19: at UC Irvine*
21: at UC Davis*
26: Long Beach State*
March
5: UC Santa Barbara*
7: at Cal State Fullerton*
Big West tournament–12, 13, 14
in Anaheim, Calif.
