Hawaii Advances to Big West Final, Eyes NCAA Tournament Spot

HENDERSON, Nev. — The wait is nearly over.


Hawaii’s men’s basketball team last played in the NCAA Tournament in 2016. The Rainbow Warriors are 40 minutes away from returning to the Big Dance after advancing to the championship game of the Big West Tournament on Friday.

Hawaii, the No. 2 seed, defeated third-seeded Cal State Fullerton 78-63 at Lee’s Family Forum. They’ll face top-seeded UC Irvine at 7 p.m. Saturday for the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Anteaters took out Cal State Northridge 93-78 to return to the Big West championship game. Irvine fell to UC San Diego in last year’s final.

“Obviously, an incredible feeling for a great group of kids,” Hawaii coach Eran Ganot said. “We have overcome a lot of adversity to get to this point. But we knew it was going to be tough.”

For Hawaii, which is leaving the Big West for the Mountain West on July 1, winning here in Henderson would be the perfect parting gift. At 23-8, the Rainbow Warriors’ resume isn’t quite strong enough to get in as an at-large. Their NCAA NET ranking is 110, tops in the Big West, but a long way from getting a favorable nod from the NCAA selection committee. So it’s all or nothing on Saturday for Ganot’s team.

Ganot was in charge the last time Hawaii qualified for the NCAAs so he knows what the process is like. The school’s lone NCAA win, which came over California as part of a record 28-6 season, was its first appearance since 2002. So there have been large gaps for Hawaii when it comes to participating in the NCAAs.

This group? There’s size with 7-foot senior center Isaac Johnson, a first team all-Big West selection who averages 13.7 points. There’s athleticism with Dre Bullock, the 6-foot-6 guard who leads the team in steals with 48 and guard Hunter Erickson who has dished out a team-best 110 assists. And there’s experience with eight seniors/graduate players on the roster.

But what may be most impressive about Ganot’s team is how they compete on the boards. Hawaii is a really good rebounding team. It led the Big West in rebounding margin at +5.8 and it helped get the Rainbow Warriors into Saturday’s title game after they outrebounded Cal State Fullerton 53-26.

“We have great buy-in from our kids,” Ganot said of their willingness to do the work on the glass.

Friday, it was all on display against the Titans, who had narrowly lost to Hawaii 87-85 when they met on Feb. 28 in Fullerton. The ‘Bows took care of the Titans in the first meeting in Honolulu back on Dec. 6, 69-59.

Fullerton did not back down and the game was still up for grabs at the midway point of the second half at 44-44. But the ‘Bows turned up the defensive pressure, went on an extended 17-3 run to lead 61-47 with just under six minutes to play.

“We challenged our team to get back to their identity — toughness and get on the glass,” Ganot said. “And you saw the way they responded.”

So it’s one step to go for Hawaii. Like Irvine, it only had to play one game to get to the title contest. Still, it’s about rest, hydration, and mental preparedness for what figures to be a 40-minute battle.

“We have to carry the momentum from tonight into tomorrow,” said senior forward and captain Harry Rouhliadeff, who had a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds against Fullerton Friday. “We have to get back to work and keep going.”

For Ganot, his message to his players for Saturday is simple.

“Be you,” he said. “It’s the consistency in the messaging. That’s what prepares us for these moments. Have fun. Enjoy it. Do what we do.”