HONOLULU – Despite a 2-8 start that had fans clamoring for a coaching change, the University of Hawaii football team is now in a unique position to still win the Mountain West Conference’s West Division.
If the Rainbow Warriors (4-8 overall, 3-4 in the MWC) win at Fresno State on Saturday, and San Jose State wins at San Diego State and UNLV wins at home against Nevada, UH will claim the West Division title and advance to the league championship game Dec. 6 at Las Vegas.
The Hawaii-Fresno State game will be televised live statewide at 2 p.m. on Oceanic Pay-Per-View and broadcast live on radio via ESPN 1420 AM. The San Jose State-San Diego State game will kick off at 10:30 a.m., so the Rainbow Warriors will know when they take the field Saturday whether they still have a shot at the title. The UNLV-Nevada game will follow at 5:30 p.m.
If San Jose State, UH and UNLV all win, that would create an initial three-way tie for first place between Hawaii, Fresno State and San Diego State (each at 4-4).
According to the MWC Divisional Tiebreaker:
“In the event of a percentage tie … between more than two teams, the following comparison procedure shall be used to eliminate all but two tied teams, at which point the two-team tiebreaking procedure shall be used:
a) Winning percentage in games played among the tied teams.
b) Winning percentage in games played against division opponents.”
Under procedure “a),” the records for UH, Fresno State and San Diego State against each other would each be 1-1 (UH would have beaten Fresno State, Fresno State defeated San Diego State, and San Diego State beat Hawaii). Under procedure “b.),” UH’s and Fresno State’s record in the MWC West Division each would be 3-2, and San Diego State’s would be 2-3, thus eliminating the Aztecs.
That would leave a two-way tie, and Hawaii would win that tie-breaker by virtue of its win at Fresno State.
Unlike the Rainbow Warriors, however, Fresno State can totally control its own destiny: A win over the UH would clinch a second straight MWC West Division title for the Bulldogs, regardless of what happens with San Diego State and Nevada.
RAINBOW WAHINE STILL IN CONTENTION FOR NCAA TOURNAMENT BERTH: The UH women’s volleyball team was eliminated from Big West Conference championship contention last weekend but still is in the running for an NCAA Tournament berth.
The Rainbow Wahine (19-6 overall, 11-3 Big West) close out the regular season with home matches against UC Riverside (2-25, 0-15) on Friday and UC Davis (15-13, 10-5) on Saturday at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Both matches are scheduled for 8 p.m. and will be televised live statewide on OCSports (Channel 16) and broadcast live statewide on radio via ESPN 1420 AM.
UH returned to the AVCA Top 25 poll at No. 25, after several weeks of being unranked. The Rainbow Wahine also are ranked No. 30 in the Ratings Percentage Index, a key factor in determining NCAA Tournament at-large bids. The chances of earning one of the 16 host bids are very unlikely, as those also depend heavily on RPI.
Seniors Kalei Adolpho and Sarah Mendoza will be honored in post-match festivities Saturday.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM PLAYS HOST TO ‘SHOOTOUT’: The Rainbow Wahine basketball team will play host to the Waikiki Beach Marriott Shootout from Friday through Sunday at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Hawaii (3-1) will face Prairie View A&M on Friday, No. 5-ranked Stanford (3-1) on Saturday and No. 11 North Carolina (4-0) on Sunday. Each game is scheduled to tip off at 4:30 p.m.
The Rainbow Wahine are coming off a 79-70 home victory over UNLV last Sunday. Their only loss was a 75-72 home defeat to No. 14 California.
Junior center Connie Morris scored a career-high 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the win over UNLV, and Destiny King added 14 points and six assists and Ashleigh Karaitiana contributed 13 points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal.
MEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM TAKES FIFTH PLACE: The UH men’s basketball team captured fifth place in the Gulf Coast Showcase and improved to 6-2 on the season Wednesday with a 75-73 victory over East Carolina at Estero, Fla.
Senior guard Garrett Nevels led the way with 19 points, nine rebounds and two assists, sophomore forward Aaron Valdes added 15 points, nine boards and three assists and sophomore forward Negus Webster-Chan contributed 11 points and four rebounds.
Junior point guard Roderick Bobbitt had another solid outing with 10 points, six boards and six assists.
The Rainbow Warriors will return home for a 7 p.m. game Tuesday at the Stan Sheriff Center.