Hawai‘i Rainbow Warriors Wins First NCAA in 95 Years

Making President Obama look good, the 13th-seeded UH men’s basketball team bust No. 4 UC Berkeley in the South Regional NCAA Playoffs on Friday, March 18.

March 18, 2016

Don Wallace,

First the Eddie went, now the ’Bows will go—on. With the University of Hawai‘i’s 77-66 dismantling of the UC Berkeley Bears on Friday, 2016 is shaping up to be a very good year for Hawai‘i sports teams, and fans.

Jinx-wary fans feared that everything seemed to be breaking for the Rainbow Warriors before the South Regional game, held in Spokane: A Bears assistant coach was dismissed after a sexual harassment complaint; its point guard and lead scorer, Tyrone Wallace, broke his hot hand in practice; and the team’s second option, Jabari Bird, didn’t play due to back spasms.

Add to that the overall weak caliber of play in the PAC-12 this year, and it seemed like a peaking Hawai‘i’s game to grab. Stacked with veterans, blessed with an NBA-prospect center in Stefan Jankovic, and playing with the knowledge that there was no next year because of a forthcoming NCAA playoff ban, the Rainbow Warriors went inside early and often, building a six-point lead by halftime.

But Cal burst out of the box in the second half, traditionally Hawai‘i’s weakest, and clawed within a point with 11 minutes to go. The air seemed to get sucked out of sports bars and offices across the Islands as a minute ticked by and the teams stayed locked at 47-46 Hawai‘i. A full 55 seconds and nine possessions followed before Mike Thomas snared a defensive rebound and Aaron Valdes hit a jumper to make it 49-46.

From there the lead steadily widened, as tight defense and Mike Thomas rebounds and putbacks made the Bears pay. When Thomas hit a 3-pointer on an assist from Roderick Bobbitt with 6 minutes on the clock, the lead widened to 64-53 Hawaii and the game again seemed all but iced.

But Cal didn’t get the word and successfully broke for layups as Hawai‘i missed on outside shots. With 3:42 the scored tightened to 66-60. Getting timely rebounds and a jumper from Quincy Smith, who led Hawai‘i scorers with 19 points, putting the ball in Jankovic’s hands inside, the Warriors let the Bears make fouls and Jankovic make free throws. A Bobbitt rebound and jumper pushed the score up by 10, then 12.

The Gatorade was on ice and waiting in the locker room. First-year coach Eran Ganot had taken the Rainbow Warriors to the Big Dance and got a win, the first in the NCAA playoffs in a decade. Now the show goes on, taking an entire state with it.

Besides Quincy Smith’s breakout game, the Rainbow Warriors got 17 points and 7 big defensive rebounds from Roderick Bobbitt, 16 points and 5 rebounds from Jankovic, 9 points and 6 rebounds from Mike Thomas, and 8 points and 3 rebounds from Aaron Valdes. The top bench contributor, Sai Tummala, added 5 points.

Next up for the Rainbow Warriors is No. 5 Maryland, winner in a tight game over North Dakota State. Hawai‘i should give them a fight. If they win, they will probably face No. 1 Kansas, which plays No. 8 Connecticut; since Kansas is President Obama’s pick to win it all, we have a definite conflict of interest.

Saturday also will see the opening round match of the No. 14-seeded Rainbow Wāhine women’s basketball team, going up against No. 3 seed UCLA in Los Angeles. Time for a twofer?