The University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team is set to face UC Irvine in a key Big West Conference matchup on Thursday, January 29. The game will take place at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, California, with tipoff scheduled for 8:00 p.m. Pacific Time (6:00 p.m. Hawaii Time). The contest will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.
Both teams currently share the top spot in the Big West standings with identical 7-2 conference records. Their previous meeting earlier this month ended with Hawai’i securing a narrow 67-66 victory after Hunter Erickson hit a game-winning jumper. That win snapped a four-game losing streak for Hawai’i against UC Irvine and featured 22 lead changes.
This upcoming matchup marks the final regular-season meeting between the two programs as conference rivals, as Hawai’i will join the Mountain West next season.
Hawai’i leads the Big West and ranks 14th nationally in scoring defense, allowing an average of 64.9 points per game. Meanwhile, UC Irvine tops both the conference and stands third nationally in field goal percentage defense at .375. In their last encounter, both teams combined for 20 blocked shots—nine by UC Irvine and a season-high eleven by Hawai’i. Notably, UC Irvine’s Kyle Evans, who leads the nation with an average of 3.2 blocks per game, recorded five blocks during that contest.
Hawai’i has struggled on the road this season with a record of 2-3 overall and 2-2 in Big West away games. Their two road victories in conference play have come by an average margin of 31.5 points, while their two losses were by an average of 12.5 points each.
The Rainbow Warriors have not won at Bren Events Center since a one-point victory in 2018 and are currently on a six-game losing streak at that venue.
Of their fifteen wins this season, eleven have been by double digits—including five out of seven conference victories—and nine wins have come by margins of twenty or more points, including each of their last three Big West contests. The team also leads the conference and ranks twenty-third nationally in scoring margin at plus-15.3 points per game.
Head coach Eran Ganot holds an overall record of 189-124 over twelve seasons and is currently in his eleventh year leading Hawai’i with a record of 186-122.
Tickets for Thursday’s game are available online.
