The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team celebrated New Year's Eve with ... rest.

At least that was the plan. Whether or not the Rainbow Warriors were able to sleep early amid all the fireworks last night is another story.

"I want to stay up to maybe 12:30 just to bring in the new year," sophomore guard Dominic Waters said after yesterday's afternoon practice. "But then I want to just lie down and get some sleep."

The team is scheduled to depart Honolulu this morning for its first Western Athletic Conference trip of the season. The players were told to meet at the Stan Sheriff Center at 6 a.m. because the flight is scheduled to depart at 7:30 a.m.

"I asked the guys to keep it under control and get some rest because it's going to be a long day of travel," Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said. "I know I'm going to try and get to bed early."

Junior forward Riley Luettgerodt said: "We shouldn't be out running around late at night anyway. We have to stay focused — it's conference time."

Hawai'i, which is 9-4 and on a five-game winning streak, will play at New Mexico State on Thursday, and then at Louisiana Tech on Saturday.

Logistically, it is the toughest trip the 'Bows will make this season. Today, for example, the team will meet at 6 a.m.; by the time they check in to their hotel in Las Cruces, N.M., it will be around 10 p.m. (Mountain time).

After playing on Thursday night, the 'Bows will have to take another six to eight hours on Friday traveling to Ruston, La.

"This is the toughest one as far as travel," Wallace said. "But there are a lot of other ones. Every trip you make in the WAC is tough when you think about the opponents, the weather, altitude, all that."

Junior forward P.J. Owsley said: "It's something we have to do anyway, so you have to keep a positive outlook. It's a long flight to get there, but that's the way it is."

It might help that the 'Bows have already experienced some difficult road trips this season.

They opened this season with a game at UNLV. Then in late November, Hawai'i went on an 11-day road trip — playing three games at the Great Alaska Shootout, followed by a game at Santa Clara.

"I think those early trips gave us a taste of what it's like," Luettgerodt said. "But the biggest difference this time is that we're playing on Thursday and then again on Saturday. That's not too much time between games."

Waters added: "We're battle-tested and road-tested. We played some tough teams already and we played on the road already."

There is one travel situation the 'Bows are not happy about. Because of today's all-day itinerary, the players will miss the all-day football schedule on television.

"I'm mad about that," Waters said. "One of my best friends plays for Nebraska, and I wanted to watch that game."

Luettgerodt added: "New Year's Day is always a good day of football, and we're going to miss some good games. Hopefully, we'll be able to catch something at the airport when we're waiting."

NOTES

Sophomore guard Dominic Waters showed up for yesterday's practice with a mohawk haircut. "I just wanted to try something different for the new year," he said. Teammate John Wilder did the 'do. Waters missed Saturday's practice because of a miscommunication with the coaches about the starting time. He insisted that the new haircut was not a form of punishment.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.