Before "Senior Night," the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team has to take care of "Revenge Night."

The Rainbow Warriors will be out for revenge when they host Idaho in a Western Athletic Conference game tonight at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The Vandals handed the 'Bows a shocking 76-75 buzzer-beating defeat Jan. 18 at Moscow, Idaho.

"We know what happened up there and we're going to take that feeling into the game," Hawai'i junior guard Matt Gibson said. "But it's not a personal vendetta against them. We just need to show that we're a better team than how we played against them the last time."

The 'Bows are 16-12 overall and 6-8 in the WAC. The Vandals are 3-24 and 1-13, with their only WAC victory against Hawai'i.

"It hurts knowing we're the only team they got," Hawai'i junior forward P.J. Owsley said. "You look over and see they only have one win, and you just want to get them back for it."

The 'Bows are in the middle of an emotional week, with this being the final two regular-season home games. Saturday is "Senior Night," when seniors Ahmet Gueye and Matt Lojeski will be honored.

Head coach Riley Wallace will also be honored Saturday. His resignation will go into effect at the end of this season, ending a 20-year run as coach of the 'Bows.

"We can't think about any of that until we get through this (Idaho) game," Wallace said. "They got us at their place, so we owe them one."

Making it more important, the 'Bows are hoping to better their seeding for next week's WAC Tournament by winning both games this week. Hawai'i is currently in seventh place in the nine-team WAC, but could get as high as fourth if it beats Idaho and Boise State.

"We can't overlook any game," senior co-captain Lojeski said. "That was a tough loss to take against them the last time, but we just have to stay focused and we should be OK."

The Vandals rank last in the WAC in practically every team statistic, including scoring (62.2 points per game), points allowed (75.1 per game), and field-goal shooting (39.3 percent).

But on Jan. 18, the Vandals rallied from a nine-point deficit in the second half, and then beat the 'Bows on Clyde Johnson's 3-pointer from the wing.

"We played at home and we play people close at home," Idaho head coach George Pfeifer said. "We've been down to the last possessions at home and that one, we were kind of on the due-theory."

Idaho has lost 10 consecutive games since beating Hawai'i. Since joining the WAC last season, the Vandals are 2-28 in conference games, including 0-14 away from Moscow, Idaho.

"I do know that when we play hard, we stay right with people," Pfeifer said. "But our biggest problem all year has been putting 40 minutes of basketball together where we play hard and we play smart all the time. We maybe do one or the other, but we don't do both for a 40-minute period of time."

The Vandals do have one of the most exciting players in the WAC in 5-foot-10 senior guard Keoni Watson. He is third in the WAC in scoring with 17.8 points per game.

"He's going to get his points because he takes a lot of shots," Wallace said. "We just can't let him get too many easy ones in transition because he's a jet. He just takes off, so we have to be ready defensively."

Lojeski leads Hawai'i, and is fifth in the WAC in scoring with 16.0 points per game.

Except for the final outcome, the 'Bows actually played a decent game in the loss at Idaho. Five Hawai'i players scored in double-figures, and Gueye finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds.

"Ahmet's been playing well the last couple weeks," Wallace said. "(Idaho) is a big team inside, so Ahmet will have to continue playing at a high level."

In any case, the 'Bows said last month's loss at Idaho is motivation enough for tonight.

"Their record doesn't speak for them; I think they're better than that," Gibson said. "But we gave them one, and that's enough. We want to add a win to our column, not theirs."

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.