Considering that 2008 is only three days old, the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team has been in Logan, Utah, as long as the home team — Utah State — this year.

The Rainbow Warriors arrived in Logan on Monday night in preparation for today's game against the Aggies.

The game is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. (Hawai'i time). It will be broadcast live on radio (ESPN 1420 AM).

"They should really have a good feel for Logan — they've been here about a damn week," Utah State head coach Stew Morrill said with a laugh. "They've practiced in our arena as much as we have."

Not that it has made a difference for any visiting teams in the past. Utah State is 133-12 in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum since Morrill became head coach in 1998.

"We have our work cut out for us," Hawai'i head coach Bob Nash said. "They don't lose too often in this building. It's going to be a difficult task.

"We're not in school, so we decided to come here early, and hopefully it will help. I don't think it hurts to get acclimated to the conditions and put some shots up in the gym."

Hawai'i is 4-8; Utah State is 10-5 and on a five-game winning streak. Today is the Western Athletic Conference opener for both teams.

"I think Hawai'i is a lot better than their record," Morrill said. "Watching them on tape, they look like a Hawai'i team that I've seen in the past that plays hard and really gets after you defensively."

The Aggies feature the WAC's leading scorer, and one of the nation's best shooters, in 6-foot-2 senior Jaycee Carroll.

"We'll probably have to guard him by committee," Nash said. "He's just a smart, complete player. We have to try and make life difficult for him by not allowing him to catch and shoot the ball cleanly. If he gets his 21 points, we have to make sure nobody else gets their average."

Morrill said his concern is Hawai'i's "perimeter game."

The 'Bows often employ four shooters — Jared Dilinger, Matt Gibson, Riley Luettgerodt and Bobby Nash — on the court at the same time.

"Nash moving to the 4 (power forward) is a tough matchup," Morrill said. "That creates problems."

Bob Nash noted that Hawai'i owns one of the 12 victories by a visiting team in the Smith Spectrum in the past 10 seasons. The 'Bows beat the Aggies in 2004.

"People didn't expect us to win that one," he said. "We're hoping we can do it again."

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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