The University of Hawaii Rainbow Warriors basketball team has never really been known for its success on the court. In 2016, they will get the chance to show off their skills as they take on one of college basketball’s biggest powers.
According to HawaiiAthletics.com, the Warriors announced Friday that they would be hosting the North Carolina Tar Heels in the 2016 season. It is a rare sight for a major conference school like UNC to travel to a mid-major like Hawaii, but the Warriors’ head coach Eran Ganot is excited for the opportunity.
“This is a tremendous opportunity and honor to compete with one of the premier programs in all of college basketball. I can’t say enough about the efforts of so many to make this happen as its not too often you can schedule an opponent of this caliber on your homecourt. We are thrilled to be able to bring North Carolina and their terrific, Hall of Fame Coach, Roy Williams, to the Stan Sheriff Center in front of our wonderful fans!”
The game against Hawaii will be a good warm-up before the Maui Invitational for the Tar Heels. The game is scheduled to take place on November 16, 2016.
This will be the fifth meeting between the two teams with the Tar Heels winning the previous four. This will also be the first time since 1994 that the Tar Heels have traveled to Honolulu to play Hawaii.
A win against a powerhouse like UNC will certainly put the Warriors into prominence. Ganot led the Warriors to a 22-13 record and a fifth place finish in the Big West Conference last season. The team hopes to build on that and get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2001-02 season.
As a Duke fan, I have to wish the Warriors the best of luck. For the Tar Heels, well, you guys try not to slip down the rankings too much.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
