GAME NOTES: Seeking their first title in the annual Diamond Head Classic since 2006, the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors welcome the Nebraska Cornhuskers to the Stan Sheriff Center for opening-round action.

Hawaii, which has won this event a total of 11 times dating back to 1970, is off to an impressive start to the 2014-15 campaign with eight wins in 11 opportunities. The team has yet to drop back-to-back decisions, thanks in part to a 94-63 thrashing of local foe Chaminade on Friday, after dropping a 90-70 decision to BYU in the previous outing.

As for the Cornhuskers, a team which has made very few trips away from Pinnacle Bank Arena in the early going, they have been less than dominant to this point. The Big Ten squad barely slipped by Cincinnati in the most recent outing on Dec. 13, needing double-overtime to capture a 56-55 win, just three days after being completely stunned by Incarnate Word (74-73) in front of the home crowd.

Somewhat surprisingly, the Rainbow Warriors lead the all-time series versus Nebraska by a count of 6-2. The most recent conquest was an 81-72 triumph in the 2006 Outrigger Hotels Classic in this very same facility.

Both programs will be back in action in the semifinals on Tuesday, with the winner clashing with the survivor of the Loyola Marymount/Wichita State matchup, and the losers also squaring off.

Against an overmatched Chaminade program, the Warriors shot 50 percent from the field in the first half in order to build a 55-32 halftime lead and from there the visitors were able to cruise to the win. Hawaii overcame 21 turnovers as Aaron Valdes led six players in double figures with 23 points, adding nine rebounds and three blocked shots for good measure.

Also contributing to the victory was Roderick Bobbitt with 15 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, followed by Stefan Jovanovic with 12 points and 13 boards off the bench. Starters Isaac Fleming (13 points), Mike Thomas (11) and Garrett Nevels (11) helped the squad get beyond shooting only 4-of-24 behind the 3-point line.

One of four players to have started every game, Valdes is at the top of the scoring list with his 16.8 ppg and is also the leader on the glass with 7.5 rpg. Nevels (12.6 ppg) and Bobbitt (10.2 ppg) are also key contributors in the scoring column, with the former offsetting his mere 38.4 percent shooting from the field and 22.9 percent beyond the arc by handing out 63 assists and making 30 steals already.

The effort by Nebraska against the Bearcats the last time out left a lot to be desired as the team shot only 32.7 percent from the field and 4-of-17 (.235) beyond the arc, all while turning the ball over 22 times and registering a paltry three assists. If not for the fact that they knocked down 20-of-23 at the free-throw line and the visitors just 12-of-24 at the stripe, there's a good chance the Huskers would be dealing with a losing streak at the moment. The only players to score in double figures for the program were Terran Petteway and Shavon Shields with 13 points apiece, but they also combined for 12 miscues.

Aside from the meeting with Tennessee-Martin in which Walter Pitchford scored a team-best 19 points, the scoring lead in every game so far this season has been handled by either Petteway (19.8 ppg) or Shields (17.7 ppg), the former also pacing the program with 25 assists and 11 blocked shots, and the latter accounting for 7.2 rpg in order to give Nebraska a slight edge on the glass over the competition to this point.

Traveling out to the islands is never an easy task, especially when a slumping opponent then has to take on a rested Hawaii program. It may not be pretty, but expect the Warriors to take advantage of home cooking as they again defeat the Huskers in Honolulu.