In a week when we have been discussing non-conference rivalries (see the podcast below), today’s SCGD brings us to a battle to determine the best college basketball team in a single state…the State of Hawai’i. At midnight eastern time tonight (no TV or streaming), the Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors out of the Big West will battle the Division II Chaminade Silverswords in a battle of the two best collegiate teams in Hawai’i.
What is even more significant about tonight’s game is where it is being played. Chaminade and Hawai’i are located less than a mile apart in the City of Honolulu. However, tonight’s game heads west…to the westernmost of the large islands and the City of Lihue on Kaua’i. With only one college located on Kaua’i, and that being a community college with no athletics programs, to the best of the SCGD’s knowledge, this is the first collegiate game ever played on Kaua’i, and the westernmost game ever played within one of the 50 states. The game will be played at a high school gymnasium, interestingly known locally as the “RaiderDome”.
Chaminade enters tonight’s game 4-3 overall, with their only 3 losses having come to Division I foes in the Maui Invitational. Hawai’i is 6-2, with their only losses coming to New Mexico State and Missouri. This is their last game before the Diamond Head Classic which they host beginning December 22. The overall series stands at 4-1 in Hawai’i’s advantage. Chaminade’s lone victory ocurred on December 17, 1982….six days before the Silverswords knocked off Ralph Sampson and the No.1 ranked Virginia Cavaliers in one of the most noteable regular season upsets of all time.