ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Lucky you live Hawai'i.

The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team was getting a better appreciation for the 50th state after spending its first full day in the 49th yesterday.

The Rainbow Warriors arrived here late Monday night, and started their preparations yesterday for the Great Alaska Shootout. Hawai'i will play three games in three days, starting with its opener against Hofstra tomorrow.

It is an atypical road trip for the 'Bows in many ways. For one, they have two full days (yesterday and today) to prepare.

Then again, they may need the 48 hours just to thaw out.

The sun appeared for only about six hours yesterday, and the temperature rose to a full 15 degrees during that time. When darkness appeared again — around 4:30 p.m. — it dropped to single digits. By 7 p.m., it was minus 4.

"I've never been in minus-degree weather before, so it's a new experience," said junior forward Bobby Nash, who was raised in Honolulu. "This is not quite Hawai'i, but it is ironic that we're staying at the Captain Cook Hotel."

As improbable as it might seem to a team based in Honolulu, it is supposed to get even colder today.

"This is the coldest weather I've ever been in," said freshman guard Todd Lowenthal, who was raised in San Diego. "I went to Minnesota for a tournament (in high school), but that was nothing compared to this."

Senior co-captain Matt Lojeski, who is from Racine, Wisc., said: "It gets cold in Wisconsin, but not like this. You see the sun shining, but it's still freezing."

Sure, basketball is an indoor sport, and the weather is not supposed to be a factor. But during yesterday's practice at Sullivan Arena (where the tournament will be played), the 'Bows appeared to be out of their element.

Some players kept their sweatshirts on throughout the practice, and others wore T-shirts under their jerseys.

"We just have to deal with it," Lojeski said. "I'm pretty sure the other teams coming in (for the tournament) are not used to this, too."

Hawai'i senior forward Ahmet Gueye said he can tell how cold it is by the response of his right knee. He underwent surgery on the knee in March.

"It took me a lot longer to get warmed up," Gueye said. "I know it's supposed to be all the same inside a gym, but I can tell the difference."

It didn't help that the 'Bows needed three flights and around 15 hours to get from Honolulu to Anchorage on Monday.

"That sucked, especially for us big guys on a small plane," Gueye said. "I rather stand up. But what can you do? That's one of the things you have to do on the road."

Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said he wanted to participate in the Great Alaska Shootout this season to prepare his team for the upcoming road trips in the Western Athletic Conference.

"We go to cold country in the WAC," Wallace said. "But after this, those places won't seem so bad."

Wallace also described the tournament as "a cultural trip," and the 'Bows visited the Alaska Native Heritage Center last night.

"It's like what we have (in Hawai'i) with the Polynesian Cultural Center," Nash said. "It was cool to see a different culture."

In any case, the 'Bows were inspired by the rafters in the Sullivan Arena, where banners of each team that won the Great Alaska Shootout hang. Among the previous champs are Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, Syracuse, Arizona, Kentucky and UCLA.

"There's some real good teams up there," Lojeski said. "It would be cool to see Hawai'i up there next to them."

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.