Less than 24 hours after going cold in the final minutes of a home loss, the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team was in the cold of Logan, Utah.

The Rainbow Warriors lost to New Mexico State, 71-68, Monday night. Immediately after the game, they went from the Stan Sheriff Center to the airport, and got on a flight for Salt Lake City.

The 'Bows will play a Western Athletic Conference game at Utah State today. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. (Hawai'i time).

"It's a quick turnaround, not exactly an ideal schedule," Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said. "But everybody's gotta do it. New Mexico State had to play three (road games) in a row; now it's our turn."

Hawai'i is 14-11 overall and in a tie for sixth place in the WAC at 5-7. Five of Hawai'i's seven WAC losses have been by three points or fewer.

Wallace said the travel itinerary may have actually helped the 'Bows recover from Monday's frustrating loss.

"We can't dwell on it," he said. "We went over it, talked about the mistakes we made at the end of the game that cost us, and how we need to fix that. And then we started talking about Utah State. We have to move on and focus on this game."

The Aggies are 18-7 overall and in third place in the conference at 7-4.

Today's game will be played in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, where Utah State has won 13 consecutive games, including 11 this season.

The 'Bows arrived in Logan yesterday morning, and practiced in the Spectrum last night.

"They've got the best student section in the league, by far," Wallace said. "They're like Duke. They get into it, and it makes for a great college atmosphere."

It also helps the Aggies that they have the WAC's leading scorer in 6-foot-2 junior guard Jaycee Carroll, who is averaging 21.3 points per game. In his last two games, he has scored 44 and 28 points, respectively.

"He had an unbelievable two games, offensively," Utah State head coach Stew Morrill said. "He's a guy who can score in so many ways and he plays with so much energy."

Carroll had one of his worst games of the season in a 69-61 loss at Hawai'i Jan. 29. He finished with 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting.

When Carroll scores 20 or more points, the Aggies are 14-0 this season. When he scores fewer than 20, they are 4-7.

"Hawai'i leads our league in every defensive category, so if we don't play good defense, it's advantage Hawai'i," Morrill said.

Wallace said 6-6 senior Matt Lojeski will once again draw the assignment of defending Carroll.

"Lojeski's been doing a good job on him, but we'll switch it up, too," Wallace said. "Carroll's too good a player. You can't shut him down totally, but you want to make him work for everything, and hopefully keep him under his average."

In Monday's loss to New Mexico State, the 'Bows committed several crucial turnovers and took questionable shots in the closing minutes.

"Like we said, we feel like we gave that one away, so we need to get one back," Wallace said.

In Hawai'i's victory over Utah State Jan. 29, Matt Gibson scored 20 points, and Bobby Nash added 15.

"I think the problem with Hawai'i is they have a lot of different guys who can hurt you," Morrill said.

The Aggies' leading scorer in the Jan. 29 game was forward Chaz Spicer, who finished with 18 points and nine rebounds. Morrill said Spicer is "doubtful" for today's game due to a stomach virus.

"He hasn't played or practiced or anything for quite a while here," Morrill said.

In any case, Wallace said the Utah State Aggies are a better match-up for Hawai'i than the New Mexico State Aggies.

"Utah State is not as big and athletic," he said. "But they run more offense, so we still have to stay focused and stay mentally tough."

The game could also be the last meeting between Wallace and Morrill, longtime friendly rivals. They have been coaching against each since the early 1990s, when Morrill was head coach at Colorado State. During the offseasons, they often golf with each other.

"It's hard for me to believe that I won't be coaching against him after this year," Morrill said.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.