The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team fittingly did some reuniting during Thanksgiving weekend.

Instead of studying video and scouting reports of the upcoming opponents, the Rainbow Warriors have been focusing on themselves for the last three practices.

"Right now, we need to make ourselves better," senior forward Bobby Nash said. "It's always good to know something about the team you're about to play, but our main focus right now is on us."

The 'Bows will get to see how much they've improved tomorrow when they host Coppin State at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Hawai'i is 1-3 following its worst loss of the season — an 89-60 road defeat at New Mexico last Wednesday. Coppin State, which is from Baltimore, is 3-3.

It helps the 'Bows that they hosted the Eagles last season as well. Hawai'i won the game last year, 79-67.

What's more, Coppin State returns most of its key players from last season.

"It'll be kind of like playing a team in the conference," Hawai'i head coach Bob Nash said. "We know some of their stuff, but they know some of our stuff. The key is, you want to run your stuff properly or you'll look bad. That's why we're working so hard on our own stuff this week."

The 'Bows have been especially focusing on their team defense in recent practices.

New Mexico shot 61 percent from the field against Hawai'i, including 75.9 percent in the decisive second half. The Lobos also drained 12 3-pointers — the most made against a Hawai'i team in 47 games.

"We put that behind us in the locker room in New Mexico," Bob Nash said. "But we need to learn from it, and improve on the things we didn't do properly and correctly, and it starts with our defense."

The 'Bows have also been focusing on themselves because of the return of senior point guard Matt Gibson.

He sat out the first four games because of an injured left knee. He was cleared to practice Friday, and will make his season debut tomorrow, although his role has yet to be determined.

"We're definitely a different team with Matt in there," Bobby Nash said. "He creates a lot of things both on offense and defense."

EAGLES FLYING AROUND THE COUNTRY FOR GAMES

Tomorrow will be Coppin State's seventh consecutive away game to open this season.

The Eagles started with two wins over non-Division I teams in the Hornet Roundball Classic at Dover, Del. That was followed by road losses at Kent State and Xavier — both in Ohio. Last weekend, the Eagles beat Southeast Missouri State, then lost to UNC-Wilmington at the Chicago Invitational Challenge.

Coppin State's only home game for the first two months of the season is scheduled for Dec. 1 against Morgan State.

Coppin State's road games in December include Arizona State, Ohio State, Marquette, Indiana and Missouri.

The Eagles finished 12-20 last season with a similar non-conference schedule. They went 9-9 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

Tywain McKee, a 6-2 senior guard, is averaging 21.3 points per game. He led the team in scoring last season with 17.4 points per game, and was a first-team All-MEAC selection. He scored 22 in the loss at Hawai'i last season.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.