Hawaii beat UT Arlington 71-62 on November 9, 2026, turning a tied halftime score into a nine-point win with a stronger closing half.
The teams were level at 27-27 after the first half, but Hawaii outscored UT Arlington 44-35 after the break. That second-half margin accounted for the full separation in a matchup between two teams that entered undefeated at 2-0.
Hawaii’s Late Offense Decides It
Hawaii entered averaging 95 points per game, but this win came in a lower-scoring shape. The Rainbow Warriors finished with 71 points, well below that early-season scoring average, yet still created enough offense after halftime to control the final margin.
The decisive stretch was not built on a blowout opening or early defensive separation. UT Arlington matched Hawaii through the first 20 minutes, holding the game at 27-27. Hawaii’s 44 second-half points changed the game, especially against a UT Arlington team that had allowed the contest to stay within one possession at the break.
Hawaii also continued its strong home profile. The Rainbow Warriors entered with a 3-0 home split and an average of 87 points in those games, and while the scoring did not reach that level, the result kept the home trend intact.
UT Arlington Stays Close, But Can’t Match the Second Half
UT Arlington arrived at 2-0 and averaging 89 points per game, but Hawaii held the Mavericks to 62. That was a major departure from UT Arlington’s early offensive production and a key reason the game tilted after halftime.
The Mavericks scored 27 points before halftime and 35 after it. The second-half improvement kept them competitive, but it was not enough against Hawaii’s 44-point closing half.
UT Arlington’s road split entering the matchup was 1-1 with an average of 75.5 points. The Mavericks finished below that road scoring average, and the nine-point defeat reflected the difficulty of maintaining offensive pace away from home against an unbeaten Hawaii team.
Pregame Indicators Pointed Toward Hawaii
The result aligned with the pregame outlook. Hawaii carried a 76.3 percent implied win probability across seven bookmakers, while UT Arlington was at 23.7 percent. CourtFrame Power Index also showed the teams even at 70.00, though Hawaii held the higher ranking at No. 31 compared with UT Arlington at No. 43.
There were no significant injuries reported for either team, so availability did not reshape the matchup. The more relevant context was rest: Hawaii was on one day of rest and playing its second game in seven days as part of a back-to-back, while UT Arlington had two days of rest and was also playing its second game in seven days.
Despite that rest disadvantage, Hawaii had the sharper second half. The Rainbow Warriors did not need to match their early-season scoring average to win; they needed one extended offensive push after halftime, and that was enough to move past UT Arlington 71-62.