It'll either be one heck of a way to celebrate, or feel like an even longer flight home.

BYU and men's basketball coach Dave Rose, who is seeking his 100th win, have made the trip to play against Hawaii for the first time since they were Western Athletic Conference foes a decade ago.

The game tips off at 10 p.m. Utah time, with radio (KSL 1160 AM; 102.7 FM) being the only free option, as well as a televised online feed for a charge (KFVE-TV's secure.oceanic.com/Streaming/).

Rose's squad will also be harkening the old WAC days when it travels to El Paso, Texas, to face UTEP in early January.

"I think it's scheduled good," Rose said of the trip to paradise after Tuesday's win against Idaho State. The team left Wednesday morning to have ample time to get acclimated to the time zone and jet lag. "I worry a little more about coming back. It's a real late game in your time zone, but we'll have Sunday and Monday to recover."

Then comes a game Tuesday, when the Cougars play against Southern at the Marriott Center.

The Cougars believe their depth -- displayed in full force in the ISU game -- could really come in handy in the next two games.

Rose can only hope this trip goes better than the last time BYU visited the islands. That was the infamous 9-21 season, 2004-05, when the Cougars opened the year at the three-day Maui Invitational.

BYU was smoked by eventual national champion North Carolina, then Stanford, before ousting overmatched host Chaminade.

The squad returned home Thanksgiving Day and, in a bad idea of scheduling, had a home game against Cal on Saturday that the fatigued Cougars lost.

Though BYU's odds appear better this time, in part because of Rose's success. He is 99-34 early into his fifth season. A win puts him at the century mark nine games faster than Roger Reid (143), and that would be the quickest in school history.

Players were aware of the milestone before traveling.

"I think it's going to be fun, but we're going to have to concentrate," junior guard Jackson Emery said. "It'll be great place, great weather, but we have to take care of our bodies, handle the time change..but also it's a big game."

If history is somehow an indication, this could be an exciting one, too. BYU beat Hawaii, 60-59, on a 3-pointer in the final seconds in its last trip to UH -- January 16, 1999.

Related

• Fredette named MWC Player of the Week
• DICKSON: BYU experimenting with a deep rotation
• BYU basketball beats Bradley in season opener