In freezing weather more than 4,000 miles from Honolulu, Deonte Tatum and Matt Lojeski will be feeling right at home this weekend.

Tatum and Lojeski will be playing in front of their true hometown fans on Saturday when the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team plays at Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Tatum is from Milwaukee. Lojeski is from Racine, Wis., which is about a 20-minute drive from Milwaukee.

"I look forward to every game, but this one has a little bit extra," Tatum said.

Lojeski said: "Ever since our schedule came out, people back home have been talking about Dec. 10. It's finally here, so everybody is excited."

Thanks to the Milwaukee connection, the Rainbow Warriors will have a fair share of fans on Saturday.

Tatum said he expects to have at least 100 friends and family members in attendance. Lojeski will bring even more.

"My dad told me they're coming over (from Racine) in school buses," Lojeski said. "It'll probably be 300 to 400 people."

The 'Bows are scheduled to depart Honolulu early this morning, and arrive in Milwaukee around midnight.

Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said he will allow some time for Tatum and Lojeski to visit with friends and family.

"They're playing all the way out in Hawai'i so this might be one of the few chances they get to play in front of their family," Wallace said. "They just have to realize we're here to play a game. They need to stay focused and not stay out late."

Tatum and Lojeski are the starting guards for the 'Bows.

Tatum has several ties to the UWM team. Joah Tucker, the leading scorer for the Panthers, is Tatum's cousin.

Saturday's game is a "return" trip for Hawai'i. The Panthers beat the 'Bows, 87-81, at the Stan Sheriff Center in last season's ESPN Bracket Buster.

"I had to hear it all year," Tatum said of the trash talk from the victorious UWM players.

Tatum said he trained with his cousin and several other UWM players over the summer.

"That program has always been good to me," he said. "It's not just (Tucker). I know almost all the players and the coaches, too."

The Panthers made national headlines last season when they advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Four starters return from that team, although head coach Bruce Pearl left UWM for Tennessee. Rob Jeter, who was an assistant at Wisconsin, is now the head coach.

"They do a lot of the same stuff they did last year, but (Jeter) brought in a lot of new stuff from Wisconsin," Wallace said. "They're good because they have so many good athletes."

The Panthers are 3-2 this season, with losses at No. 7 Memphis and Tennessee Tech.

Hawai'i is 3-1 after a 78-72 victory over UNLV on Tuesday at the Stan Sheriff Center. Hawai'i's only loss this season came at UNLV.

"People will be watching us in this one because they want to see how we do on the road," Wallace said. "If you want to break into that Top 25, you have to win road games."

Wallace said he considers this the 'Bows first "real" road trip of the season.

"In Vegas, there were all the Hawai'i people there, and the flight wasn't too bad," he said. "This is a longer flight, there's different weather, and we have a couple of kids going home. There's a lot of things to worry about, but that's why this is going to be a challenge."

Temperatures were in single-digits in Milwaukee this week, although it could warm up to around 20 degrees by Saturday.

"We're talking freezing cold," Lojeski said. "One of those things where you feel like you never get your hands warmed up even when you're inside."

Tatum said: "I actually miss the snow sometimes. That's what I grew up in. It'll be nice for me, personally, to see some snow."

Both players said they realize the priorities of the trip.

"This team is my family, too," Tatum said. "I have obligations to them and my family knows that. They know how important this game is for me and the team."

SUSPENSION WILL CONTINUE FOR GIBSON

Junior guard "Little Matt" Gibson is not on the travel roster because he is still on suspension for conduct detrimental to the team.

It will be the third game of the indefinite suspension for Gibson. He led the team in scoring last season with 13.0 points per game, but is averaging 4.5 per game this season as a reserve.

"It's still a work in progress," Wallace said. "We'll talk more about it when we come back."

Gibson scored 26 points in last season's loss to UWM.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.