LAHAINA, Hawaii — He knew the matchup before it was announced and not because Dave Rice had some inside source feeding him information.
It just made too much sense, is all.
You can count on certain things from the Maui Invitational: The intimacy and sticky conditions inside the Lahaina Civic Center, the breathtaking scenery outside of it, a stacked field competing and which of those teams might ultimately meet in the opening day's final game.
Those who run one of the most recognized preseason college basketball tournaments understand what plays well on television, and having two West Coast programs like UNLV and UCLA compete on ESPN2 at 8:30 p.