Maui Wowie!

By Mark Buckets


Monday kicks off something that ESPN has coined as "Feast Week," which is headlined by the 24th annual Maui Invitational. At first glance, the teams that will trot up and down the Lahaina Civic Center this year is weaker than in past years. That will change with next year's field - Carolina and Louisville are the feature teams - which is more loaded than Larry Eustachy at a fraternity party. But in spite of the level of competition in this year's tournament, the games played here are pure class. Since we here at "Drive and Dish" are glad to be of service to you - the fan -we've decided that the way in which we can best help the masses - or the gamblers - is to handicap this year's classic in Maui. So, as they say in Hawaiian "No Ka 'Oi." To those of us that aren't fluent in island tongue, it means "Maui is the Best."

So, herewith is a breakdown of this year's field.

This year's classic tips off today at 1:30 with Marquette and host Chaminade. Picked to finish third in their division 2 conference this year, the Silver Swords appear to be outmatched and outclassed. In this case, perception is reality. As I have documented in a previous post, the Golden Eagles - or, as some might remember, the hideous Gold - lack for size in the post. And Chamindae does rely on their inside duo of Marko Kolaric (who had a tremendous tournament last year) and Rodrick Johnson. In the end, though, Marquette should have enough (sense the sarcasm?) to advance.

In the final game of the first session (leave the opinions to Bilas and Raftery, Sean McDonough, and do your job - play-by-play man) LSU and Oklahoma State square off. Both teams suffered some serious roster turnover from last year. LSU is a relatively unknown team this year as they've lost Big Baby Davis and the underrated Daniel Lazarre. The Tigers rely on Dameon Mason - who, ironically, began his career at Marquette - and a crop of talented tweeners. Tasmin Mitchell has been battling injuries this year, leaving freshman Anthony Randolph to serve as Mason's right-hand man. Similarly, Oklahoma State's roster is decidedly young and inexperienced. The Cowboys will have to rely on point guard Byron Eaton (The former McDonald's All-Americane has been a bit of a disappointnent so far in his career) and swing man Marcus Dove. This very well may be the most competitive first round game, and, after further consideration, I'm a Cowboy believer. OSU wins.

Bereft of any suspense, Duke takes on Princeton in a game that is a massive mismatch on paper. Princeton is a team that runs out only 7 players who play 15 minutes or more a game, while the Devils have been substituting liberally this year. As is common knowledge, the Tigers run an offense that bears their name - the Princeton Offense - to near perfection. Pete Carril will be rolling in his grave after this game - he is dead, right? - as the tournament-favorite (and the favorite of this writer) Blue Devils should win running away.

In a game that begins at 11:30 eastern time and should reel in solid TV numbers (Bartender, can I have another shot of sarcasm?) Illinois takes on Arizona State. Fire up some Maxwell House for this one, as both teams struggle to put the ball in the hoop. I'm interested to see the freshmen play for both teams. Demietry McCamey of Illinois and James Harden of the Sun Devils should go back and fourth, which should make the game worth watching. An ominous sign for Arizona State, however, is their reliance on former Dukie Eric Boateng. That in of itself should give Illinois an advantage. Bruce Weber's squad takes out Herb Sendek's bunch and gets a chance to exact revenge on Duke (we all know the Scheyer story).

Despite its lack of elite programs and star power - no, I didn't forget Duke - the 2007 version of the Maui Invitational should offer up extremely competitive games. I'll have second round breakdowns and predictions early Tuesday morning