Hawaii and Oregon peer through the NIT looking glass and at a postseason future that runs through each other. The first-round matchup features two of the best backcourt tandems on either side of the Pacific Ocean -- the Ducks' Kenya Wilkins and Jamal Lawrence versus Anthony Carter and Alika Smith of the Rainbows.
The winner continues on to salvage pride and a season that held so much promise until ...
"Until we started going real quick on offense and didn't get the ball inside very often," said Oregon coach Jerry Green, whose Ducks opened the year 10-0 before finishing at 17-10. "We started making 1.6 passes on the average per possession. When you do that, the defense doesn't get much of a chance to make a mistake. When we emphasized moving the basketball, being more patient, we gave our big people a chance to touch the ball. We got back to being more successful."
Oregon rolled off 10 impressive wins in a row en route to a No. 17 national ranking. But the Pac-10 proved tougher than nonconference opponents Fresno State, Nevada and Temple and, despite victories over UCLA and Arizona, the Ducks finished seventh in the Pac-10 at 8-10.
"Some of those games could have gone either way," said Wilkins, a 5-10 senior who is Oregon's leading scorer (15.9 ppg) and all-time assist leader. "We're trying to end the season on a positive note. Hawaii may not be UCLA or Arizona, but they can beat us. Anyone in college basketball can beat anyone and, if we don't come out and respect them, they'll beat us.
"We understand that Hawaii's strength is their backcourt. I'm confident in our backcourt, think we can go against anyone in the nation. It's a challenge we look forward to."
Pull out the stopwatches and radar guns. Wilkins and Carter can steal an opponent's heart away in the blink of an eye or thread the needle of a tight defense with fastball assists.
"Their quickness is the biggest problem I see," said Smith, who'll match up with Lawrence. "Wilkins could give us the most trouble, but he plays just like A.C. (Carter) and we're used to that.
"Wilkins penetrates, likes to kick it out. They're really the mirror image of our team. It's going to be a matter of who executes and plays the best defense."
It will be a matter, too, of who gets the strongest games from their big men. Hawaii looked poised to challenge Utah for the WAC title until 7-1 center Seth Sundberg was lost after the Feb. 8 Air Force game with a lacerated spleen; the Rainbows went 4-3 the rest of the way.
"It's always a question of who's going to show up to play. It's the big 'if' for everyone," said Green. "They lose Sundberg and you'd think they'd drop off a lot. But from the tapes I've seen, I don't get that feeling.
"I've been impressed with the three players (Danny Furlong, Eric Ambrozich and Michael Robinson) they rotate in at the 4- and 5-spot. We're always trying to get the ball inside and I think they're trying to do the same. I like our big guys. They've done a good job during the year."
Furlong, who has shown flashes of brillance, will be matched up with 6-10 Rob Ramaker in what could be a wash. The Rainbows are more likely to get hurt at the power forward spot where the 6-7 Ambrozich -- and the 6-8 Robinson -- go against the very athletic 6-9 Kyle Milling (11.6 ppg, 7.9 rpg).
Injuries could also come into play. Milling did not practice yesterday due to a sprained ankle, but is expected to start. Hawaii small forward Micah Kroeger has been hampered by a strained right knee; he was 0-for-2 from the field against New Mexico last week and did not take a shot in the second half, going scoreless for the first time in his Rainbow career.
Hawaii's 2-1-2 zone could give Oregon problems but Lawrence has the ability to shoot up an extended defense with NBA-range 3-pointers. The 6-2 Lawrence scored 29 points against Stanford, tying a school record with eight treys.
The best show, still, should be Wilkins against Carter.
"That should be a heck of a matchup," said Green. "Both are very good taking it to the hole as well as shooting it from the outside.
"We're very similar teams: a little bit of shooting, a little bit of quickness and decent defense.
"There'll be a lot of green in the arena so we'll fit right in. Not only in color, but in ability."
Who Hawaii (20-7) vs. Oregon (17-10)