BY RYAN ESHOFF
LAHAINA – UCLA will close out its 2011 EA Sports Maui Invitational run this afternoon when it faces Michigan in the tournament’s third-place game.
The Bruins defeated Chaminade in the opening round Monday before losing in the semifinals to Kansas on Tuesday. The Wolverines, meanwhile, upset Memphis in their opener before falling to Duke on Tuesday.
UCLA will try to avoid posting yet another miserable start; the Bruins led by just two at halftime against Chaminade (and probably should have been down). They faced a 17-point deficit at the half against Kansas that proved too much to overcome.
UCLA and Michigan have some recent history in pre-conference tournaments: the two schools met in the semifinals of the 2008 2K Sports Classic in Madison Square Garden, with Michigan pulling off a 55-52 upset of then-No. 4 UCLA.
In other news: the weather is here, wish you were beautiful. The Duke players like to go for morning runs along Ka’anapali Beach. The food is delicious, the gas is expensive, the scenery makes you feel like you’re in an episode of LOST.
Mahalo!