Kentucky, Washington will settle recruiting rivalry on the court

Six months before Washington and Kentucky even arrived in Maui, Isaiah Thomas had already started campaigning for Maui Invitational organizers to put the Huskies and Wildcats on the same side of the bracket.

"I hope we play KENTUCKY nxt yr n the Maui classic," Washington's all-conference point guard tweeted in late-May. "All I gotta say is ITS BOUT TO GO DOWN ... A BARK over a meow ne day."