The Allstate Maui Invitational is taking place this week in Hawaii and last night brought the most anticipated matchup of the tournament with No. 4 Marquette taking on No. 1 Kansas. It delivered, in a sense; Marquette pulled off the upset and beat Kansas but did it so thoroughly that the game was never much closer than its 73-59 final score.
The real entertainment on the court, then, came from Shaka Smart and Bill Self. Late in the first half the two head coaches huddled with officials to discuss a call and something set them off. The two started to argue with each other before Smart walked away in visible disgust, then went back at Self as they continued to exchange words. It got to the point where Smart had to be held back by his own players.
The dispute jacked Smart all the way up and he was fist-pumping his way to the bench afterwards.
After the game Smart said things were set off by Kansas guard Kevin McCullar talking trash to the Marquette bench after a made shot. Self did not ascribe to that theory and merely "scoffed" before stating he wasn't going to talk about it.
Love to see a little added spice to an early-season contest. If all goes according to plan Marquette and Kansas will see each other again at some point with much higher stakes and this sets the stage for a juicy matchup.
This article was originally published on thebiglead as Shaka Smart Got Into It With Bill Self And Had to Be Escorted Away By Marquette Players .
