Among the Elite in Maui : Aztecs: Hope to gain valuable experience in a college basketball tournament featuring a few of the nation’s best.

If San Diego State is judged by the company it keeps, then it is among the college basketball elite.

The Aztecs arrived here on the island of Maui to open their season in a three-day tournament that boasts among its eight-team field three schools that have won the national championship in this decade.

One of those teams, Villanova, is the Aztecs’ opponent in the tournament’s opener today at 1:30 p.m. PST at Lahaina Civic Center.

But if the Aztecs are judged by the plans they make, then their confidence is lacking.

A check of their flight arrangements shows them scheduled to depart for San Diego Sunday night at a time the championship game should be at halftime.

Of course, the Aztecs will change their flight itinerary if they reach the title game but their pre-tournament plans indicate their goals are more modest.

With four new starters and eight new players on the roster, Coach Jim Brandenburg realizes this might not be the best time to count on winning a tournament that includes three preseason top 20 teams--Louisville, North Carolina and Missouri. Add Evansville, which has three starters back from a 25-6 team; James Madison, coached for the second year by Lefty Driesell; everyone’s favorite Cinderella team, Chaminade, and Villanova, and the reasons for Brandenburg’s caution become clear.

He hopes that by rubbing elbows with the elite maybe something good will rub off on his inexperienced team.

“It may really help us to have them see a lot of different programs, how players conduct themselves, how they play and everything else,” Brandenburg said. “Maybe our guys will say, ‘Hey this is what we’ve got to do.’ ”

Brandenburg said he plans to start a lineup of center Marty Dow, forwards Shawn Jamison and Vern Thompson, and guards Michael Best and Rodney Jones. Best is the only returning starter and Jones is one of four returning players on a team that last season finished 12-17. Dow, Jamison and Thompson all are community college transfers.

“We need to use this as a growing, learning experience,” Brandenburg said. “I have a hunch that we have got some players that will really learn what it is going to take to play Division I basketball.

Villanova, a preseason pick to finish in the middle of the Big East, will counter with a mix of experience and youth. The Wildcats return their two biggest players in seniors Tom Greis and Rodney Taylor.

Greis, a 7-foot-3 center, averaged 14.4 points and 6.3 rebounds, and Taylor, a 6-6 power forward, averaged 9.1 points and 6.3 rebounds for a team that finished 18-16 and reached the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament. The NIT was the Wildcats’ 10th consecutive post-season tournament appearance under Rollie Massimino.

But the rest of the team is made up of 10 sophomores and freshmen. The Wildcats should start three sophomores--6-7 forward Marc Dowdell, 6-6 guard Greg Woodard, and 6-0 point guard Chris Walker. But their best young player might be 6-7 freshman forward Arron Bain, who scored 22 points in a 104-61 exhibition victory over the Egyptian national team last week.

The Wildcats should provide an especially taxing problem for the Aztecs because of their multiple defenses. Villanova is a team that can change defenses almost every time down the court.

“We have spent a lot of time this week practicing against that,” Brandenburg said, “and it has been very frustrating for our players. The best way to play against Villanova is not to get in a chess game with them but to come right at them.

“(Massimino) wants to play a chess game and his teams are very well versed in that.”

Strategy aside, the Villanova-SDSU matchup actually might be the least intriguing for the four opening games.

The James Madison-North Carolina game is the first coaching meeting between Driesell and Dean Smith since Driesell resigned at Maryland 1985 in the wake of forward Len Bias’ cocaine-related death. The Chaminade-Louisville game is a rematch of one of Chaminade’s greatest upsets. And the Missouri-Evansville game marks Norm Stewart’s return to the Missouri bench after undergoing cancer surgery in February.

Win or lose today, the Aztecs will face either James Madison or North Carolina in their second game Saturday. And regardless of whether the Aztecs are in the air or on the court when it comes time for the championship game Sunday, they figure to head back for their home opener Thursday against Division II UC Riverside at the San Diego Sports Arena, a little wiser for the three-game experience.

“We need to use this as a growing, learning experience,” Brandenburg said. “I have a hunch that we have got some players that will really learn what it is going to take to play Division I basketball.”

Aztec Notes

None of San Diego State’s games will be available on radio because KFMB has decided not to carry the Aztecs’ first five games. KFMB will air its first Aztec game Dec. 6 game against the University of San Diego from the San Diego Sports Arena. Because the Aztecs’ first-round game is one of two not carried live on ESPN, the Aztecs will only be seen on ESPN if they reach the semifinals and finals.