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NCAA Basketball: Previewing the 2017 Maui Invitational

By Brad Cavallaro

LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 23: The North Carolina Tar Heels Pose for a team photo after winning the Maui Invitational against the Wisconsin Badgers at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 23, 2016 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)
LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 23: The North Carolina Tar Heels Pose for a team photo after winning the Maui Invitational against the Wisconsin Badgers at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 23, 2016 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /
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LAHAINA, HI – NOVEMBER 23: The North Carolina Tar Heels Pose for a team photo after winning the Maui Invitational against the Wisconsin Badgers at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 23, 2016 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)
LAHAINA, HI – NOVEMBER 23: The North Carolina Tar Heels Pose for a team photo after winning the Maui Invitational against the Wisconsin Badgers at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 23, 2016 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /

Let’s break down the Maui Invitational, which has a strong field with multiple NCAA basketball tournament hopefuls and many intriguing players.

The Maui Invitational has consistently been one of the best in-season tournaments as each year the field is filled with quality teams. This season we have two top-25 caliber teams (Notre Dame and Wichita State) and three additional teams who will compete for NCAA Tournament berths (Michigan, VCU, Marquette) which will lead to some compelling matchups.

The games will occur from Monday, November 20th to Wednesday, November 22nd and will be televised on the ESPN family of networks. The championship game is on November 22nd at 10:30 p.m ET on ESPN2. As always, the games will be played at Chaminade University.

Best First Round Matchup: Marquette vs VCU

The Marquette-VCU matchup is the most compelling first-round game on paper by far. Both squads look like potential bubble teams who could really use a signature non-conference wins to move the needle in March. This game is even more important when you consider the loser moves to the consolation bracket where there is virtually no chance to grab a quality win. The winner will get more chances at resume-building wins which speaks to the importance of this early season game.

Marquette is coming off a loss to Purdue where they had no answer for the gigantic center, Isaac Hass. VCU has no players of Haas’ size, but they do have a frontcourt advantage with senior Justin Tillman and grad transfer Khris Lane. Both big men should take advantage of the lackluster Marquette frontcourt. VCU’s steady floor general, Jonathan Williams, could also pose problems with his aggressive drives and physical defense.

However, Marquette has an advantage offensively as guards Markus Howard and Andrew Rowsey can score as well as any backcourt in the country. Both players can really shoot the ball which will put immense pressure on the VCU defense. Howard and Rowsey have combined for 93 points in Marquette’s first two games and have both shot extremely well from three. Hopefully, this game lives up to its potential as a hard-fought, competitive game with a lot on the line.

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