NCAA Basketball: 2019 Maui Invitational preview and predictions
Kansas Jayhawks 3-1
Bill Self’s Jayhawks show up in Maui 3-1, after falling to Duke by two points they have defeated Monmouth and two Southern Conference teams, UNC-Greensboro and East Tennessee State. Even this early in the season, it looks like Kansas has settled on a 7-man rotation, led by sophomore guards Devon Dotson and Ochai Ogbaji who have poured in 27.8 points per game this season and junior Marcus Garrett has averaged 9.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, and four assists. Udoka Azubuike and freshman David McCormack have been stalwarts on the inside, pulling down 16.1 rebounds per game between the two of them.
Michigan State Spartans 3-1
Michigan State was the preseason No. 1 but lost to No. 2 Kentucky on opening night, and also lost guard Joshua Langford to injury, again. But, the Spartans are still supremely talented and have arguably the best point guard in the country in Cassius Winston. Michigan State is now 3-1 and have a win over No. 12 Seton Hall and enter the Maui Invitational with an eye towards a battle with Kansas.
Outside of Winston, two forwards, junior Xavier Tillman and sophomore Aaron Henry have gotten off to solid starts, with Henry averaging 11.3 points per game and Tillman nearly pulling off a double-double per game with 12 points and 9.5 rebounds. One guy who has been a bit of a surprise so far this season is sophomore forward Thomas Kithier who has done a bit of everything for Izzo averaging 6.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and two assists per game after just 1.6 points per game last season.
UCLA Bruins 4-1
There was a coaching change at UCLA after a 17-16 season, enter Mick Cronin from Cincinnati and the Bruins are off to a 5-0* start. They began the season by knocking off two teams from the Big West, beating Long Beach State by four and then knocking off conference favorite UC-Santa Barbara by 16 points. They then welcomed UNLV, Southern Utah and Hofstra to Pauley Pavilion, defeating the first two by a combined 32 points, but were knocked off for the first time by Hofstra last time out.
At Cincinnati, defense and rebounding were his staples and he’s carried them both to LA, especially the rebounding, with the Bruins pulling down 38.2 per game, but it’s offensively where things haven’t been the same as his Bearcat teams. UCLA has four players averaging double figures this season. They are led by sophomore Jalen Hill, the 6-10 forward has averaged 15 points and a team-leading nine rebounds.
His fellow classmates, Jules Bernard and Cody Riley have combined for 15.8 points and 8.4 rebounds, while junior Chris Smith is second on the team in scoring with 14.8 per game and he is also second on the team with 5.6 rebounds. The leader of the Bruins is senior guard Prince Ali who has averaged 11 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 2.4 steals so far this season.
Virginia Tech Hokies 5-0
Another team that has a new coach is Virginia Tech who welcomed Mike Young from Wofford. The roster has been almost completely turned over from a production standpoint and so far it has worked, as the Hokies are 5-0 entering the tournament. However, the Hokies are not devoid of talent, freshmen Landers Nolley II and Nhaiem Alleyne have come out of the gate hot for Virginia Tech.
Nolley II has the advantage of taking a redshirt year in 2019, and now he leads them in scoring (20.2) and is 2nd in rebounding (4.8). Alleyne is a true freshman who is averaging 12.6 points per game in his first season and a steadying force in the backcourt has been junior Wabissa Bede who has put up a stat line of 5.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, eight assists.