NCAA Basketball: Takeaways from 2020 Maui Invitational Tournament

Stanford Cardinals – Will go as far as Ziaire Willams takes them

It was a strong start in this event for the five-star freshman, dropping 19 points and eight rebounds against Alabama in their lone win of the tournament. Williams had 10 on 4/9 shooting versus North Carolina but went 1/10 from the field for just four points against Indiana. The 6’8 wing/forward has clear potential but along with the rest of the young roster will go through inconsistent runs.

One positive aspect for the Cardinal is that their defense looked very good overall. They just need the offense to match it to become a legit contender in the Pac-12. They’ll remain in Asheville to play some more non-conference games since home isn’t an option right now and could use even more experience this month.

Indiana Hoosiers – Needs Khristian Lander to be an impact player

It was thought that the Hoosiers had a great duo this season in sophomore Trayce Jackson-Davis and five-star freshman Lander. As of now though, only one has played up to expectations. The forward Jackson-Davis was great in his event, including a career-high 31 points against Stanford. Lander on the other hand had just five points off the bench, going 1/6 from the field.

It was an improvement from the first two games, where Lander went scoreless from the field overall. He’s 3/18 from the field to start the season and there’s a chance that his minutes will decrease heading into Big Ten play. If Indiana is going to be successful and make the NCAA Tournament, they’ll need better guard play, starting with anything from Lander.