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NCAA Basketball: 2021 Maui Invitational preview and predictions

By Cooper Watson

LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 27: A Maui Invitational basketball on the floor during a third round Maui Invitation basketball game between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Brigham Young Cougars at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 27, 2019 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 27: A Maui Invitational basketball on the floor during a third round Maui Invitation basketball game between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Brigham Young Cougars at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 27, 2019 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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NCAA Basketball Dana Altman Oregon Ducks (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
NCAA Basketball Dana Altman Oregon Ducks (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images) /

Houston Cougars

The staying power of what Kelvin Sampson has built at Houston is truly incredible. After four straight seasons of single-digit losses, the Cougars broke through to the Final Four last season before eventually losing to the eventual National Champions in Baylor.

Houston lost four starters from that team but is still ranked No. 15 in the AP Top 25 and No. 8 in KenPom after a 3-0 start to the season and a 20-point domination of Tony Bennett’s Virginia Cavaliers.

Once again, Houston has a top 10 defense in the country, but they also have one of the truly great guards in all of college basketball in Marcus Sasser, who is averaging 23.3 points per game so start the season. The Cougars are one of just six teams ranked in the top 15 nationally in both offensive (15) and defensive (5) efficiency.

Oregon Ducks

Oregon lost six of its top nine players from last season’s Pac-12 champion and Sweet Sixteen team. The transfer portal gave them the chance to avoid a rebuild and compete again this season. As we have seen even before the new transfer rules, Dana Altman’s track record with incoming transfers is excellent.

As I write this, the Ducks are still ranked No. 12 in the country after starting 2-0 with an impressive blowout of a quality SMU team. By the time Oregon plays Chaminade on Monday, they will have slipped dramatically after being thoroughly embarrassed in an 81-49 loss to BYU.

That said, this team still has Top 25 level talent and now should have a hunger to redeem themselves from the BYU game. Senior guards Will Richardson (15.3 ppg) and Rutgers transfer Jacob Young (13.3) have led the Ducks in scoring through three games, although it will be the team’s ability to consistently defend that will determine whether or not they leave Las Vegas as champions.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Mike Brey led Notre Dame to nine NCAA Tournaments in a span of 11 seasons from 2007-17, highlighted by back-to-back Elite Eight appearances in 2015 and 2016. The Fighting Irish have finished sub-.500 in two of the last three seasons, a clear drop-off from their prior success.

This should be the team to return Notre Dame to the NCAA Tournament, though. After ranking 203rd in adjusted defensive efficiency last season, per KenPom, the Irish are up to 90th this season. The offense was ranked 21st nationally last season and is up to 10th to start this season—scoring was never the problem.

Overall, the team returns eight of its top 10 players from 2020-21, led by junior guards Prentiss Hubb and Dane Goodwin. The program’s lone transfer in Paul Atkinson (17.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg) has led the team in scoring and is second in rebounding over the team’s 2-0 start. Atkinson was the 2019-20 Ivy League Player of the Year with Yale.

Saint Mary’s Gaels

Randy Bennett enters his twenty-first season as the head coach of Saint Mary’s with yet another team that is capable of earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament come March. Saint Mary’s is 4-0 to start this season with their most impressive effort coming in a 19 point win over Big Sky preseason favorite Southern Utah.

The Gaels were an abysmal shooting team last season, but the Gaels return two of the key shooters they lost to injury last season as well as every other player from last year’s team. Through four games, Saint Mary’s has five players all averaging between 10.3 and 13.3 points per game, led by senior F Dan Fotu (13.3 PPG, 5.8 RPG), who ranks first on the team in scoring and second in rebounding despite being sixth in minutes played.

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