NCAA Basketball: Way-too-early ranking of 2022 Maui Invitational field

More brackets are being rolled out almost every day for the early season tournaments in NCAA basketball. This week, the eight-team bracket for the 2022 Maui Invitational was revealed.

The famous tournament is finally going back to Hawaii after a couple of years away due to the pandemic. Last year’s tournament took place in Las Vegas. The year before, it took place in slightly less tropical Asheville, North Carolina.

The tournament’s homecoming to the Lahaina Civic Center beginning Nov. 21 is accompanied by a stacked field. Six of this year’s competitors went to the NCAA Tournament last year, with three making it to the second weekend. There’s also no Chaminade this year, which – while limiting the fun Cinderella factor – creates a more competitive field.

With the 2022 Maui Invitational bracket released, let’s rank this year’s eight competitors three months ahead of time.

This year’s field includes the Arizona Wildcats, Arkansas Razorbacks, Cincinnati Bearcats, Creighton Bluejays, Louisville Cardinals, Ohio State Buckeyes, San Diego State Aztecs, and Texas Tech Red Raiders. On the first day, Texas Tech will play Creighton, Louisville plays Arkansas, Ohio State gets San Diego State, and Cincinnati faces Arizona.

Some of these teams conceivably have Final Four aspirations. All of them have NCAA Tournament aspirations. This field sets up to be one of the best in the history of the Maui Invitational.

We’re not going to predict who is going to win the tournament … not yet, anyways. But it’s not too soon to rank the competitors.

Let’s rank the teams in this year’s Maui Invitation, from worst to first.