When it comes to the NCAA Basketball non-conference tournaments, none has consistently been bigger than the Maui Invitational. Located in Hawaii, the great backdrop has included some memorable moments, thanks to the annual stacked fields that are included.
Almost always, there are at least 3-4 ranked programs in the field each year, whether from the preseason AP rankings or by the time the Maui Invitational starts. There also has been a change to the format, as Chaminade, the D-II program that hosts the event, now plays every other year.
The Silverswords will be included for the 2023 edition, which features arguably the best-ever field from top to bottom among the D-I programs. Among them includes a pair of “blue bloods” (Kansas and UCLA), three of the winningest programs of the past decade (Gonzaga, Purdue, and Tennessee), as well as Marquette, coming off a 29-win past season. And don’t discount Syracuse, a program that’s one of the more intriguing teams to watch after moving on from Hall of Fame head coach, Jim Boeheim.
The bracket for the event has come out, with some juicy first-round matchups to watch for, led by Purdue vs Gonzaga. But who are the favorites in the Maui Invitational based on how the rosters look this offseason?
Obviously, Chaminade is No. 8 on this list but they’ve pulled off upsets in the past so don’t completely overlook them. Still, the other seven teams are just a notch above them. Here’s a look at how I would rank each of them.
7. Syracuse Orange
Although it’s probably the best move long-term for the program, you couldn’t have picked a worst time to make the coaching change if you’re Syracuse. Because new head coach Adrian Autry is going up against the likes of Mark Few, Bill Self, Matt Painter, and Rick Barnes.
And Syracuse also lost two of its best players to the portal this offseason (Jesse Edwards and Joe Girard) as well. The good news is that they retained star freshman Judah Mintz, who averaged 16.3 ppg and 4.6 apg last season. And he’s joined by a few backcourt transfers from the portal.
JJ Starling was a double-digit scorer as a freshman at Notre Dame, while former top 50 prospects, Kyle Cuffe and Chance Westry, didn’t play last season at Kansas and Auburn respectively. If these players can take a sophomore leap, the Orange could be better than expected.
The main concern is at center, with 7’4 transfer Naheem McLeod looking to replace Edwards. He’s not going to give them much offensively but if he can be a rim protector, Syracuse can be competitive inside. But compared to the other six teams, they have the most questions, both on the roster and on the sidelines.
6. UCLA Bruins
The idea that head coach Mick Cronin and the Bruins could be 6th on this list would normally be insane but it’s not only due to the incredible depth of this field but also that they lost more talent than just about anyone this offseason.
Four starters for UCLA went pro, including stars Jaime Jaquez and Tyger Campbell. Only Adem Bona is back after a good freshman campaign, earning Pac-12 all-defensive honors at the center position. The concern here is that just he and Utah transfer Lazar Stefanovic are the lone players on the roster with extended playing time and experience at the D-I level.
The hope is that guards Dylan Andrews and Will Mclendon can break out without Campbell around. And joining them in the backcourt are a pair of marquee international prospects in 6’5 combo guard Jan Vide and Ilane Fibleuil, a 6’7 guard and top-50 incoming freshman recruit.
If those two and both Devin and Brandon Williams (top-100 incoming forwards) can have an impact, UCLA will be very good once again. But Coach Cronin has his work cut out for him with this unproven group. Still, his teams are never bad so expect them to be top-25 good somehow.
5. Gonzaga Bulldogs
We’re entering the part of the list where everyone left is going to get not only preseason top-25 votes but also in the top 10 for the 2023-24 season. Of the five, the one with the most questions is the Gonzaga Bulldogs, mainly because of the lack of depth in the backcourt.
The frontcourt should be fine, which is interesting since the team lost one of the best NCAA Basketball players in Drew Timme. The All-American big man and WCC Player of the Year is gone but they replaced him with Graham Ike, a star transfer from Wyoming. And with forward Anton Watson back for a 5th year as well as Ben Gregg off the bench, the Bulldogs inside are good.
Gonzaga brought in Eastern Washington transfer and Big Sky Player of the Year Steele Venters as the starting wing, with Nolan Hickman and Creighton transfer Ryan Nembhard starting in the backcourt. However, only top 50 incoming freshman Dusty Stromer is the other true guard on the roster. So they’ll have to play either Nembhard 35+ mpg next season or have freshmen Jun Seok Yeo or Kansas transfer Marcus Adams Jr. play out of position.
This still has the potential to be one of the best-scoring offenses in NCAA Basketball and coach Few always has his teams ready to win a couple of big non-con games in November. But the depth concerns could be a factor with 3 games in 3 days for them.
4. Tennessee Volunteers
The Vols had some recent roster turnover this offseason. They lost Harvard transfer Chris Ledlum, who averaged over 18 ppg and 7.0 apg this past season. He’s now at St. John’s but in a way, it solved the roster situation for the team. That’s because Josiah-Jordan James, a 6’7 veteran forward starter, elected to return from the NBA Draft process.
The frontcourt still took a hit, with Uros Plavsic, Olivier Nkamhoua, and Julian Phillips all gone. There’s some depth looking to get extra minutes, including Jona Aidoo, Tobe Awaka, and four-star big man, JP Estrella. Where the strength for Tennessee lies is in the backcourt.
Assuming starting point guard Zakai Zeigler returns from his season-ending injury at 100%, he and returning leading scorer Santiago Vescovi will be one of the top backcourts in NCAA Basketball. Joining them are a pair of top transfers in Dalton Knecht (20.2 ppg at Northern Colorado) and Jordan Gainey (15.2 ppg at USC Upstate), along with four-star freshman guard, Cameron Carr.
Tennessee always has great team defense but the offense has sometimes been a concern. But there’s as much offensive firepower as Coach Barnes has had with the program. The Maui Invitational will be a great showcase to show its potential.
3. Marquette Golden Eagles
There’s no mystery concerning what this next team will look like, as Marquette brings back almost its entire squad from the team that won the Big East last season and got a 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They didn’t need to use the transfer portal this offseason, with 8 of the top 9 players returning.
That includes Tyler Kolek, who averaged 12.9 ppg and 7.5 apg last season, en route to earning Big East Player of the Year honors. Leading scorer Kameron Jones (15.1 ppg), is back, along with starting guard Stevie Mitchell and forward Oso Ighodaro.
The only player that isn’t back for the Golden Eagles is Olivier-Maxence Prosper, a versatile double-digit scoring forward that was picked in the first round of the NBA Draft. It’s certainly a blow but the program is equipped to replace him with David Joplin, who was Big East 6th Man of the Year last season and is just as good as an offensive weapon as Prosper.
The defense for the Eagles may take a hit but the offense could get better. This is going to be a top-5 caliber roster next season and one that could very well win the Maui Invitational. Yet there are a couple of programs that on paper, could have an evern higher ceiling than them.
2. Kansas Jayhawks
A mainstay in the Maui Invitational, the Jayhawks are always going to be a favorite to win this event. And based on what’s happened this offseason, that’ll be no different. Despite losing a pair of freshmen (Chris Johnson and Marcus Adams Jr.), the roster is as loaded as ever from top to bottom.
Kansas landed three of the top transfers in the portal, led by Hunter Dickinson. Viewed as the best big man overall, the former Michigan center averaged 18.5 ppg and 9.0 rpg last season. Nicolas Timberlake put up 17.7 ppg at Towson and shot over 40% from three-point range, while Arterio Morris was a former five-star prospect and potential breakout candidate after transferring over from Texas.
The Jayhawks bring back a few key pieces as well, including star point guard Dajuan Harris. He’s the reigning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and one of the best passers in all of NCAA Basketball. Kevin McCullar is also an elite defender and starting wing, while forward KJ Adams is viewed as one of the top all-around “glue guys” in the sport too.
The defensive and offensive potential the Jayhawks have, while hopefully having a healthy Coach Self leading the way, is surely to get the team some preseason top votes. They’ll be a favorite in the Maui Invitational, Big 12 Conference, and potentially, the entire 2024 NCAA Tournament.
1. Purdue Boilermakers
Just like Marquette, Purdue also is a 29-win team that returns just about its entire roster after a quality past year that includes a conference player of the year star. The difference though is that the Boilermakers had the best individual in all of NCAA Basketball this past season in Zach Edey.
The 7’4 National Player of the Year is back after a dominant campaign where he produced 22.3 and 12.9 rpg. Also back is essentially the entire frontcourt, including Caleb Furst Mason Gillis, and Trey Kaufmann-Renn. Ethan Morton is back on the wings and replacing Brandon Newman is Lance Jones, who averaged 13.8 ppg at Southern Illinois last season.
The key to how good Purdue will be next season is the respective developments of guards Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer. Both were great as freshmen contributors overall but they clearly hit a wall towards the end of last season, which played a part in the stunning upset defeat to Fairleigh Dickinson as a 1 seed.
Assuming that second-year leap occurs, it’s hard to see many teams beating Purdue either in the non-conference or Big Dance next season. But they’re set to have three quality tests in the Maui Invitational a few months now, starting with the Gonzaga Bulldogs. The Boilermakers dominated the WCC foes last year in the PK85 Tournament, can they pull off a repeat performance in the first round here?