NCAA Basketball: 2023 Maui Invitational preview and prediction

Tennessee

Tennessee boasts one of the most talented and explosive rosters in the nation, and that should be on display in their first matchup with Syracuse. Dalton Knecht, the transfer from Northern Colorado, has been on a tear to start the year, and it will probably continue throughout the season. He has averaged just under 20 points per game to start the year, and he might go absolutely nuclear against a Syracuse team that struggles to defend. Along with Knecht, Jordan Gainey (13.3ppg) and Josiah Jordan-James (11.3ppg) also average in double figures. Vescovi is obviously off to a slow start, but he hasn’t had to do much in order for them to win so far.

Tennessee is a brutal matchup for just about every team in the country, as they boast depth, scoring and a ferocious defense. Jonas Aidoo defends the paint about as well as anyone and Zakai Zeigler comes off the bench just to remind people how slow they are. This team should dismantle a Syracuse team that can score the basketball but will have no answer when it comes to slowing down the Vols. That means a matchup with either Purdue or Gonzaga awaits them in the second round.

Syracuse

Part of me wants Syracuse to run into Purdue at some point in this event just so we can laugh at Zach Edey and Naheem McLeod being stunned that somebody else on the planet is the same size as them. Anyway, Syracuse is a good team, but they are clearly lacking a bit of identity after the departure of Jim Boeheim. It took a monumental comeback to beat Colgate, which could be a good sign considering they’re one of the better mid-major teams in the country, but The Orange should’ve never been in that big of a hole to begin with with the talent that they have. Judah Mintz (23ppg) is absolute stud, and the arrival of JJ Starling (13.3ppg) from Notre Dame has helped alleviate some of the pressure off of Mintz in the backcourt.

Chris Bell, Maliq Brown, Naheem McLeod, and Benny Williams give this team some serious size, but they still seem to lack a bit of continuity. Asking Adrian Autry to beat this Tennessee team early in the season is a tough task, but they can certainly leave Hawaii with a key win or two. As the season progresses, Syracuse could look a lot better the more time they have to figure themselves out, but they will probably struggle at this point in the year against some of the nation’s best teams.