College Contenders Clash in Paradise at Maui Jim Maui Invitational

Maui Jim Maui Invitational. Background file photo by Rodney S. Yap.

College basketball contenders will clash in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational Championship Round, which begins on Monday. Georgetown, North Carolina, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Tennessee, UConn and Wisconsin join host Chaminade as they compete for early-season accolades at the Lahaina Civic Center for the 33rd annual event.

The Tournament will welcome three teams ranked in the Top 10 of the latest Associated Press poll, including: No. 4 Oregon, No. 5 North Carolina and No. 9 Wisconsin.  In all, the teams of the 2016 field have combined for 14 national championships, including six squads that have won at least one NCAA title, 40 Final Four appearances and 198 NCAA Tournament berths.

The 2016 Maui Jim Maui Invitational will mark the seventh Tournament appearance for North Carolina, the most for any program, and sixth appearance for Coach Roy Williams, tied for the most of any head coach in Tournament history.

Tennessee’s Rick Barnes, who has won more than 600 games in his career, will become the first coach to lead three different programs in Maui (Providence, 1991; Texas, 2004, 2008 and 2012).

Four coaches, including Oklahoma State’s Brad Underwood, Oregon’s Dana Altman, UConn’s Kevin Ollie and Wisconsin’s Greg Gard, will make their first head coaching appearances in Maui.

Several standouts that were named to various preseason All-America Teams or earned honorable mention status will headline this year’s field, including North Carolina’s Joel Berry II and Justin Jackson, Oklahoma State’s Jawun Evans, Oregon’s Dillon Brooks and Chris Boucher, and Wisconsin’s Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig.

History shows that conference titles, postseason bids, Final Four appearances and national championship aspirations can be forged in the early-season competition. In the last 12 seasons, three teams that have won the Maui Jim Maui Invitational have gone on to win the NCAA Championship later that year.

North Carolina achieved the feat in the 2004-05 and 2008-09 seasons, while UConn won both events in the 2010-11 campaign. And since the Tournament’s inception in 1984, 118 teams that started the season in Maui advanced to the NCAA Tournament later in the year.

“The Maui Jim Maui Invitational regularly features the nation’s best teams, players and coaches. This year’s teams are certain to provide some of the most exciting games we have seen in recent memory,” Tournament Chairman Dave Odom said. “A championship in Maui often paves the way for success later in the year. With so many talented programs, we’re excited to see how this year’s event unfolds.”

Maui Jim Maui Invitational Championship Round Schedule

The Tournament box office located at the Lahaina Civic Center opens Friday, Nov. 18 at 9 a.m. HST. It will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday through Sunday, and on game days from 8 a.m. until the end of the last game of the day. Tickets can also be purchased by calling the box office at 808.667.DUNK (3865) beginning on Friday, or online at www.mauiinvitational.com/tickets.