Maui Jim Maui Invitational Brings Luck to Winners

2016 Maui Jim Maui Invitational Champions. PC: Maui Invitational.

Through the years, 130 teams that have started the season in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational have finished the year in the NCAA Tournament.

Forty-five teams have gone on to the Sweet 16, 19 have appeared in the Final Four and seven have won the national championship, including last year’s Maui and NCAA champion North Carolina.

This year’s teams, including Chaminade, Cal, LSU, Marquette, Michigan, Notre Dame, VCU and Wichita State, look to add to those totals and get their respective 2017-18 campaigns off to a successful start when the Maui Jim Maui Invitational gets underway on Monday, Nov. 20, at the Lahaina Civic Center.

Headlined by two of the top-15 programs, No. 6 Wichita State and No. 13 Notre Dame, this year’s field features some of the most consistent programs of this decade. Three teams own Final Four berths since 2011, including Michigan, VCU and Wichita State, and along with Notre Dame, these programs rank among the top 30 most-winning programs since the start of the 2010-11 season.

The eight programs have combined for 38 20-win campaigns and 42 postseason appearances over the last seven seasons.

“This year’s Maui Jim Maui Invitational title is up for grabs, no doubt about it,” said Tournament Chairman Dave Odom, a long-time college coach in the ACC and SEC. “This field features a variety of NCAA and conference championship hopefuls and programs that are looking to make a name for themselves. We’ve seen it time and time again here, with North Carolina the most recent example; success in Maui often leads to success later in the season.”

Additionally, the eight head coaches leading the programs into the Tournament boast impressive credentials. Each has appeared in at least one Final Four as a head or assistant coach, with the group combining for 16 total appearances in the national semifinals. Three have won more than 450 games, led by Michigan’s John Beilein, who has won more than 750 games. Notre Dame’s Mike Brey and Wichita State’s Gregg Marshall are each closing in on 500 career victories.

Ten players who earned All-Conference accolades a season ago will showcase their talents on the Lahaina Civic Center hardwood, including 2017 Preseason All-Americans Bonzie Colson of Notre Dame and Landry Shamet of Wichita State. The two rank among CBS Sports’ top 100 players of the 2017-18 season that also includes Notre Dame’s Matt Farrell, Michigan’s Moritz Wagner, Wichita State’s Markis McDuffie – who will miss the Tournament due to injury – and Marquette’s Markus Howard.

Maui Jim Maui Invitational Championship Round Schedule