Maui Programs Well Represented in 2018 NCAA Tournament

Eight teams from the 2017 and 2018 Maui Jim Maui Invitational fields were selected to the 2018 NCAA Tournament as announced by the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee on Sunday night.

Six teams that were selected to the NCAA Tournament will play in the 2018 Maui Jim Maui Invitational. Five of them, Arizona, Auburn, Duke, Gonzaga and Xavier, are all seeded fourth or higher in their respective regions. San Diego State, which knocked off three of the top four seeds to win the Mountain West tournament over the weekend, earned a No. 11 seed. Meanwhile, Michigan and Wichita State from the 2017 field earned top-four seeds.

Continuing the Maui Jim Maui Invitational tradition of featuring championship caliber teams, four teams from the 2018 Tournament field secured their conference’s respective regular-season titles, including Arizona (Pac-12), Auburn (SEC), Gonzaga (WCC), and Xavier (Big East). Additionally, Arizona, Gonzaga, Michigan (Big Ten) and San Diego State (Mountain West) claimed their respective conference tournament championships.

Since the inception of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational, 124 teams that started their season on the island have earned NCAA Tournament berths. In each of the last seven years, one or more Maui squads have advanced to at least the Elite Eight, including last season when Oregon and North Carolina advanced to the Final Four. The Tar Heels went on to win the national championship.

The 35th edition of the nation’s premier early-season Tournament, which features Arizona, Auburn, Duke, Gonzaga, Illinois, Iowa State, San Diego State and Xavier, will be held Nov. 19-21, 2018.

Details about the 2017 and 2018 Maui Jim Maui Invitational programs selected to the NCAA Tournament are listed below.

Arizona Wildcats (27-7 overall, 14-4 Pac-12)

· No. 4 seed in the South Region, and will face Buffalo on Thursday
· Will make their 33rd official NCAA Tournament appearance, and sixth consecutive
· Secured the Pac-12 regular-season title, their fifth since 2011, and 26th in program history
· Clinched the Pac-12 tournament championship, their seventh all-time and second consecutive
· Recorded its sixth-straight 25-win season, and seventh in the last eight seasons

Auburn Tigers (25-7 overall, 13-5 SEC)

· No. 4 seed in the Midwest Region, and will face Charleston on Friday
· Will make their ninth NCAA Tournament appearance, and first since 2003
· Won their third SEC regular season championship, the first title since 1999
· Enter the postseason with 25 wins, the most victories in a season since 1999 (29)

Duke Blue Devils (26-7 overall, 13-5 ACC)

· No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region, and will face Iona on Pittsburgh
· Advances to their 42nd all-time NCAA Tournament appearance, fifth-most in NCAA history
· Their 23rd consecutive tournament appearance is the third-longest active streak
· Has recorded 20 or more wins 33 times in coach Mike Krzyzewski’s 38-year tenure with the Blue Devils, including 14 seasons with at least 30 victories

Gonzaga Bulldogs (30-4 overall, 17-1 WCC)

· No. 4 seed in the West Region, and will face UNC Greensboro on Thursday
· Advance to their 21st NCAA Tournament and 19th under current head coach Mark Few
· Will make their 20th-straight NCAA Tournament appearance, which is the fourth-longest active streak in the NCAA
· Has won an NCAA-best 239 games since the start of the 2010-11 season
· Claimed the WCC regular season and tournament championships

Michigan Wolverines (28-7 overall, 13-5 Big Ten)

· No. 3 seed in the West Region, and will face Montana on Thursday
· Will make their 24th all-time tournament appearance
· Won their second straight Big Ten Tournament championship
· Has won 20 or more games in eight of head coach John Beilein’s 11 seasons, and 25 or more wins in four of the last six years
· Went 2-1 at the 2017 Maui Jim Maui Invitational

San Diego State Aztecs (22-10, 11-7 Mountain West)

· No. 11 seed in the West Region, and will face Houston on Thursday
· Will make their 12th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history
· Returns to the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in the last nine seasons
· Captured their fifth Mountain West Conference tournament title, and first since 2011

Wichita State Shockers (25-7, 14-4 American)

· No. 4 seed in the East Region, and will face Marshall on Friday
· Will make their 15th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance, including each of the last seven seasons under Gregg Marshall
· Recorded their ninth-straight year with 25 or more victories
· Went 2-1 at the 2017 Maui Jim Maui Invitational, finishing as the runner up
· Landry Shamet and Shaq Morris, who were named to the Maui Jim Maui Invitational All-Tournament Team, were named first-team All-Conference performers

Xavier Musketeers (28-5, 15-3 Big East)

· No. 1 seed in the West Region, and will face the winner of NC Central and Texas Southern on Friday
· Earned their first No. 1 seed in program history
· Will make their 28th NCAA Tournament appearance
· Have advanced to the NCAA Tournament eight times under ninth-year head coach Chris Mack
· Captured its first Big East regular season championship