2018 Maui Jim Maui Invitational Bracket
What the Coaches are Saying
2018 Team Facts
Q&A With Jay Bilas
With 34 years of history, the Maui Jim Maui Invitational has produced countless memorable moments: Adam Morrison's tournament-record 43 points in Gonzaga's triple-overtime victory over Michigan State in 2005; Kemba Walker's MVP performance in 2010; Ball State's improbable run to the Tournament final in 2001.
With an eight-team field comprised of player of the year candidates, future NBA draft picks and national championship contenders, Fran Fraschilla says this year's edition of Basketball in Paradise is poised to deliver even more of these moments during the three days that tipoff the 2018-19 college basketball season.
"There's always going to be one or two or three performances that we look back on, both individual and team performances," said the long-time ESPN broadcaster. "Whether its Duke's RJ Barrett, Xavier's Naji Marshall, Gonzaga's Rui Hachimura, or one of the many the other great players that are going to be in this tournament, there are going to be some incredible individual performances that we'll remember long after these young men leave the island."
When Arizona, Auburn, Duke, Gonzaga, Illinois, Iowa State, San Diego State and Xavier converge on the Lahaina Civic Center during Thanksgiving Week, fans could be seeing eight teams that will end the season at the NCAA Tournament. "It's almost like an NCAA Regional but it's played in one of the most beautiful places on Earth," quipped Fraschilla.
To win this bracket, the game's top coaches will have to guide their respective teams through a challenging field. And after three days, they'll have a clear vision for how they'll need to navigate the season ahead.
"The main thing is that you come away finding out more about your team's strengths and weaknesses after three days of great competition than you would anywhere else," said Fraschilla, who was twice part of a coaching staff that competed in Maui. "There's a lot of highlights to this trip, but it's also a business trip in that all of these teams have an agenda for the rest of their season that includes going as far as possible in the NCAA Tournament."
Auburn, Duke and Gonzaga are consensus top-10 teams and have all the ingredients for a Final Four run, said Fraschilla. The Blue Devils, guided by Mike Krzyzewski, are a perfect 16-0 in Maui Jim Maui Invitational contests and have won five Tournament titles. Duke welcomes the nation's top recruiting class, buoyed by incoming sensations RJ Barrett, Cameron Reddish, Zion Williamson and Tre Jones. The Bulldogs, under the direction of Mark Few, are two years removed from a berth in the national championship game and also claimed the 2009 Maui title. Rui Hachimura, Killian Tillie, Zach Norvell and a host of returning veterans will establish the Bulldogs as championship hopefuls from the start of the season. Bruce Pearl will lead the Tigers to their first Maui appearance, but Pearl was also an assistant coach with the Iowa coaching staff that won the tournament title in 1987. Auburn welcomes back a host of talented stars, including Bryce Brown and Jared Harper, as well as Austin Wiley, who missed all of last season.
Three other teams in this year's field joined Auburn, Duke and Gonzaga in the NCAA Tournament last year, as Arizona, San Diego State and Xavier each won conference regular season or tournament championships last year. The Aztecs return three starters from last year's squad and are positioned for another run to the NCAA Tournament, according to Fraschilla. But some roster and coaching changes for the Wildcats and Musketeers will create some uncertainty to begin the season. Sean Miller, entering his 10th season with the Wildcats and boasting seven previous NCAA appearances with the program, replaces his entire starting lineup from a year ago with a talented incoming class of recruits. Meanwhile, Xavier will be under the direction of new head coach Travis Steele, a long-time assistant to Chris Mack, who left after the season to accept the Louisville head coaching role. After a decade with the program, Steele shows every indication of maintaining a high level of success for a program that has made the NCAA Tournament in 16 of the last 18 years.
Not to be overlooked, Iowa State and Illinois will enter the 2018-19 season with their sights set on returning to the postseason. Cyclone head coach Steve Prohm and Illini head coach Brad Underwood have established themselves as some of the game's best young coaches, each having won at least 70 percent of their games over their careers. Iowa State returns a talented crop of freshmen, including Lindell Wigginton, an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention performer last season. The Illini, meanwhile, are led by Trent Frazier, who ranked among the team leaders in points, minutes, assists and steals as a freshman last year. Illinois also welcomes a heralded recruiting class led by high school All-American Ayo Dosunmu. Underwood has shown recent success in Maui, having led Oklahoma State to a third-place finish in 2016.
With the talent that peppers each Maui-bound program, Fraschilla expects that fans will see a number of future NBA All-Stars this year. Additionally, the Maui Jim Maui Invitational championship game will undoubtedly serve as an indicator for this season's cream of the crop.
"It certainly looks like Duke and Gonzaga on paper," Fraschilla replied when asked for his championship game prediction. "It would create an incredible atmosphere once again as we have seen every year at the Lahaina Civic Center. It would pit two teams that could very easily meet again next March or early April in Minneapolis at the Final Four."
"When both teams leave the island, as with the other six, they will have a much better feel about where their team's strengths or weaknesses lie than before they arrive in one of the most idyllic places in our country."
Although the primary focus of the trip is winning three games in three days, Fraschilla says the experience of playing in one of the most scenic places in the world presents a wonderful opportunity for each of these programs.
"Well first of all, the opportunity to play in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational is something that no matter where any of the players go the rest of their lives, it's a highlight of their college careers. To be able to say that they've played in Maui, in the Lahaina Civic Center, on ESPN, is something that I've seen in the past. As someone who has been part of two teams that played in Maui and as a broadcaster, it's a highlight of their careers. It's a place to play basketball in a tournament that is the premier basketball tournament in the country with incredible tradition. The experience of being at the Maui Jim Maui Invitational is a once in a lifetime experience."
