With the school year almost starting back up, college basketball fans got a great piece of news today with the official pairings for this years Maui Invitational. The teams competing in this years Maui are: Kansas, Indiana, UCLA, Vanderbilt, UNLV, St. Johns, Wake Forest and the host of the tournament Chaminade.
Leading one side of the bracket is the Kansas Jayhawks, who won the World University games back in July and seem to be the favorite in the Big 12 conference. The Jayhawks are returning three key players including star Perry Ellis. Kansas will play host Chaminade for their first matchup of the Maui Invitational.
On the same side as Kansas and Chaminade, it will be the UCLA Bruins and the UNLV Rebels. The Bruins look to continue their impressive finish from last season after nobody in the world thought the Bruins should’ve been in the NCAA tournament to begin with. The Rebels will look to turn things around after a disappointing season.
On the other side of the bracket are the Indiana Hoosiers, Wake Forest Demon Deacons, Vanderbilt Commodores, and the St. Johns Red Storm. The Hoosiers look to get back to top tier form this season after returning Yogi Ferrell, James Blackmon Jr., Troy Williams and adding a McDonalds All-American in Thomas Bryant. The Hoosiers will play Wake Forest in their opening matchup.
To round out the bracket is Vandy vs. St. Johns. Vandy is expected to give Kentucky and the rest of the SEC a little run for the money this year with the return of Damian Jones. St. Johns has a fresh new face with head coach Chris Mullin calling the shots for the Red Storm.
The Maui Invitational will be Nov. 23-25.
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