MAUI, HAWAII-– The Maui Jim Maui Invitational today announced the Championship Round field for the 2017 Tournament, which features high-profile programs and some of college basketball's rising powerhouses.
Wichita State will compete alongside California, LSU, Marquette, Michigan, Notre Dame, VCU and host Chaminade, Nov. 20-22, 2017 on the island of Maui.
The Shockers finished 2-1 at the 2010 Maui Invitationa collecting wins over Chaminade and Virginia after a heart-breaking quarterfinal loss to eventual national champion UConn.
The outstanding 2017 group includes six programs, Cal, LSU, Marquette, Michigan, Notre Dame and Wichita State, which are ranked or receiving votes in the preseason top 25 polls entering the 2015-16 season and four that are ranked among the top 20. In addition, the teams have achieved success on the national stage in recent years.
Since the 2010-11 season, Michigan, Notre Dame, VCU and Wichita State rank among the top 30 nationally in wins, with Wichita State second (151 wins) and VCU tied for 12th (136). Over the last five seasons, the field has combined for six appearances in the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight and three berths in the Final Four. And with an eye to the future, Cal, LSU and Marquette each had top-10 recruiting classes this past year as ranked by ESPN.com.
"Year after year, the Maui Jim Maui Invitational showcases the nation's best players and coaches, and the 2017 field will continue that tradition," said Tournament Chairman Dave Odom. "These brand-name programs and rising powerhouse teams will create a special environment at the Lahaina Civic Center. We are excited to welcome them and their fans to Maui in 2017."
Since the inception of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational in 1984,108 schools representing 26 conferences and 40 states have competed in the event. Schools that have participated in the Tournament in November have won 67 of 77 NCAA Championships, six of which have won the national championship after making an appearance in Maui earlier in the season.
-Wichita State-
2017 Championship Round Teams California: -Cuonzo Martin is entering his second season as head coach at Cal, and his eighth year overall
-Martin has won 18 or more games in each of his last six seasons as a head coach, including four with at least 20 wins
-Cal will be making its third all-time appearance at the Maui Jim Maui Invitational (1996, 2013)
-The Golden Bears begin the 2015-16 season ranked No. 14 in the preseason Associated Press (AP) and USA Today Coaches polls and boast a top-10 recruiting class that includes five-star prospects Ivan Rabb and Jaylen Brown
LSU: -Johnny Jones is entering his fourth season at LSU, and has won more games than any LSU coach in his first three years (61)
-Jones has led the Tigers to the postseason each of the last two seasons
-LSU will be making its fourth all-time appearance at the Maui Jim Maui Invitational (1992, 1996, 2007)
-The Tigers are 19th in the USA Today Coaches poll and 21st in the AP rankings entering the 2015-16 season and welcome one the nation's highest ranked recruiting classes, including top prospect Ben Simmons
Marquette: -Second-year head coach Steve Wojciechowski has won the Maui Jim Maui Invitational as both a player (1997) and assistant coach (2001, 2007, 2011) at Duke
-Marquette will be making its third all-time appearance at the Maui Jim Maui Invitational (2007, 2011), earning runner-up honors in 2007
-The Golden Eagles most recent recruiting class was ranked 10th in the nation, highlighted by McDonald's All-American Henry Ellenson
-Since the 1992-93 season, Marquette has won 20 or more games 16 times and made 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, including eight straight from 2006-2013
Michigan: -Head Coach John Beilein is entering his ninth season at Michigan
-Beilein owns 717 all-time victories in 38 years as a collegiate head coach
-Michigan, ranked 25th in the preseason AP poll, will be making its sixth all-time appearance at the Maui Jim Maui Invitational (1985, 1988, 1994, 1998, 2011) claiming titles in its first two trips to the island
-In the last seven seasons, the Wolverines have five 20-win campaigns and five NCAA tournament berths, including an appearance in the 2013 national championship game
Notre Dame: -Mike Brey, who is entering his 16th season with Notre Dame, is the program's second-winningest coach in school history with 332 triumphs
-Notre Dame will be making its third all-time appearance at the Maui Jim Maui Invitational (1993, 2008), earning runner-up honors in 2008
-The Fighting Irish finished the 2014-15 season with a 32-6 record, claiming their first ACC Championship and 11th 20-win season under Brey
-Notre Dame, which is ranked in the top 20 of the AP and Coaches poll entering the year, has appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 10 of the last 15 seasons, advancing to the Elite Eight last season
VCU: -Will Wade is entering his first season as head coach at VCU and fifth year overall with the Rams after serving as assistant from 2009-13
-With Wade as an assistant, VCU won 28 games during the 2010-11 season and reached unprecedented heights by reaching to the 2011 Final Four
-VCU has appeared in the NCAA Tournament each year since 2011, and ended the 2015 campaign as Atlantic 10 Tournament Champions and ranked No. 25 in the final Associated Press poll
-VCU will be making its second all-time appearance at the Maui Jim Maui Invitational (1986)
Wichita State: -Head Coach Gregg Marshall is entering his ninth season at Wichita State and 18th year overall
-Wichita State will be making its second all-time appearance at the Maui Jim Maui Invitational (2010)
-The Shockers have appeared in the NCAA Tournament in each of the last four seasons, most notably reaching the Final Four in 2013 and entering the 2014 Tournament with a perfect 34-0 record
-Ranked 10th by the AP to begin the year, Wichita State has won 30 or more games in each of the last three seasons
Chaminade: -Eric Bovaird is entering his fifth season at Chaminade as the fourth-winningest coach in program history
-Chaminade owns seven all-time victories at the Maui Jim Maui Invitational, knocking off the likes of Texas, Oklahoma, Stanford and Villanova
-Two Silverswords have won Tournament MVP honors – Patrick Langlois in 1984 and George Gilmore in 1991
-Chaminade has appeared in five NCAA Division II Tournaments, including three in the last five seasons and back-to-back NCAA West Regionals in 2013 and 2014
About the Maui Jim Maui Invitational In December 1982, then No. 1 ranked Virginia, led by National College Player of the Year Ralph Sampson, played little-known NAIA Chaminade University in Honolulu while on the way back from a trip to Tokyo. The Silverswords stunned Virginia 77-72 in one of the greatest upsets in college basketball history. Two years later, in 1984, Chaminade University hosted the first Maui Jim Maui Invitational and it has proven to be the premier early-season college basketball tournament for 31 years running. Each year, the Maui Jim Maui Invitational attracts the top programs, best-known coaches and most outstanding players to compete in an exciting atmosphere at the Lahaina Civic Center near the beautiful beaches of Maui.
