Maui Jim Maui Preview
The Maui Jim Maui Invitational will feature three ranked teams who are all final four contenders with an array of talent up and down the bracket which will once again be one of the more intriguing early season tournaments played on the beautiful island of Hawai’i.
The North Carolina Tar Heels have gotten out to the best start out of the ranked team in the bracket as both Oregon and Wisconsin fell during the Marathon of Hoops.
Connecticut entered the season ranked, but a few mishaps to mid majors forced them out of the rankings. Georgetown would’ve found themselves in the top 25 if they had held onto their lead over Maryland while Tennessee and Oklahoma State will not be easy matchups.
The NCAA Division II school Chaminade is the annual host school for the tournament. The Silver Swords belong to the Pac West Conference where they finished eighth with a 10-10 record and 12-15 overall last season. The Swords enter Maui play with a 2-0 record after beating a pair of Alaskan teams including the 12th ranked Alaska Anchorage and Alaska University.
Wisconsin vs. Tennessee
Bronson Koenig is taking over as the leading scorer for the Badgers. Koenig averages 15.7 points per game.
The first matchup of the Invitational is Wisconsin and Tennessee. They will tip at 2:30 p.m. eastern time and 9:30 a.m. local time.
The Badgers are coming off a win over Chicago State. They kicked off the season with a win over Central Arkansas, but fell to Creighton in their first test of the season.
The Volunteers started the season with a loss to a decent mid major team Chattanooga and defeated Appalachian State right before Maui.
Wisconsin has a lot of experience in their starting five. The Badgers are led by two seniors who have played a lot of minutes together. Bronson Koenig is taking over as the scorer while Nigel Hayes has the inside-out game.
It’s your typical Wisconsin team where at least four of the five starters have attempted almost ten three pointers this season in three games.
Happ has yet to attempt a three pointer, but the high low game is certainly working through him. Instead of Koenig leading the team in assists, Hayes and Happ average over 2 assists per game. The ball gets to both big men, but they are able to kick it out to the open shooter.
The Vols on the hand, start a very young group of guys. Swing guard Robert Hubbs III is only one of two seniors on the team, but he sees the most minutes out of the pair. Hubbs is 6-5 and can do a little bit of everything, He’s averaging 13.5 points per game with 4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. The only negative about his game is that he’s 0 for 2 in two games from the three-point line.
The freshman point guard from Nashville, Jordan Bone, leads the team with 14 points and 4.5 assists per game. Bone is only shooting 1 for 6 from behind the arc, but he’s over 50 percent from the field.
Two out of the other five starters are also averaging over 10 points per game. Freshman Grant Williams and sophomore Kyle Alexander are the two bigger guys. Williams is a 6-5 234 pound forward and Alexander is the big man at 6-10. They have combined for 10 blocks in two games this season.
Shembari Phillips is another sophomore and he starts, but is averaging under 10 points per game. The first guy off the bench is freshman guard Lamonte Turner who is the Vol’s third leading scorer so far.
Each Vol has attempted a three pointer this year, but they’re only shooting 25 percent in two games. They play small and are young, but they have scored a lot of points in their first two games.
Georgetown vs. Oregon
Big man Chris Boucher leads the Ducks with 17 points per game. He's also averaging 1.7 blocks per game.
The second game featuring Georgetown and Oregon will tip immediately following the first game at approximately 4:30 p.m. eastern time, 11:30 a.m. local time.
The Hoyas opened the season with a dominant win over South Carolina Upstate and everyone thought that was the start to a turnaround from a disappointing 2015-16 season. They managed to, however, blow a seven-point lead with a minute to go over Maryland in the second game and lose a game they were being totally blown out in over Arkansas State which was the Maui on the mainland game.
The Ducks were ranked in the top ten to start the season. They were able to put away Army just fine in the opener, but they were stunned with a blowout from Baylor during the Marathon of Hoops. Oregon was able to come back and defeat a good Valparaiso team right before Maui.
Georgetown is led by a solid group of four starters with a lot of experience. The only underclassman of the bunch is a 6-10 sophomore center Jessie Govan. They are led by two 6-5 guards. Senior Rodney Pryor and junior L.J. Peak both average over 17 points per game. Isaac Copeland is the fourth starter and he’s a junior forward who averages just over 11 points per game. The only starter who doesn’t average double digit points is point guard Jagan Mosley, but he has 13 assists in four games.
That’s never a bad thing if a point guard isn’t one of the leading scorers, but after the top four in double digit points, no Hoyas average over five points
The opposing team, Oregon, will come out shooting with a group of veteran players. The Ducks are led by a 6-10 senior center Chris Boucher. He averages 17 points per game, just over 6 rebounds and almost 2 blocks per game. Tyler Dorsey is the talented sophomore guard who averages almost 13 points per game and Jordan Bell rounds out the double digit scorers with 12.3 and a surprising 13 total blocks in three games.
Oregon is doing their best to survive without their superstar Dillon Brooks. Payton Pritchard runs point for them with 4 assists per game and nine points per game. Journey man Dylan Ennis is the fifth starter for the Ducks, but after that, it’s hard to find depth.
Oklahoma State vs. Connecticut
After leading UConn in scoring last season at 12.8 points per game, Rodney Purvis is only averaging 5.7 this year.
The bottom half of the bracket won’t start until later in the day. The tip between Oklahoma State and UConn will be at 9 p.m. eastern time and 4 p.m. local time.
The Cowboys are only one of two NCAA Division I undefeated teams in the Invitational. Some has to do with the easy three games they have had to start the season. They have scored over 100 points in each of their first three games including 117 over New Orleans
UConn has been one of the more disappointing teams to start the season. After falling in its first two games to Wagner and Northeastern, they battled back to a three-point victory over Loyal Marymount.
Oklahoma State is getting a lot of production out of their second year point guard, Jawun Evans. The sophomore is averaging 6.3 assists and over 23 points per game. Phil Forte III is the senior leader who is also averaging over 20 points per game followed by the 6-6 guard Jeffrey Carroll at 18.7. The freshman swing guard Lindy Waters III is seeing a lot of early playing time along with senior forward Leyton Hammonds. A lot of Cowboys are seeing increased minutes due to the blowout victories.
The Huskies on the other hand, have the talent, but it doesn’t seem anyone wants to take over as the leader. Rodney Purvis was expected to be the next high scoring Huskies guard, but he’s averaging under six points per game. The three pointer isn’t falling for any of the guards and the top three scorers this year are all underclassmen. Amida Brimah is the veteran big man, but he can’t do it all. Senior Kentan Facey was supposed to step up this year, but he isn’t producing much.
North Carolina vs. Chaminade
Joel Berry is leading UNC in points and assists this season. Berry is socring 16.5 points per game and 4.8 assists.
The night cap at 11:30 p.m. eastern time and 6:30 p.m. local time will feature the host team Chaminade and the defending National Runner-up North Carolina Tar Heels.
The Tar Heels have scored over 90 points in each of their first three games. Blowout wins include Tulane, Chattanooga and Long Beach State.
It’s strange to say, but UNC might be in a better situation at the point guard position this year than last. The offense was built around Marcus Paige, but Paige was battling an injury so other guys had to be thrown in to the mix. This year, the Tar Heels knew right away Joel Berry III was going to be the man. Freshman Kenny Williams is a great compliment to Berry off the bench. Both are averaging over 3 assists per game and Berry leads UNC with 21.3 points per game.
Four out of five starters average double digit points for the Tar Heels as shooting guard Nate Britt only averages just under 4, but the freshman star, Tony Bradley averages almost 11 points per game and 6 boards. Kennedy Meeks has averaged a double-double in three games with Justin Jackson and Isiah Hicks rounding out the top five.
The Swords are led by three players who are all averaging double digit points in two games. Senior guard Rohndell Goodwin leads Chaminade with 21 points per game followed by a big senior guard Kiran Shastri with 20.5 and junior guard Dantley Walker with 17.
North Carolina is the highest ranked team in Maui. The Tar Heels are ranked 5th and 6th with a 4-0 record.
Predictions
In the opening game, Wisconsin should be able to put away Tennessee. The Vols will keep it close with their scoring guards, but the experience the Badgers have will take over and if it’s a three point shooting contest, Wisconsin should come out on top.
The only way the Hoyas can keep it close is if Jessie Govan outplays Chris Boucher. The battle of the big men will be interesting. Both teams can score in bunches, but Boucher has the experience and a more trustworthy three point shot.
The third game will probably be the closest. Oklahoma State has proven more than UConn their experienced guys are better shooters. The Cowboys have used a lot more players this year which makes their depth great. The Huskies on the other hand do have the experience, but they’re not showing up this year. Don’t be surprised to see the Cowboys pull the upset (if you want to call it that).
North Carolina just has too much experience and talent on the court. They probably have the most talent out of all the eight teams in Maui. Chaminade will certainly be used to the time, but the Tar Heels will outplay them for 40 minutes.
The first game on Tuesday would be the losers of the first half. The Volunteers certainly have the scorers to keep up with the Hoyas, but the experience should take over on the second day of competition.
The other losers game would be highly intriguing if Chaminade played UConn. The Huskies would think their experience would take over, but the Swords are at home and have three great scorers. Kevin Ollie certainly won’t let the Huskies lose two in a row in Maui though.
A game between Oregon and Wisconsin could very well be an elite eight matchup this year. We’ve seen the Badgers play Arizona twice in the last three years at the Tournament. Boucher is the difference maker again and the Ducks have a great system that works with him as he’s their leading scorer on offense.
The Tar Heels’ defense should show up and quiet the Cowboys’ guards. UNC has the capabilities of running the Invitational and taking home the trophy. If Dillon Brooks were healthy, the matchup between the Ducks and Tar Heels could be a final four preview, but at this point in the season, UNC has the better players.
The Badgers certainly still look like the third best team in Maui and that’s how it should end up. The senior leadership will come up more than once this season for them and a 2-1 record in Maui will earn them third place.
With how young the Volunteers are, Chaminade could get a win on their home court and pick up at least one win.
A matchup between Georgetown and UConn would be great. An old Big East rivalry renewed on the island. Both teams are desperate for an early key win and a fifth place victory would help the Huskies get back on track with their experience coming through.
The Invitational on the Island will not disappoint once again. There are a few title contenders, teams with young stars and squads looking for an identity and what better way to showcase that talent than at the Maui Jim Maui during the week of Thanksgiving.
