The best in-season tournament, as far as competition, is in the beautiful state of Hawaii. In an article on CBS by Matt Norlander he says, “ Maui is one of the most prestigious places to host an in-season tournament.” This tournament is named the Maui Invitation which consisted of eight teams, 5 ranked in the top 15 including Marquette, Purdue, Gonzaga, Kansas, and Tennessee.
Purdue was coming off a disappointing year after being upset by number 16 Fairleigh Dickinson in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Purdue still has 7 ‘4, Naismith Player of the Year, Zach Edey. Purdue also still has the backcourt of Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer. The Boilermakers acquired Lance Jones from the transfer portal in the offseason who has already made a huge difference on this team. Purdue proved in this tournament why they are one of the top teams in the country. The rankings have Purdue at number one as of now.
Marquette is also coming off a very good year with star guard, Tyler Kolek. The Golden Eagles were upset by Michigan State in the second round of the tournament last year. and they are back and ready to prove who they really are. They are now ranked at number three in the nation.
The Tennessee Volunteers are coming off of a Sweet Sixteen run where they were upset by FAU who proceeded to make it to the Final Four. The Volunteers had to replace many players, but they still have returning point guard, Zakai Zeigler. Tennessee had an underwhelming performance in this tournament but they have a lot to build on.
The next team ranked in the top 15 is the Gonzaga Bulldogs. The Bulldogs are coming off of an Elite Eight appearance last year before losing to eventual National Champion, the University of Connecticut. Gonzaga lost many players, but they also gained a lot of talent through the transfer portal and also have many talented freshmen.
The last top 15 team that participated in this tournament was the Kansas Jayhawks. Kansas was upset by Arkansas in the second round of the tournament last year. The Jayhawks also picked up star big man Hunter Dickinson through the transfer portal over the offseason. They were the preseason number-one ranked team.
The other three teams that played in the tournament were UCLA, Chaminade, and Syracuse. UCLA is a very young team that has a lot to prove this season after losing their top two players to the NBA. In an article on the NCAA website, it says, “Chaminade is a small D2 school located in Honolulu, Hawaii”. The Syracuse Orangemen are having to replace a coach who had been there for 47 years. They are looking to see how they can evolve with their new coach.
The first round of the tournament consisted of four games. The first game was Tennessee vs Syracuse. The Volunteers dominated this game winning by 17. The team was led by Josiah–Jordan James who had 15 points and 12 rebounds. The second game of the first round was Purdue vs Gonzaga. This was both teams’ first real test of the season. The Boilermakers won this game by a solid ten points after trailing by five at the half. Zach Edey led Purdue with 25 points and 14 rebounds, and both Braden Smith and Lance Jones had an impressive game. The next game was Kansas vs Chaminade. Kansas controlled this whole game winning by 25 points. Hunter Dickinson was the main attraction with 31 points and 11 rebounds.
The losing teams of the first round went to the loser bracket and the winners moved on to the winner bracket. In the winner bracket was Purdue vs Tennessee. The Volunteers hung in with the Boilermakers making this game a nailbiter. But Purdue barely edged Tennessee by four points after hitting their free throws in the clutch. Fletcher Loyer had an outstanding game for Purdue scoring a career-high 27 points to take them to the championship. In the second game of the second round, Marquette, surprisingly, dominated top-ranked Kansas. Osh Ighodaro led the Golden Eagles with a 21-point performance and 9 rebounds.
This led to the Championship between two top-four-ranked teams, Purdue and Marquette. In the exhibition game were Tennessee and Kansas where the Jayhawks won by nine points. The game everyone was waiting for was the top-ranked clash between the Boilermakers and Golden Eagles. This game was a classic, close all the way through. The Boilermakers led for the majority of the game, but it came down to the wire at the end when Purdue missed some much-needed free throws. Marquette struggled to capitalize on these opportunities which led Purdue to win by three points. Zach Edey had a crazy-good game with 28 points and 15 rebounds proving nobody in the country can guard him.
In an article on ESPN’s Myron Medcalf, “Zach Edey was then awarded with the tournament MVP.” Purdue had a lot to prove in this tournament and they proved they could hang with the big boys. All teams improved by participating in this tournament. Maui did an incredible job hosting the tournament and we hope they continue this tournament.
