Arizona Basketball to Face Stiff Competition in 2018 Maui Invitational
The Arizona Basketball is heading back to Maui in 2018. Top teams have always been part of the event, but 2018 brings one of the toughest fields to date.
The last time the Arizona basketball team made the trip to Maui was in 2014. They were joined by BYU, Kansas State, Missouri, Pitt, Purdue and San Diego State, all tough competition. When all was said and done, the Wildcats came back to Tucson as the 2014 Maui Invitational Champions.
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Before 2014, the only other time the Wildcats won the tournament was in 2000. That year they were in a field consisting of UConn, Dayton, Illinois, Louisville, Maryland, and UNLV. All other visits (2009, 2005, 1997, 1993) the championship went elsewhere.
Overall, the trips to Maui haven’t been in favor of Arizona, going 2-6. The tournament isn’t going to get any easier for the Wildcats. In 2018, Arizona will be back in the Maui Invitational in what features the strongest field in history: Arizona, Auburn, Duke, Gonzaga, Illinois, Iowa State, San Diego State and Xavier.
That is a tough field for sure. Arizona, Duke, Gonzaga, Iowa State, San Diego State and Xavier have all been consistent NCAA tournament teams. Illinois and Auburn are looking to get back to being regular participants in the NCAA tournament. This could be the best early season tournament of the year, and each game will be aired on the ESPN networks.
Of course, the two teams that immediately pop out are Arizona and Duke. All of the teams will be tough, but Arizona and Duke are consistently in National Championship contender talks. So to have these two in the same tournament early on, you can bet people will hope to see them make the finals.
Not the Maui Invitational, but here is a fun look back at an Arizona win over Duke in 2011:
It’s still two years away, but I’m already excited for this. We can’t even be sure who from Arizona will still be around. With so many Top 100 players committing to Arizona, most of these players are picked to be one-and-done types. But if a handful of them stick around for the next two years, and knowing the kind of recruits the others schools bring in, wow! You can bet this will be a highly televised week of basketball.
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