2011 Maui Invitational

Submitted by jamiemac on

I'm sure they'll schedule a cupcake or two to tune up, but the next time we get to see the Hoops team play is the 2011 Maui Invitational

Joining us in the 8-team field will be Duke, Kansas, UCLA, Georgetown, Tennessee, Memphis. Oh, and, host Chaminade. Wow. Michigan will surely have 2, if not 3, high end games to watch.

This event plays out in the three days before Thanksgiving. And, in between Michigan football home games against Nebraska and Ohio State

Talk about some killer games

I wonder who we'll play in the tourney. Draw is months away probably. We'll need to keep track which players leave early off those teams.

the_white_tiger

March 20th, 2011 at 7:35 PM ^

I'll take Michigan against any of those teams. Seriously. We played Kansas and Duke extremely closely and they lose a lot of senior all-american type players. Georgetown also loses a lot, we wrecked Tennessee and Harris might leave, UCLA's okay at best, and this isn't Calipari's Memphis. We could win it.

osty53

March 20th, 2011 at 10:01 PM ^

Kansas doesnt lose much of anything Little, Reed, and Morningstar..Probably be preseason #1. As long as the twins stay for another year. Still think we can beat them. Your right about the other teams Duke loses a ton. Georgetown loses a bunch and is always over rated anyways cause they're in the Big East UCLA should be improved along with Memphis but we should be able to handle them.

MaizeRAGE in FLA

March 20th, 2011 at 10:24 PM ^

It may not be Calipari's Memphis but that team returns just as much youth as Michigan, if not more, with another highly touted kid on the way. Will Barton could leave but watching him play I'd imagine he'll stick around until he's a lottery pick. I'll take the Maize and Blue in the game also but I don't think it'll be a game to overlook should they meet.

Raoul

March 20th, 2011 at 8:39 PM ^

Basketball schedules usually aren't fully set until sometime in the summer. Michigan released its 2010-11 schedule on August 26, 2010.

One note on the Maui: It's being expanded to 12 teams for 2011, but only the seven teams mentioned in the OP are actually going to Hawaii. The four other "mainland" teams haven't been announced yet, but Michigan will hosting one of them at Crisler between Nov. 11 and Nov. 17. For details, see this page.

umchicago

March 20th, 2011 at 8:33 PM ^

a pre season tourny like this is a good opportunity for a mid major program to play good teams on a neutral site.  they always complain that they can't play good competition unless they go to the big guys home gym.  yet, you don't see them play in tournys like this very often to prove themselves.

so i say "cry me a river" mid majors when you don't get selected for the ncaa for not beating anyone.

Appleseed

March 20th, 2011 at 9:49 PM ^

1) There aren't any crappy/mediocre BCS teams in next year's field. They're all good to great teams (unless Tennessee collapses).

2) Marquee mid-majors that have already made a reputation for themselves don't need the preseason tournaments to get games. It's the VCUs and Richmonds of the world that do.

Blizzard

March 20th, 2011 at 9:08 PM ^

How do the four mainland teams work?

 

Do they play each other to see who gets in as the 8th seed and go to Maui?

 

I can see Michigan being the 4th seed behind UCLA, Duke and Kansas.

Raoul

March 20th, 2011 at 10:23 PM ^

The seven invited teams plus host Chaminade make up the eight teams that will compete in Maui. None of the four "mainland" teams will be going to Maui. Those teams will play games against the seven Maui-bound teams and against each other prior to the actual eight-team tournament in Maui. See this page for details.

Michfan from A…

March 20th, 2011 at 10:27 PM ^

terific post! i cant wait...hoke/mattison defense will be playing like dreads on fire by then and bball should be a top 3 team in the conference next year along with minn and osu.  every other team loses multiple significant contributors. osu with craft, thomas and other top flights waiting in the wings will be a force to be reckoned with, but by november we could be poised for conference title runs in both hoops and turf

maizeman3

March 20th, 2011 at 10:33 PM ^

This is also a great time for Michigan to get those "big team" wins that everyone always *wants. * I was going to say needs but we didn't have any "big team" wins

Michigan4Life

March 21st, 2011 at 12:30 AM ^

We want Duke!  We want Duke! We want Duke! We want Duke!

 

In all seriousiness, this is going to be top heavy field with 4 potential top 10 teams(Duke, Kansas, Michigan and UCLA) and 2 top 25 teams(Memphis and Georgetown).  What a great field for Maui Invitational. Should provide a big boost for RPI and SOS rankings and also give Michigan a great chance of getting marquee wins.

Raoul

March 21st, 2011 at 9:01 AM ^

The Big Ten-ACC Challenge doesn't work this way. In the 2009 and 2010 challenges, the only teams to play each other both years were Ohio State and Florida State. Likewise, the 2009 challenge featured only one "rematch" from 2008--MSU vs. North Carolina.