Two programs join Texas, USC, others in loaded 2025 Maui Invitational field

10/31/2024 05:23 PM

For 40 years, the Maui Invitational has been one of college basketball’s marquee early-season tournaments, often hosting some of the best programs in the nation who are looking to take in some island-living relaxation while also establishing themselves as one of the top programs in the country in the opening month of the season.

For whatever reason, this tournament has turned in an inordinate number of competitive tournament final games — over the last 20 years, 11 championship matchups have been decided by five points or fewer — and 10 of the last 20 tournament winners have gone on to make it to at least the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament.

On Thursday afternoon, senior college basketball reporter Andy Katz took to social media to announce that Arizona State and Washington State would be joining the 2025 Maui Invitational Tournament Field, along with Texas, USC, NC State, Seton Hall, UNLV, and Chaminade. This particularly west coast-heavy tournament field will head to Hawaii to compete between November 24th and 26th.

Can UConn win program’s third Maui Invitational in 2024? 

For as loaded as the 2025 Maui Invitational Tournament field is, it’s possible that the 2024 field is even more stacked. Two-time defending National Champion UConn Huskies headline the field along with Iowa State, North Carolina, Auburn, Michigan State, Memphis, Colorado and Dayton.

The Huskies enter the season as the #3 team in the AP Top 25 preseason poll and will likely face their first major test of the season in the final round of the Maui Invitational — that’s if they get past Memphis, and then the winner of Michigan State and Colorado. Iowa State (ranked 5th), North Carolina (9th) and Auburn (11th) will have to battle it out for a chance to knock off the champs.

UConn and North Carolina are two of the eight programs — along with Duke, Syracuse, Kansas, Arizona, Gonzaga and Michigan —  that have won multiple Maui Invitational tournaments.

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