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Maui Jim Maui Invitational preview

Back where it belongs: Five top-25 teams in field as Maui Invitational returns to Lahaina for 1st time since 2019

By Robert Collias 6 min read

On Monday, for the first time in 1,090 days, the Maui Jim Maui Invitational will play games where it's supposed to -- the Lahaina Civic Center.

The 2020 event was moved to Asheville, N.C., and last year's event was held in Las Vegas, both due to pandemic restrictions.

On Monday when Texas Tech and Creighton tip off in the first game of the 2022 event at 9:30 a.m., it will be the first time a big-time men's college basketball game has been played here since the final horn sounded on Nov. 27, 2019, ending BYU's 90-77 win over Virginia Tech in the third-place game.

Landers Nolley II scored a game-high 22 points in 35 minutes of playing time in that game for the Hokies and, in the most unlikely of circumstances, he will be back for the 2022 event with Cincinnati -- he transferred there for his senior season after spending the last two seasons at Memphis.

Another player returning with Maui Invitational experience is Ohio State redshirt senior Justice Sueing, who began his high school career at Maryknoll on Oahu before transferring to Mater Dei in California prior to his junior year.

Sueing played for the University of California here in 2017 as a freshman -- he transferred to Ohio State (3-0) prior to his junior season. In three losses here in 2017 -- to Wichita State, VCU and Chaminade -- Sueing combined to score 54 points and grab 16 rebounds.

Tournament director Nelson Taylor arrived on Maui with his family Tuesday, escaping a snowstorm in Chicago, where organizer KemperLesnik's offices are located.

"It feels incredible to be back home in Maui, where obviously we've built an incredible tournament with the Maui magic here," Taylor said Wednesday. "Our team came from Chicago where we were facing a snowstorm and it's 80 degrees and sunny here. That's certainly what we are communicating out to all of our teams, to get ready for some warm weather."

Five teams in the eight-team 2022 field are currently ranked in The Associated Press Top 25: No. 9 Arkansas (3-0), No. 10 Creighton (3-0), No. 14 Arizona (2-0), No. 17 San Diego State (3-0) and No. 23 Texas Tech (3-0).

On the other end of the spectrum, Louisville (0-3) is coming to Maui as the first NCAA D-I team since 1980 to start the season with three straight one-point losses.

Cincinnati (3-1) will also feature a former Hawaii high school player on its roster -- Sage Tolentino, a 7-foot-1 freshman for the Bearcats who played for Maryknoll through his sophomore year of high school before transferring to play his final two years as a prep in Ohio.

The coaches coming this week -- four teams are set to arrive Friday, four more on Saturday -- are all excited to be back on Maui, according to quotes gathered by the KemperLesnik organizers.

"We are excited for the opportunity to compete against such a competitive field at the 2022 Maui Jim Maui Invitational and are tremendously happy that the event has returned to its home in Lahaina, truly one of the most beautiful settings in which to play basketball," San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher said.

If Creighton gets past Texas Tech in the opener and Arkansas beats Louisville in Monday's noon matchup, the 3 p.m. semifinal on Tuesday could be a top-10 matchup.

"It almost feels like the real beginning of college basketball when you flip on the TV and you're watching Maui before Thanksgiving," Creighton coach Greg McDermott said to analyst Andy Katz while discussing the event. "To be part of it is an honor for our program and I think we'll be well represented on the island with Creighton fans."

McDermott added to KemperLesnik, "It'll be a great test against elite competition in a setting that can't be beat."

Said Cincinnati coach Wes Miller: "The Maui Jim Maui Invitational is widely considered the best preseason college basketball tournament in the country, and our program is excited to be a part of it."

A theme of coaches over the years here has always been a key chance to see where their respective teams stand early in the season, and that was a thought Texas Tech's Mark Adams echoed recently.

"We're really excited about the opportunity to play in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational," Adams said. "With the level of competition that will be there we will have a great opportunity to see where we are at. I've watched this tournament for years and have always thought it looked like an amazing environment. It'll be a lot of fun to see Texas Tech represented in the tournament."

The other openers on Monday are Ohio State vs. San Diego State at 4 p.m. and Cincinnati-Arizona at 6:30.

"The Maui Jim Maui Invitational continues to be an elite and premiere pre-conference tournament," Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann said. "The tournament is exceptionally well run, and the competition is against some of the best teams and programs in the country. We are excited about a challenging and enjoyable week in Maui as we learn more about our team in this great event."

Holtmann said the opportunity to play here is simply unmatched.

"I love that it's back in Maui," Holtmann said. "I've always kind of been an admirer of the tournament, and how well it's done and the teams that have performed and just the energy around the tournament. I've always thought it was just a really special event."

Dutcher added, "It's a highlight event. It's a great place to play. It's a brutal field, I mean someone is going to leave that field with no wins that could be an NCAA team, that's how good the field is this year."

Adams took that thought even further.

"That's like a Sweet 16 setup," he said. "There are so many great teams there. We'll learn and get better from it either way when you play good teams."

Single-game tickets are still available, according to Taylor. The on-site box office opens at 9 a.m. Friday.

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com.

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