Indiana Basketball: Early look at the 2020 Maui Invitational

Indiana Basketball: Early look at the field of the Maui Classic

Every year one of the best tournaments in college basketball is the Maui Jim Maui Invitational. The Battle 4 Atlantis is starting to be a marquee event also, but there is something about heading out to Hawaii to play.

This year the Hoosiers get that opportunity to play in the tournament in 2020 and it will be their seventh appearance in the invitational. They have an 11-8 record all-time there and won it all in 2002 over Virginia and were runner-up to Syracuse in 1998.

This year’s bracket has not been announced yet, but it again should be a great tournament. Included in the field with the Hoosiers are Alabama, North Carolina, Davidson, Stanford, Texas, UNLV, and Providence.

There have definitely been better fields in the history of this tournament but this could one of those sneaky good tournaments that some might overlook. Davidson is a very good mid-major team and UNLV cane up just short of upsetting San Diego State last year.

Stanford was one of the better teams in the PAC-12 last year and Texas was going to be a tournament team also. The Longhorns are also bringing in a great recruiting class, headlined by Greg Brown III, and are looking to make some noise this year.

Alabama played like one of the best teams in the SEC last year before injuries derailed their season. Nate Oates will be in his second year leading the Crimson Tide and has his team looking like an early favorite to be at the top of a tough conference.

Providence, after a very slow start last year, was looking like a sleeper Final Four threat before the tournament was canceled. They should be very good again this year and will be a tough out for any team in Maui.

That leaves North Carolina, and while they had a very bad year last year, they won’t be down for long. Roy Williams will have his team back and is again bringing in a great recruiting class. The Tar Heels are too good of a program to be down for too long and will again be a force in college basketball.

Indiana will have its hands full with whoever they draw in Hawaii, but this field provides a chance for the Hoosiers to have a chance to win but also play quality opponents. This tournament is a perfect example of low-risk high reward games. You won’t lose too much if you lose a game, but you will gain a very big piece to your tournament resume by grabbing some wins.

This is what the Hoosiers have been missing lately and heading out to Hawaii should change that. The excitement is already building for the Hoosiers basketball season and this will be something that many will be looking forward to.