The bracket for the fortieth Maui Invitational — which returns to Lahaina this November after wildfires final yr compelled the event’s relocation to Honolulu — is formally set, organizers introduced Tuesday.
The sector incorporates a third of The Athletic’s top-12 preseason groups: Iowa State (No. 5), Connecticut (No. 7), Auburn (No. 10), and North Carolina (No. 12). Three of these groups made the Candy 16 in final season’s NCAA Event, with UConn repeating as the game’s first back-to-back nationwide champion since Florida in 2006 and 2007.
First-round matchups are as follows:
“This yr’s Maui Invitational is without doubt one of the strongest fields in event historical past,” event chairman Dave Odom mentioned in a press release. “The sector is filled with groups seeking to make a run within the NCAA Event together with UConn who’s making their fifth look within the Maui Invitational and seeking to defend their back-to-back nationwide championships.”
🚨Breaking information with @TheAndyKatz! 🚨
Your 2024 Maui Invitational bracket is right here! #MauiHoops pic.twitter.com/xDptA2ZUSE
— Maui Invitational (@MauiInv) August 20, 2024
Simply as vital because the groups collaborating is that the occasion will return to Maui from Nov. 25-27. In August 2023, wildfires killed 101 folks in Maui and destroyed a lot of downtown Lahaina, the place the invitational is held. Event organizers initially hoped they’d nonetheless be capable to host the 2023 iteration, however security and broadcasting issues resulted within the event shifting to Honolulu. It was the third time within the final 4 seasons that the occasion wasn’t held in Maui. (In each 2020 and 2021, the event was held within the mainland as a result of COVID-19 problems: first in Asheville, N.C. and later in Las Vegas.) Nonetheless, proceeds from final yr’s occasion — coupled with an public sale held by faculty basketball coaches — raised over $2 million for reduction efforts.
“We respect the unwavering help and sensitivity in navigating this tough time and respect their dedication to bringing this much-anticipated occasion again to Maui’s neighborhood,” Maui mayor Richard Bissen mentioned in a press release in February when the event first confirmed it might be returning to Lahaina.
5 groups that gained the Maui Invitational — Michigan in 1988, UConn in 2010, and UNC in 2004, 2008, and 2016 — have gone on to win the nationwide championship.
The sector for the 2025 occasion has already been launched, too, and options Bayor, Texas, and NC State, amongst others.
(Photograph: Mitchell Layton / Getty Photos)
