Newly released Maui Invitational draw favors North Carolina
North Carolina was the big winner on Tuesday after the unveiling of next season’s Maui Invitational bracket.
The Tar Heels received by far the most favorable draw of any of the the contenders in the eight-team field.
North Carolina will open play Nov. 21 against Division II Chaminade, which is 7-84 all-time at the Maui Invitational, and will face either Connecticut or Oklahoma State the following day. The Tar Heels also landed on the opposite side of the bracket from Wisconsin and Oregon, both of which may join North Carolina in the preseason top 10 next fall.
Of course there are no truly easy draws in a Maui Invitational field rife with name-brand programs. Seven of the eight teams in next season’s tournament hail from major conferences and Connecticut could easily give the Maui Invitational four preseason top 25 teams.
North Carolina could be close to as strong as it was last season despite the loss of senior leaders Brice Johnson and Marcus Paige. Three starters return from last year’s national runner-up squad including guard Joel Berry, forward Justin Jackson and center Kennedy Meeks.
Reigning Pac-12 champion Oregon also has Final Four potential after falling just one win short of making it to Houston last spring. The deep, talented Ducks welcome a promising recruiting class and return a handful of key players from last season including guard Tyler Dorsey and forwards Dylan Brooks and Chris Boucher.
Wisconsin has every key player back from a team that surged late in the season and reached the Sweet 16. Leading the Badgers will be guard Bronson Koenig, forward Nigel Hayes and center Ethan Happ, a strong enough nucleus that Wisconsin has a real chance to return to the Final Four for the third time in four years.
Connecticut is the most likely to pull an upset and crash the title game if its bevy of promising newcomers are able to contribute right away. Georgetown returns eight players from last year’s disappointing 18-loss season, Oklahoma State will build around star point guard Jawun Evans and Tennessee will hope to make progress in its rebuilding process during year two under Rick Barnes.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
