LAHAINA, Hawaii — Aloha from the Maui Invitational! The greatest in-season college basketball event has delivered once again, as it always does, and how great it is to have the Maui Invitational back at the Lahaina Civic Center. COVID and the 2023 wildfires prevented this hallowed, humble gymnasium from hosting its premier event in 2020, 2021 and 2023.
After Monday’s action, and with some tributes to Maui mainstay, the late Bill Walton, I’m all the more appreciative that the Lahaina natives are once again hosting such a magical event.
Each day I’m going to publish a notebook of what I’ve seen and pepper in some observations and quotes from my one-on-one with coaches here in paradise. This story will be updated multiple times before Monday’s done.
Maui Magic is so real. See: UConn-Memphis and Auburn-Iowa State.
After being down to No. 5 Iowa State by as many as 18 with 4:18 left in the first half, No. 4 Auburn stormed back, took a 75-73 lead with 4:01 and ultimately won on a Johni Broome put-back with less than two seconds to pull off an 83-81 win. The scene was incredible, as scenes often are in this cozy gym on the western coast of one of the most picturesque islands in the world.
A top-five matchup that came down to the final play. We can’t ask for better.
God. Bless. Maui.
I’ve got more to come shortly, right after I talk with Bruce Pearl and TJ Otzelberger about what transpired.
College basketball is better for Dan Hurley’s villain turn
If you’d like to read up on Memphis’ 99-97 amazing overtime win over the No. 2 UConn Huskies, you can see my gamer right here.
I’d like to dedicate about 250 words right now to Hurley’s antics from Monday. UConn had seven team fouls within the first six minutes and Hurley was lava-like toward the officials even earlier than that. He hunted a technical foul, finally earning an ill-timed T with 40 seconds remaining in a 92-92 overtime game. Afterward, Hurley told me he didn’t think the T cost his team the game. He thought his team didn’t get a fair shake from the zebras.
“I don’t know too many back-to-back national championship teams that get that type of a whistle,” Hurley told me.
At the press conference, he said this about the officiating crew: “I’ve never seen the one ref before. I didn’t even know he was a college ref. I’m familiar with the other two, so I’m not surprised.”
This, obviously, led to opposing fans dunking all over Hurley on social media, calling him a whiner, loser, crybaby, entitled and worse.
Good!
The loss was UConn’s first loss in 288 days, its first November loss since 2021 and its first neutral-court loss since the 2023 Big East Tournament. Hurley’s program has dominated the sport. He was so good, the Los Angeles Lakers wanted him to run their franchise. He said no, came back to college basketball and is now on a warpath to keep Connecticut at the top of the mountain.
Hurley’s paroxysms are over the top but undeniably entertaining. He’s a classic college hoops character. Best of all, he wins a lot more than he loses. If people want to blast him for being a sore loser or chide him for how he comports himself on the sideline, it’s totally in bounds and Hurley himself wouldn’t run from that criticism.
Regardless of how you feel, he makes the sport more marketable and worth watching. His teams are meticulously prepared and out for blood in every game. He can go over the line and it’s probably going to get him in trouble again at some point. You can’t accuse him of being inauthentic and you can’t downplay his greatness as a coach.
Now we await to see what transpires with the Huskies and how Hurley responds. Colorado could be in for a long morning.
Michigan State cruises past Colorado
This was the least compelling of the four Monday games, easily. The Spartans won 72-56 to improve to 5-1.
This is Tom Izzo’s fifth time coaching in the Maui Invitational. He’s the most experienced coach in the history of the event. There was no surprise here. Michigan State is too veteran-laden to not show up and play well and at least win one game in this stacked field. With UConn going down, Sparty has a realistic shot to be the surprise winner of the Maui bracket, but it won’t be easy.
Memphis awaits, and here’s the stat to know: MSU ranks 362nd in the nation in 3-point accuracy (20.0%) through five games. Meantime, Memphis is No. 2 with an outrageous 47.9% success clip from beyond the arc. I asked Izzo if that would be the defining facet to Tuesday’s semifinal.
“When you talk about it, and I don’t mind talking about it here because I feel comfortable that the last week and a half we’ve been shooting it better, yet when you talk about it to your team, then does it become an albatross on you,” Izzo said, but with a caveat. There will be no sugar-coating with his team.
“I’m going to go back to being who I am and say, would you make the damn shot, please,” Izzo said.
That means Jaden Akins and Frankie Fidler need to come ready to bomb it from deep against a Memphis team that’s going to look to shoot it aplenty from deep.
“Of course it’s a concern,” Izzo said. “So our defense better knuckle down and get better, and we’d better find a way to start making some shots.”
As for Colorado, Buffs coach Tad Boyle accurately called his defense “soft.” Colorado’s guys have less than 24 hours to gear up for a ticked off UConn team.
“Who’s going to be angrier, UConn or Colorado? That’s what we’ll find out at 10:30 tomorrow morning,” Boyle said.
I shudder to think about what the Huskies are going to do to the Buffs if properly motivated and executing soon after breakfast.
