2023 Maui Invitational bracket set

The bracket for the 2023 Maui Invitational tournament has been set, and some star-studded matchups will headline this year’s event.

The first round is as follows, courtesy of Jon Rothstein:

Kansas vs. Chaminade
Marquette vs. UCLA
Tennessee vs. Syracuse
Purdue vs. Gonzaga

The Kansas-Chaminade matchup and Marquette-UCLA will be on the same side of the bracket, while Tennessee-Syracuse and Purdue-Gonzaga will be on the bottom.

Gonzaga (2009, 2018), Kansas (1996, 2015, 2019), Syracuse (1990, 1998, 2013) and UCLA (2006) have all claimed Maui Invitational championships in the past, while Chaminade (1984), Marquette (2007) and Purdue (1999) were all previously runner-ups. Tennessee’s lone excursion to the Maui saw them place fourth in 2004.

2023’s edition of the invitational will be played between Nov. 20 through Nov. 22.

Hunter Dickinson reveals why he transferred to Kansas

Hunter Dickinson made waves when he decided to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal on March 31. A little over a month later, the former Michigan star decided that Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks were the best fit for him.

During a live appearance on Rock Chalk Unplugged with Kansas basketball players Mitch Lightfoot & Chris Teahan, Dickinson broke down his reasons for choosing to spend this season in Lawrence. It came down to a few key reasons.

“I think the thing that sold me about Kansas was that it checked all the boxes in terms of having one of the best coaches of all time present, having the history and tradition of Kansas basketball,” Dickinson said. “But also [Self] having that pedigree of developing bigs, so I just feel like it checked all those boxes in that area. 

“My biggest thing was that I wanted to go somewhere to win, so why not go to the most winningest program in NCAA basketball history with six national championships? I wanted to develop and coach Self has done great things with big men. … I knew wherever I went was going to be a risk because I was coming into a new environment, but I feel like at Kansas it was less risky.”

The former All-American received interest from the likes of Georgetown, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Villanova and more during his time in the portal, but ultimately, the Jayhawks won the top-rated transfer‘s services for the 2023-24 season.

Read more from Barkley Truax here.