Syracuse Basketball: Deep dive on loaded field in 2023 Maui Invitational

The Syracuse basketball non-conference docket during the upcoming 2023-24 season will include the Orange participating in the loaded eight-team field at the 2023 Maui Jim Maui Invitational, which will take place from November 20 to November 22 at the Lahaina Civic Center in Maui, Hawaii.

Besides the ‘Cuse, this year’s Maui Jim Maui Invitational also will include Gonzaga, Kansas, Marquette, Purdue, Tennessee, UCLA and Chaminade. The Orange will have three games in this event, and its opponents have not yet been publicly announced.

That being said, this is a tremendously exciting and challenging field for Syracuse basketball to encounter. Gonzaga was in the Elite Eight in this spring’s NCAA Tournament. Kansas was a No. 1 seed in the 2023 Big Dance after winning the tourney in 2022.

In this past spring’s March Madness, Marquette was a No. 2 seed, Purdue was a No. 1 seed, UCLA was a No. 2 seed, and Tennessee was a No. 4 seed. Per a press release from SU Athletics in April of 2022, Syracuse basketball is 9-0 in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational, having won this tournament in 1990, 1998 and 2013.

If the Orange hopes to cut down the nets in Maui for a fourth time, it will have to navigate a field that includes multiple potential foes that are highly rated in ESPN’s most recent way-too-early top 25 prior to 2023-24 commencing.

Let’s have an in-depth look at Syracuse basketball and the rest of the 2023 Maui Invitational field.

Syracuse Orange (Atlantic Coast Conference)

Final 2022-23 record: 17-15
Final 2022-23 ranking: NA
2023 NCAA Tournament result: NA
ESPN preseason top-25 ranking: NA
Pertinent notes: With point guard Judah Mintz returning for his sophomore year, the Orange’s backcourt is loaded, and the Syracuse basketball 13-player roster is filled with athleticism and versatility at guard and on the wing. The center spot is a question mark, and the ‘Cuse has to improve on defense and in the rebounding arena.

Gonzaga Bulldogs (West Coast Conference)

Final 2022-23 record: 31-6
Final 2022-23 ranking: No. 10 (Coaches top-25 poll)
2023 NCAA Tournament result: Elite Eight (No. 3 seed)
ESPN preseason top-25 ranking: No. 7
Pertinent notes: Head coach Mark Few lost All-American Drew Timme and multiple other top players, but Few, as he often does, has reloaded, including by bringing in several transfers. The Zags figure to be a second-weekend team in the NCAA Tournament yet again in 2024.

Kansas Jayhawks (Big 12 Conference)

Final 2022-23 record: 28-8
Final 2022-23 ranking: No. 11 (Coaches top-25 poll)
2023 NCAA Tournament result: Round of 32 (No. 1 seed)
ESPN preseason top-25 ranking: No. 1
Pertinent notes: Bill Self, who won his second national championship at Kansas in 2022, returns several big names, including Dajuan Harris Jr., Kevin McCullar Jr. and K.J. Adams Jr., while also bringing in Michigan junior center Hunter Dickinson, who was the No. 1 transfer nationwide this off-season. Syracuse basketball coaches reportedly held a Zoom meeting with Dickinson after he entered the NCAA’s transfer portal. The Jayhawks’ 2023-24 roster also includes 2023 four-star forward Marcus Adams Jr., a former Orange recruiting target.

Marquette Golden Eagles (Big East Conference)

Final 2022-23 record: 29-7
Final 2022-23 ranking: No. 14 (Coaches top-25 poll)
2023 NCAA Tournament result: Round of 32 (No. 2 seed)
ESPN preseason top-25 ranking: No. 10
Pertinent notes: A season ago, Marquette was the Big East’s best squad prior to the 2023 NCAA Tournament, winning the conference’s regular-season and post-season titles. Fellow Big East squad UConn ended up cutting down the nets in this spring’s March Madness, but head coach Shaka Smart has the Golden Eagles poised to be at the top, or near it, in the Big East this coming term.

Purdue Boilermakers (Big Ten Conference)

Final 2022-23 record: 29-6
Final 2022-23 ranking: No. 13 (Coaches top-25 poll)
2023 NCAA Tournament result: Round of 64 (No. 1 seed)
ESPN preseason top-25 ranking: 3
Pertinent notes: Purdue had a terrific 2022-23 season, until the Boilermakers became the second No. 1 seed ever to lose in the round of 64, falling to Fairleigh Dickinson. With reigning national player of the year Zach Edey electing to return to Purdue for his senior year, the Boilermakers should be a serious contender once again for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Tennessee Volunteers (Southeastern Conference)

Final 2022-23 record: 25-11
Final 2022-23 ranking: No. 16 (Coaches top-25 poll)
2023 NCAA Tournament result: Sweet 16 (No. 4 seed)
ESPN preseason top-25 ranking: No. 5
Pertinent notes: Head coach Rick Barnes had the Volunteers as one of the better teams in the SEC in 2022-23, and preseason prognostications have Tennessee as perhaps being the premier squad in this conference for the upcoming campaign. The team’s 2023-24 roster includes several key returnees, several talented transfers and a former Syracuse basketball recruit in 2023 four-star center Joseph Estrella.

UCLA Bruins (Pac-12 Conference)

Final 2022-23 record: 31-6
Final 2022-23 ranking: No. 8 (Coaches top-25 poll)
2023 NCAA Tournament result: Sweet 16 (No. 2 seed)
ESPN preseason top-25 ranking: NA
Pertinent notes: The Bruins and Arizona were far and away the two best teams in the Pac-12 a stanza ago. Mick Cronin has done a terrific job as UCLA’s head coach, getting the Bruins to the Final Four as a No. 11 seed in 2021. Looking ahead to 2023-24, UCLA has lost several big-time players, including Jaime Jaquez Jr., Tyger Campbell and Jaylen Clark. The Bruins do have a couple of highly rated 2023 commits coming in, along with Utah transfer Lazar Stefanovic. And UCLA received some good news recently when forward Adem Bona, the Pac-12’s freshman of the year in 2022-23, said he would return to school for his sophomore season.

Chaminade Silverswords (Pacific West Conference)

Final 2022-23 record: 14-15
Final 2022-23 ranking: NA
2023 NCAA Tournament result: NA
ESPN preseason top-25 ranking: NA
Pertinent notes: Chaminade University, a NCAA Division II team, has served as the host school for the Maui Jim Maui Invitational dating back to 1984. Two years prior, in December of 1982, Chaminade pulled off one of the biggest upsets in college basketball history, as the Silverswords knocked off No. 1 Virginia, 77-72. The Cavaliers were led by national player of the year Ralph Sampson.

I’m curious how my fellow Syracuse basketball fans think the Orange will fare in this season’s Maui Jim Maui Invitational. Do you think the ‘Cuse can win it all, and which opponents would you like to see our beloved Orange match up against?