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Nearly a year ago, Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel broke the news that Marquette men's basketball would be participating in the 2017 Maui Invitational. What we didn't know at the time was who else would be participating other than Chaminade, the traditional host of the event.
Well, the Maui Jim Maui Invitational fixed that on Thursday afternoon when they announced the full field for the 2017 version of their tournament.
Just Announced: The field for the 2017 @OfficialMauiJim @MauiInv has been revealed. https://t.co/UiIq8oQTSu pic.twitter.com/sIZlzGI8V7
— Maui Invitational (@MauiInv) November 12, 2015
Now THAT is one hell of a field. One of the other three Jordan Brand schools, a hated rival, a traditional Big Ten power, a burgeoning SEC school, the former King Of The Indies, and the current King of the Indies who will hold that crown as long as Gregg Marshall continues to be their head coach.
I mean, the weak link there is probably VCU, and that's only because we don't know what they're going to be with Shaka Smart patrolling the sidelines. With that said, Will Wade used to be Smart's assistant at VCU and all he did at Chattanooga for two seasons was go 40-25 before returning to Richmond to take the reigns from his old boss.
There is a chance that Marquette could end up playing Michigan in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1953-54 & 1954-55. Michigan will be joining the Golden Eagles at Madison Square Garden for the 2016 2K Classic, although it's not a guarantee that MU will square off with the Wolverines in that event.
FUN FACT: Marquette and Steve Wojciechowski have been to Maui together before. MU has been to Maui twice in the past, and both times that happened, Duke also participated in the Maui Invitational, and by participated, I mean "won." That includes the 2007 version of the tournament, as #13 Duke defeated #11 Marquette in the Maui Invitational final when Kyle Singler hit the game clinching free throws with 13 seconds left.