Auburn Basketball to Compete in Prestigious Tournament

Head Coach Bruce Pearl (Photo: Auburn Athletics)

Mark your calendars and make plans to join Auburn Men’s Basketball November 19-21, 2018 for the Maui Jim Maui Invitational inside Lahaina Civic Center in Maui, Hawaii.

The 8-team field was announced on Wednesday, and Auburn made the cut. Next season will be the first time in school history that Auburn will compete in the prestigious tournament.

Head Coach Bruce Pearl has memories of the Maui Invitational, from early in his coaching career. ““I coached in the Maui Invitational as an assistant at Iowa,” said Coach Bruce Pearl. “We beat Larry Brown and Danny Manning the year they won the National Championship. Then, we beat Rollie Massimino and Villanova in the championship game. It was really special. Iowa has a banner hanging in Lahaina Civic Center. Back when I coached there, it wasn’t air-conditioned. It is air-conditioned now.”

Along with Auburn, powers Arizona, Duke, Xavier, Gonzaga, Illinois, Iowa State, San Diego State, and host Chaminade will be participating in the three-day tournament.

“The field is one of the best they have ever had along with all of the Hall of Fame coaches, every NBA scout and NBA general managers who will be there,” said Pearl of the tournament. “It is quite a festival.”

Auburn will be there in two years, however, teams such as North Carolina, Tennessee, UConn, Oklahoma State, and Wisconsin will be playing in this year’s tournament.