The 2017 Maui Invitational is set to run between Nov. 20-22 and features eight teams.
The Michigan basketball team will play against LSU in the opening round of the 2017 Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center in Maui, Hawaii.
The tournament, set to run between Nov. 20-22, features eight teams, including Marquette, VCU, Wichita State, California, Notre Dame and Chaminade.
“The field, if you look at the whole thing, is an incredible test for everybody, ” said Michigan head coach John Beilein during a conference call Tuesday. “You know so little about your team, and you find out a lot.… Every team in this tournament, including Chaminade, being an old Division II guy, is going to be a great challenge but a great opportunity for growth, as well.”
Michigan’s game against LSU — the first of three that the Wolverines will play in the tournament — is set to be broadcast by ESPNU at 11: 30 p.m. Nov. 20. Notre Dame and Chaminade, the designated host, will play in the other game on Michigan’s side of the bracket.
Last year, LSU finished with a dismal 10-21 record despite the presence of Antonio Blakeney, who led the team with 17.2 points per game before leaving for the NBA Draft.
Following the season, head coach Johnny Jones was fired, leading to the hiring of Will Wade, who was previously the coach at VCU.
“Michigan will be a big challenge for us, (it’s) a perennial national program, ” Wade said. “… With Coach Beilein, you know they’ re extremely well-coached, extremely skilled, they’ re going to shoot the ball well, they’ re going to play the game at their pace.
“… They’ ve got good players, good coaching, good system. That’s usually a formula to have a really good team.”
If the Wolverines win their opening-round game, they will most likely play the Fighting Irish in the second round. Notre Dame and Michigan last met in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament, when the sixth-seeded Fighting Irish rallied late to beat the 11th-seeded Wolverines, 70-63.
A matchup against Notre Dame would appear to be much more favorable to Michigan than the alternative — a game against Chaminade. A game against the Division II team — would not help U-M’s overall RPI ranking, regardless of the result.
ESPN analyst Jay Bilas considers Michigan the dark horse of the tournament and had high praise for the Wolverines.
“They are so well coached and so hard to guard because of the way they play and how they spread the floor, ” Bilas said. “Michigan lost D. J. Wilson from last year’s team, but they are still going to be really good.
“That would be one of the teams, aside from Wichita State and Notre Dame, I would be most afraid of.”
The announcement of the Invitational bracket completes Michigan’s non-conference schedule. The Wolverines will begin their season Nov. 3 with an exhibition game against Grand Valley State before beginning a slate of 13 games leading into the start of conference play.
