Tuesday afternoon the eight-team field for the 2019 Maui Jim Maui Invitational was announced, with host Chaminade being joined by BYU, Dayton, Georgia, Kansas, Michigan State, UCLA and Virginia Tech. Games for the Championship Round will be played November 25-27, 2019 at the Lahaina Civic Center.
Four of the eight teams have won at least one Maui Jim Maui Invitational, with Kansas having won titles in 1996 and 2015. The other three schools to have won the event are Dayton (2003), Michigan State (1991) and UCLA (2006). Not counting Chaminade, five of the seven programs making the trip to Maui have participated in the event at least four times.
The exceptions are Georgia, which will play in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational for the first time, and Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech will be making its second appearance in 2019, with the first coming in 1985.
Kansas, Michigan State, UCLA and Virginia Tech all reached the NCAA tournament this season, with Kansas reaching the Final Four for the first time in a decade.