Kansas men’s basketball has earned the top seed in the Maui Invitational for the third straight time.
The Jayhawks will play Chaminade, the Honolulu-based NCAA Division II school that hosts the tournament in Lahaina, Hawaii, on Nov. 20 at 8 p.m. Central Time. on ESPNU. They previously faced the Silverswords in the opening round in 2015 and 2019, and are 4-0 against them all-time.
The game against Chaminade will be sandwiched between some challenging nonconference matchups, as KU will face Kentucky in the Champions Classic six days earlier and then, depending on results in Hawaii, will face either Marquette or UCLA on Nov. 21.
A win against Chaminade and two additional victories would get KU the Maui Invitational title, but the Jayhawks will have to conquer a stiff field that also includes Tennessee, Syracuse, Purdue and Gonzaga. KU won titles at the event in 2015 and 2019, and has a record of 17-6 overall at the event. That includes two wins over UCLA.
This is the seventh overall appearance for KU in the event, which dates back to 1984. The Jayhawks’ first appearance came in 1987, when they came in fourth place in the eight-team tournament.
After playing three games in Maui through Nov. 22, KU will return to Lawrence to host Eastern Illinois on Nov. 28.