San Diego State is no stranger to the Maui Invitational as they have been to the Hawaiian tournament in 1989, 2003, 2014 and now they are in the 2018 field.
The bracket is not set but the teams participating in the 2018 edition is full of many blue-bloods of college basketball. The teams in field in addition to San Diego State are Arizona, Auburn, Duke, Gonzaga, Illinois, Iowa State and Xavier visit the island.
However, this edition of the tournament will be the first ever to feature eight NCAA teams as host Chaminade will now rotate their inclusion to the eight-team bracket by being on the court in odd number years starting in 2019.
“Our fields always showcase the best in college basketball,” tournament chairman Dave Odom said in a release, “and 2018 will be as strong as we’ve ever had.”
Six of the eight teams competing in the 2018 field have made NCAA Tournament runs in recent years. Duke won the 2015 NCAA title and have won this tournament five times, San Diego State, Xavier and Iowa State have appeared in the Sweet 16 within the past five years, and Gonzaga and Arizona made it to the Elite Eight in that same time frame.
The early speculation is that San Diego State will play a West Coast team and be featured in one of the late night tips off and that could mean that the Aztecs will face familiar foes in either Arizona or Gonzaga. Regardless of who San Diego State plays they will get a good opponent to help their NCAA resume.