By Kenneth Cross
The Maui Classic has always been a great watch with Bill Walton and Jay Bilas on the call for ESPN and then the top-flight basketball where the teams look similar to the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight in March.
Two programs will rise this season in Texas Tech and Creighton who meet first and many people rank the Blue Jays as a preseason Top 10 team.
Coach Eric Musselman has turned Arkansas back into another tough out in the SEC as the Razorbacks have been to the Elite Eight in each of the last two seasons. This year, his recruiting class is rated No. 2 in the nation behind Duke, but it could be the top recruiting class as the 2022-23 season unfolds and gets into March. Kenny Payne looks to do the same with his alma mater as he takes over the Louisville Cardinals who lost a plethora of players who lost 14 out of the last 16 games in ’21-22.
The matchup between San Diego State’s Brian Dutcher and Chris Holtmann of Ohio State will be interesting as Dutcher orchestrates one of the nation’s best defensive teams. Holtmann has an aggressive and attacking offense at Ohio State as the two teams will orchestrate a diversification of attacks in the game.
The night cap has Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd’s fast paced style going up against Cincinnati’s Wes Miller, who is pushing the Bearcats back into the AAC conversation before they move to the Big 12. Lloyd paced the Wildcats to a 33-4 record and a Sweet 16 appearance where they lost to Houston.
This tournament starts on Monday, Nov. 21 with Day 2 and Day 3 following on Nov. 22 and 23.
The following is a look at the opening day matchups on Nov. 21:
Texas Tech vs. Creighton, ESPN2, 2:30 p.m. EST – As coach Mark Adams came into his position two years ago when Chris Beard left for Texas, the Red Raiders became even more of a defensive squad. Last season, they held their opponents to 38.6 percent (1st/CBB) from the floor and 31.5 percent (69th/CBB) from three. Tech also forced 15.8 turnovers (338th/CBB), but Kevin Obanor is the lone double digit scorer who returns to Lubbock.
Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner returns to the paint where he averaged 64.6 percent from the floor and was the second leading scorer at 13.1 points per game. Arthur Kaluma was a tough matchup in his freshman year where he averaged 10.4 points and grabbed 5.4 rebounds per game. He led a freshman class in posting six of their 11 Big East Freshman of the Week honors.
Arkansas vs. Louisville, ESPN2, 5 p.m. EST – Musselman’s recruiting class encompasses three 5-star players and three 4-star talents. These freshmen combine with five quality transfers and this talent will give Arkansas a totally different look to it’s roster in several ways. Devo Davis is the lone Razorback from last season’s roster as he started 14 games and the Razorbacks had a 14-3 record when he was the first man off the bench in the rotation.
Payne takes over the Louisville program as he will work with a team that lost six players to the transfer portal after last season’s 13-19 record was the worst in over 20 years. Chris Mack was fired at mid-season and no Cardinals averaged double figures in points as the team struggled offensively to average only 67.3 points per game (273rd/CBB). Ell Ellis (8.7 ppg) is the leading returning scorer on the point while power forward Jae’lyn Withers (5.8 ppg) is the only other returnee who was in the top ten in scoring.
San Diego State vs. Ohio State, ESPNU, 9 p.m. EST – Aztecs guard Matt Bradley (16.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg) is SDSU’s leading returning scorer as he and Keshad Johnson (7.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg) will be a tough matchup for the Buckeyes and anyone who SDSU may face. San Diego State is a tough matchup off the dribble and with athleticism in the paint as last season, the Aztecs were not very conversant with the three-point shot at they took only 16.9 per game (338th/CBB).
The Buckeyes’ offensive attack may be led by power forward Zed Key (7.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg), who shot 56.2 percent from the floor. Ohio State welcomes six freshmen as well as three solid transfers in guards Isaac Likelele from Oklahoma State and former West Virginia shooter Sean McNeil.
Arizona vs. Cincinnati, ESPN, 11:30 p.m. EST – Lloyd paced the Wildcats to a 33-4 season as they crafted a trip into the Sweet 16, but lost to Houston. Azuolas Tubelis (13.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg) will be a force inside with Kerr Kriisa on a wing where he took 238 threes and made 80 of those. Pelle Larson averaged 7.2 points in 20.7 minutes per game and was the Sixth Man of the Year as will likely be a starter this season.
Miller returns his top three leading scorers in David DeJulius (14.5 ppg), Jeremiah Davenport (13.4 ppg), and Mika Adams-Woods (8.6 ppg). The Bearcats were a solid rebounding team that defended well last season, so improvement in those areas will likely help the offense to rise. Adams-Woods had 13 assists and only two turnovers in his last five regular season games as that entailed 137 minutes.