Chaminade vs Kansas Preview: Opening the Maui Invitational
Wildfires this summer prevented the Maui Invitational from taking place in its normal home of the Lahaina Civic Center, but thankfully the event will still go on in the state. And it’s a packed field full of Final Four contenders as strong as we’ve seen.
As the top rated of the group, the Kansas Jayhawks get to open the tournament against the hometown Chaminade Silverswords Monday.
Opponent Overview
Team: Chaminade
Record: 1-2
KenPom: N/A
Line: N/A
Team Form
The Silverswords began the year with games against the two main Alaska teams in the PacWest/GNAC Challenge, losing 77-72 to Alaska Anchorage to start the season before beating Alaska 80-72. Chaminade’s most recent game was a 90-86 overtime loss to Hawaii Hilo. The win over Alaska kept Chaminade from starting 0-2 for the first time since 2015-16.
Players to Watch
Chaminade’s best player so far this year has been Isaac Amaral-Artharee, a 6-2 senior guard, who dropped 16, 23, and 26 points in the Silverswords’ first three games while hitting 8-17 from three. Amaral-Artharee was named to the All-PacWest/GNAC Challenge Team, along with teammate Ross Reeves. Reeves has not found his rhythm shooting — starting the season just 10-34 from the field and 3-16 from three — but he does have 20 assists and six steals in three games to just four turnovers.
Another shooter who is off to a good start is 5-10 junior Jamir Thomas. Thomas is averaging 16.3 points per game on 7-16 from three and 16-30 from the field. The Silverswords’ biggest player, 6-9, 225-pound Wyatt Lowell, has struggled to stay on the floor, averaging four fouls per game in just 22 minutes per game. Scott Ator, a 6-7 post, has been more productive – averaging 8.3 points and 7.7 rebounds – but also has committed 11 fouls in three games.
Matchups to Watch
The Chaminade offense is guard-oriented and lives with the three-point shot. The Silverswords are shooting 35% as a team and are averaging nearly nine makes per game, while only shooting 43% from the field overall. Chaminade also gets to the free-throw line 17 times per game.
When the Silverswords aren’t making threes, the 79 points per game are aided by fast breaks and turnovers. Chaminade is averaging 13 points off turnovers per game while turning opponents over nearly 14 times per game – nearly half of those coming on steals – while only giving it up itself 8.7 per game. Turnovers have been an area where Kansas has struggled early in the season.
But as pointed out in the players-to-watch section, Chaminade has a real disadvantage in the post. Opponents are out-rebounding the Silverswords by a margin of 10 per game, and that’s against other D2 competition. Hunter Dickinson and Parker Braun should be able to live on the glass and get easy put-backs.
Prediction
This year’s Maui Invitational is a gauntlet. The KenPom (as of Sunday) No. 2 (Purdue), No. 4 (Kansas), No. 7 (Gonzaga), No. 9 (Tennessee), and No. 11 (Marquette) teams are all in this field, along with UCLA (No. 34) and Syracuse (No. 116). Which means that after the Chaminade matchup, Kansas will likely have to beat two top-30 KenPom teams to get the title (KU, with a win, plays the winner of if UCLA-Marquette, and if the Bruins win against the Golden Eagles, they’ll likely jump into the top 30 at KenPom).
Kansas will be a man down, as starter KJ Adams is traveling to Hawaii Monday after his mother passed away in Texas after a long battle with cancer. Gary Bedore of The Kansas City Star reported the news Sunday:
The Jayhawks shouldn’t have trouble, even without Adams, who has been excellent to start the season. Chaminade will be a good test for Kansas’ guards to work on their defensive principles and gain confidence for guys like Elmarko Jackson and Nick Timberlake. The goal for this opening matchup should be to get accustomed to the gym, play the starters less than 30 minutes, and head into day two without any injuries.
Kansas 103, Chaminade 68
Record ATS: 2-1
Record Straight Up: 3-0
(Last game: Kansas 89, Kentucky 84)
