Tom Izzo, Michigan State men's basketball accept invite to 2024 Maui Invitational
As long as Tom Izzo is the head coach at Michigan State, the Spartans will continue to challenge themselves during the non-conference slate.
While MSU has not yet announced which multi-team event (MTE) the men's basketball program will compete in for the 2023-24 season, the athletic department has already locked in an early-season tournament for 2024-25.
On Tuesday, Michigan State announced that it had accepted an invitation to the 2024 Maui Invitational in Hawaii. The full press release from MSU can be read below:
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State's men's basketball team will play in the 2024 Maui Jim Maui Invitational, it was announced today.
In addition to the Spartans, the 2024 Maui Jim Maui Invitational field includes Auburn, Colorado, Dayton, Iowa State, Memphis, North Carolina and UConn. The 41st annual tournament will be held from Nov. 25-27 at the historic Lahaina Civic Center in Maui, Hawaii.
The 2024 teams bolster a total of 218 NCAA Tournament appearances, 45 Final Four berths (including 2023 National Champion UConn) and 13 NCAA Tournament titles. Half of the teams competing rank within the top-40 of the winningest programs of all-time in men’s college basketball.
“There is simply no other early-season college basketball tournament that rivals the spirit, talent and overall ‘magic’ of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational,” said Tournament Chairman, Dave Odom. “The 2024 field is not only going to bring top tier programs representing eight of the most dominant conferences in the sport, but also fans from all corners of the country. Whether it’s your first time on-island, or you’ve made packing into the historic Lahaina Civic Center an annual tradition, this Tournament experience is on every college basketball fan’s bucket list - and this loaded 2024 field is going to make it hard to resist.”
All eight teams have been to the Maui Jim Maui Invitational before at least once, with North Carolina holding the most previous trips at eight. Memphis will be making its sixth trip, first since 2011, while Dayton, Michigan State and UCONN will return for their fifth appearances. Additionally, half of the teams have previously won the Maui Jim Maui Invitational: North Carolina has won four times, UConn twice and Michigan State and Dayton each hold one coveted title apiece.
This will be Michigan State's fifth time participating in the Maui Invitational (1991, 1995, 2005, 2010 and 2019). The Spartans captured the championship in their inaugural trip in 1991, defeating Lamar, Rice and No. 2 Arkansas in the championship game, 86-71. Redshirt freshman Shawn Respert averaged 19.0 points, while Mark Montgomery averaged 7.3 assists.
Tom Izzo made his head coaching debut at the 1995 Maui Invitational, defeating Chaminade, before falling to North Carolina and Santa Clara. In the 2005 tournament, MSU defeated Chaminade before falling to Gonzaga in one of the greatest games in the history of the Maui Invitational, losing 109-106 in triple overtime. Maurice Ager scored 36 points, including 27 in the last 7:09 of regulation and the overtime periods. MSU bounced back the next day with a 74-71 overtime win vs. Arizona. Ager earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team, averaging 26.3 points in three games.
In 2010, the Spartans finished in third place, beating Chaminade in the opening round (82-74), losing to UConn in the semifinals (70-67) and beating Washington (76-71). Kailin Lucas was named to the all-tournament team, averaging a team-best 22.3 points per game. The Spartans finished in fifth place in 2019, falling to Virginia Tech in the opening round before coming back to beat Georgia and UCLA.
All-Tournament travel packages and school Booster travel packages for the 2024 Maui Jim Maui Invitational will be available at a later date. For more information on the Tournament, please visit mauiinvitational.com.
