Analyzing A Loaded 2023 Maui Invitational Field

The Tennessee Volunteers are in the 2023 Maui Invitational tournament. They will have to prepare to face off against some of college basketball's best teams.

The 2023 Maui Invitational tournament will take place on November 20th-23rd. The Arizona Wildcats were the tournament champions this past season.

Tennessee was selected into the field for the 2023 tournament and is no stranger to winning these types of invitationals. Last season, the Vols were winners of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas. They knocked off Butler, USC (Calif.), and Kansas to win it.

The Vols will have some formidable opponents to face in the 2023 Maui Invitational. The tournament features two one-seeds (Kansas and Purdue), two two-seeds (Marquette and UCLA), and a three-seed (Gonzaga) from this past NCAA tournament.

The Volunteers themselves were a five-seed, which shows how loaded this tournament is. Kansas finished 28-8 last season, winning the Big 12 regular season title. It was head coach Bill Self's 17th one in Lawrence. They would have a decent Big 12 tournament losing to Texas in the championship. Their season eventually ended at the hands of Arkansas in the round of 32.

Purdue was a big-time threat all season. They finished with a 29-6 record and won the Big Ten regular season title. They would also win the Big 10 tournament, beating Penn State in the championship. Their season came to an end with a crushing defeat to 16th-seeded Fairleigh-Dickinson.

Marquette won the Big East regular season title with an incredible record of 17-3 in conference play. They also won the Big East tournament beating Xavier in the final. However, their season was cut shorter than expected after a loss to Michigan State in the round of 32.

UCLA was a dominant team out of the Pac-12. They went 31-6 and had a dominant in-conference record of 18-2 to win the regular season title. They would lose a tight Pac-12 title game in the conference tournament to Arizona. They had a decent tournament showing, making it past UNC Asheville and Northwestern in the first two rounds, but lost to fellow Maui Invitational opponent Gonzaga in the Sweet 16.

Gonzaga won their 7th straight regular season title and 4th straight conference tournament. They went the furthest in the NCAA tournament out of anyone in the Maui field and ended up losing to eventual national champion UConn in the Elite 8.

You Might Also Like:

• How Darnell Wright Fits Chicago's Long-Term Plans
• Spring Prospects: Brodie McWhorter
• Jalyn Crawford Cuts List Down

Join the community:

Follow Evan Crowell on Twitter: @EvanVCrowell

You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top right-hand corner of the page. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook @VolunteerCountry & follow us on Twitter at @VCountryFN.