Who Will Take The Maui Invitational?

Breaking down college basketball can be a challenge for a variety of reasons. You're betting on a bunch of kids that will one day become accountants and marketing folks, and a couple that will be professionals in the sport. But, that's part of what makes the game so exciting. You never know who will come through, or which one of these youngsters is ready for the big moment. Playing in back-to-back games is always a challenge at any level and now we have that scenario with the Maui Invitational.

Marquette vs. Purdue, 5:00 ET

Marquette was able to drop the #1 ranked team in the country yesterday and now is looking to take down another giant in the #2 ranked Purdue. Last night, Marquette was able to take down Kansas in a feisty matchup between the two squads. It wasn't a dominant effort from the Golden Eagles on offense, though they did put up 73 points. Their top performer was Oso Ighodaro, a 6'11" forward. He was able to drop 21 on the Jayhawks. Only two other players for Marquette scored in double figures. Overall though the team didn't shoot exactly well. That has to be encouraging for Marquette as they shot just 24% from deep, but they were better on free throws and field goals. Kansas only had six more turnovers than Marquette yesterday, but they had 10 fewer shot attempts. Purdue had a tight game yesterday, their first of the season. Tennessee is a good, athletic team, but I think Marquette is better and more athletic and that might be the type of team that Purdue struggles against this season. The game probably wouldn't have been so close if Zach Edey was hitting free throws. He's normally a decent enough free-throw shooter, but he hit just nine of 17 yesterday. He can't leave that many points on the board. They got a big game from sophomore Fletcher Loyer who put in 27 points. Don't expect that to be the case every game - he has played in five games and has scored just two points in two of them. But, this is the case of someone stepping up that is unexpected. I think Marquette will defend better than Purdue and should be able to handle Edey. My one caution is that the excitement of taking down Kansas yesterday lingers, they might not be ready for the start of this game. I'll take the Golden Eagles though with the points as I think they are a more complete team and have more options. Grab Marquette +4.

PORTLAND, OREGON - NOVEMBER 27: Zach Edey #15 of the Purdue Boilermakers dunks the ball against the Duke Blue Devils during the second half of the Phil Knight Legacy Tournament Men’s Championship at Moda Center on November 27, 2022 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images)

West Virginia vs. Virginia, 6:00 ET

I've written enough about the Maui Invitational - I would probably take Kansas against Tennessee - but want to take a chance to share some information about a different came taking place across the country. West Virginia is taking on Virginia in Florida. West Virginia is off to a 2-2 start to the season having alternated wins and losses. None of their games have been particularly close but most of the result is based on their field goal percentage. When they shoot well, they win, when they don't they lose. That's true for a lot of teams, but some are good enough to overcome poor shooting and find ways to win. The #24 ranked Virginia team is 4-1 coming into tonight's game and is coming off of a very bad loss to Wisconsin. Not only did Wisconsin win, but they blew out Virginia. They held Virginia to just 18 points in the first half and held them to 32% shooting from the floor and 29% from deep. Virginia also cannot be dominated on the glass the way they were in that game. Defensively I expect Virginia to be locked in, but I do still have a bit of concern about how effectively they can be on the glass. I think they come in aggressive and should be able to shoot against an average West Virginia defense. I'll take Virginia to cover the big number of -10 in this one. I wouldn't be surprised to see West Virginia score under 54.5 points as well.

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