Duke facing Tennessee in Maui Invitational
Published 12:00 am Thursday, August 4, 2011
Associated Press
LAHAINA, Hawaii ó Duke will face Tennessee in the championship round of the EA Sports Maui Invitational, which is undergoing its first expansion since 1986.
Other matchups at the Lahaina Civic Center on Nov. 21 include Michigan vs. Memphis, UCLA facing host Chaminade and Georgetown playing Kansas. The winners meet in the semifinals on Nov. 22, with the championship game on Nov. 23.
Duke has won a record four EA Sports Maui Invitationals in as many appearances.
For the first time since the field expanded from four to eight teams in 1986, there will be ěregional gamesî that will include four schools ó Towson, North Carolina-Greensboro, Belmont and Middle Tennessee State ó which will play games on the mainland as part of the new 12-team format.
Regional play will start on Nov. 11 with Towson at Kansas, North Carolina-Greensboro at Tennessee and Belmont at Duke. On Nov. 14, Towson is at Michigan and North Carolina-Greensboro is at Georgetown. Middle Tennessee State will be at UCLA Nov. 15, and Belmont is at Memphis.
The mainland games continue Nov. 19 at Middle Tennessee State with North Carolina-Greensboro facing Middle Tennessee State and Towson against Belmont. The winners and losers will play on Nov. 20.
Duke is 12-0 all-time in the tournament, having won in 1992, 1997, 2001 and 2007. Michigan won in 1985 and 1988, while Kansas took the title in 1996 and UCLA in 2006.
Chaminade, the Division II school that has hosted the tournament since its inception, has compiled a 6-73 record in the event.
Connecticut beat Kentucky 84-67 to win last yearís Maui Invitational.
The teams went on to meet in the Final Four in Houston four months later with eventual national champion Connecticut winning again, 56-55.