Report: UCLA Men's Basketball Part of Loaded 2023 Maui Invitational Field

The Bruins are headed back to the Aloha State.

The Maui Jim Maui Invitational, routinely one of the most stacked early-season nonconference tournaments, has its field set for 2023, according to a report Monday night by Sports Illustrated's Kevin Sweeney. UCLA men's basketball is part of that eight-team group, which also includes Gonzaga, Kansas, Syracuse, Marquette, Purdue, Tennessee and host Chaminade.

The last time the Bruins participated in the event was in 2019, their first year under coach Mick Cronin. UCLA lost to both Michigan State and BYU by double digits that week, only beating Division II Chaminade.

Back in 2006, the Bruins won the championship in Maui, beating Georgia Tech in the finals. Darren Collison won MVP of the event, and he wound up leading UCLA to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament later that season and in the following two campaigns.

Of course, not all the headlines will be made by the blue and gold come 2023.

Kansas just won the NCAA championship on Monday night. Gonzaga has made the last seven Sweet 16s, plus two title games, and has been ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll at one point in five of the last six seasons.

Those two programs earned No. 1 seeds this March, while Tennessee was a No. 2 seed, Purdue was a No. 3 seed, UCLA was a No. 4 seed and Marquette was a No. 9 seed. Syracuse may have missed out on the NCAA tournament this spring, but legendary coach Jim Boeheim remains at the helm for the Orange.

National champion Kansas is headed to the 2023 Maui Invitational, source tells @SINow.

Full field:

Gonzaga
Kansas
Marquette
Purdue
Syracuse
Tennessee
UCLA
Chaminade
— Kevin Sweeney (@CBB_Central) April 5, 2022

Between the eight teams participating, there are 48 all-time Final Four appearances and 17 NCAA championships.

UCLA is 10-8 all-time against Kansas, 9-1 against Purdue, 2-5 against Gonzaga, 4-0 against Marquette, against 1-1 Syracuse and 1-0 against Tennessee.

While the Bruins are 5-0 against the Jayhawks in March Madness, they have lost four straight in the head-to-head series over the past 12 years. The UCLA-Gonzaga modern rivalry has reached its heights in the 2006 Sweet 16 and 2021 Final Four, while the Bruins swept their recent home-and-home with Marquette the past two years.

UCLA won the 1969 NCAA title against Purdue, when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar put up 37 points and 20 rebounds. The history with Chaminade is less storied, but their meeting in the 2019 Maui Invitational marked a coming out party for guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. when the freshman played 30 minutes and led both teams with 17 points and 12 boards.

The Bruins' full 2023-2024 schedule is still roughly 13 months away from being released – the 2022-2023 slate hasn't even come out yet. Much of the roster that could be suiting up for UCLA in the three games against Gonzaga, Syracuse or Kansas likely hasn't even stepped foot in a classroom in Westwood as of April 2022.

But looking down the road, Cronin and UCLA know exactly they'll be come November 2023.

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