UCLA To Play In The 2015 Maui Invitational

UCLA not-so-subtley introduced to the Bruin faithful to the fact that they will be participating in the Maui Invitational later this year. The 8-team Thanksgiving Week tournament, which takes place on the island of Maui in Hawai’i, has been one of the bigger early season tournaments in recent history that showcases some of the top college basketball programs in the country.

During halftime of the UCLA Bruins 69-59 victory over the #11 Utah Utes, our namesake, Joe Bruin had come onto John and Nell Wooden Court in the flashiest of ways.

Whilst wearing a UCLA colored Tom Bahama-esqe shirt and riding atop a surfboard carried by members of the Bruin cheer squad, Joe Bruin had introduced UCLA’s participation in this year’s tournament. They will be joined by (host school) Chaminade, Indiana, Kansas, St. John’s, UNLV, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest.

The Bruins had lasted played in the tournament in 2011, when they had a not-so-exciting start and finish. Instead, UCLA hopes to emulate their 2006 trip to the island tournament when the Bruins ran through the competition on their way to being crowned champions behind MVP Darren Collison. That team also included the likes of Russell Westbrook, Arron Aflalo, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Lorenzo Mata.

The tournament will take place November 23-25 at the Lahaina Civic Center on the island of Maui.