SPOKANE, Wash. – The Gonzaga men’s basketball team will open the 2018 Maui Jim Maui invitational against Illinois on November 19 at 8:30 p.m. The matchup airs on ESPN2.
The quarterfinal matchups feature Auburn taking on Xavier and Duke Squaring off against San Diego in the top half of the bracket. The bottom half of the bracket will feature Arizona facing Iowa State and Gonzaga playing Illinois.
“The Maui Invitational is the best preseason tournament in college basketball,” Gonzaga Head Coach Mark Few said. “This year’s field may be the best ever, made up by legendary programs. We love taking our fans and program to Maui. It has a special place in my heart with how much time I’ve spent there with my family"
The 2018 event represents the first time in tournament history that eight Division I teams take the floor on Maui, a format which will continue in the following alternating years.
Illinois has won five of the six all-time meetings between the programs – including the latest matchup, 85-74, in Spokane in 2012. The programs have met three times on neutral courts during the regular season. The Zags won an 85-83 overtime thriller in front of nearly 21,000 fans at the United Center in Chicago in 2010.
Gonzaga and Illinois have both won the Maui Jim Maui Invitational. Each program is making its fifth appearance at the Maui Invitational. The Bulldogs played in the event in 2002, 2005, 2009 and 2013.
