Host Chaminade has won eight games at Maui Invitational ... but none against Kansas
NCAA Div. II Chaminade, which has an 8-92 all-time record at the Maui Invitational, has yet to claim Kansas as one of its upset victims in the tourney, which has been around since 1984.
The Jayhawks in fact have pounded the Silverswords by 51, 48 and 27 points en route to a 3-0 record vs. Chaminade in Maui. The two teams are about to tangle again, tipping off at 8 p.m. Central time Monday at Lahaina Civic Center.
Chaminade’s best performance in the tourney arguably was in its first-ever appearance back in 1984. Chaminade beat Davidson, 77-62, before losing to Providence, 60-58, in the title game.
Chaminade’s other victories in Maui have been against Providence (111-108) in 1991, Stanford (71-63, 2 OTs) in 1992, Villanova (52-49) in 2003, Princeton (74-70) in 2007, Oklahoma (68-64) in 2010, Texas (86-73) in 2012 and Cal (96-72) in 2017.
Of being matched against a smaller, Division II school, KU sophomore Ochai Agbaji said: “We don’t really see it that way. We are going to take the opportunity as we do with every team, to go in with the same game plan.”
Here’s a look at the three KU-Chaminade games in the all-time series between the schools:
KU 123, Chaminade 72, Nov. 23, 2015
The Jayhawks drew Chaminade as their opening round foe the last time KU trekked to Maui.
Wayne Selden and Svi Mykhaliuk both scored 18 points to lead seven Kansas players in double figures as No. 7-ranked KU won by 51 points.
Devonté Graham contributed 15 points, Frank Mason 14, Landen Lucas 13 and Hunter Mickelson and Perry Ellis 11 apiece for a hot-shooting KU team that made 64.4 percent of its shots (47 of 73).
The 123 points remains the most scored by a KU team in the Bill Self era and sixth most points in a game in school history.
The Jayhawk fans didn’t have to sweat this result in cozy Lahaina Civic Center. KU rolled, hitting the 100-point mark with 5:50 remaining. KU hit 16 of its last 19 shots and 75 percent of its second-half shots total. Chaminade went 8 of 33 from three.
“We made every shot that game,” KU coach Bill Self reflected last week. “I remember it. That’s the last time we played over there (in Maui). We played well. Hopefully we can do that again, shoot the ball like that.”
Back in 2015 after the contest, he said: “Obviously, we made shots, and everything looks better when you make shots. Chaminade’s the type of team that if they get comfortable and score the ball well early, which they actually did against us, it gives them confidence and they can certainly hang around. I thought that obviously our offense was good enough to keep them at arm’s distance, and then we started guarding them a little bit better as the game wore on.”
KU not only won that tournament after beating UCLA in the semis and Vanderbilt in the finals, but the Jayhawks also received some good news in Maui about freshman Cheick Diallo, who learned at the tourney he’d been cleared academically to begin playing for KU on Dec. 1.
KU 102, Chaminade 54, Nov. 23, 2005
The Jayhawks, who lost to Arizona, 61-49, and Arkansas, 65-64, in their first two games at the 2005 Maui Invitational, took out some frustration on Chaminade in the seventh-place game.
Sophomore C.J. Giles, who wound up transferring from KU, had his best game as a Jayhawk, scoring 18 of his career-high 21 points in the first half off a perfect 9-for-9 shooting.
Freshman Brandon Rush, who scored 17 points, led three KU freshmen in double figures. Micah Downs, who like Giles also would transfer, scored 13 points and Julian Wright added 10. Sasha Kaun scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds as Kansas outrebounded the Silverswords 50-27.
“In a very painful way we got better on this trip,” KU coach Bill Self said after the rout of the Div. II school to give KU a 1-2 record in paradise. “I’m happy we know more about our team. We can learn from this and we can get better.”
KU went on to finish 25-8 overall and 13-3 in the Big 12. The Jayhawks lost that season to Bradley in the first round of the NCAAs.
Kansas 89, Chaminade 62, Nov. 28, 1987
KU opened the 1987 Maui Invitational by blasting Chaminade 89-62 behind the 24-point outing of KU senior Danny Manning.
The Silverswords had KU’s attention early, trailing by just a point, 20-19, with about nine minutes left in the first half. Chaminade trailed by just 11 points at halftime despite hitting just 28.9 percent of its first-half shots.
It became a blowout after Kansas outscored Chaminade, 20-7, to start the second half.
For KU, Kevin Pritchard and Otis Livingston scored 12 points, Marvin Branch 11, Archie Marshall 10. Livingston and Branch wound up leaving the team before the end of that season.
“That’s a big-time team,” Chaminade coach Merv Lopes said about the Jayhawks, who went on to win the national title. “That’s a Final Four team. Depth was a big factor, a BIG factor. We just don’t have the bench, and they’ve got the size, the speed, they’re well-coached and have experience.”
The Swords earned the respect of KU that day.
“They don’t have the best program in the world,” KU guard Pritchard said, “but they played their hearts out. They played with a lot of emotion and if you do that, you’re going to be in the game for awhile.”
KU went on to lose to Iowa (100-81) in the second round and Illinois (81-75) in the third place game in Maui.
