Virginia is one of eight teams that will be traveling to Maui during Thanksgiving Week this year to compete in the 27th EA Sports Maui Invitational, hosted by Chaminade University of Honolulu. The Maui Invitation is regarded as one of the premier early-season college basketball tournaments, and the Cavaliers will be joined by Connecticut, Kentucky, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Washington, Wichita State, and host-team Chaminade. The 'Hoos will face Washington in the first round of the tournament, it was announced today.
Virginia has a 5-3 record in the Maui Invitational and is largely credited with the founding of the tournament itself, created as a result of the shocking 1982 upset between the then-No. 1 Virginia and unranked Chaminade.
The Virginia-Washington game is scheduled for Monday, November 22 at 7:00 p.m. (MIDNIGHT Eastern Time), and will be aired on ESPN 2. This is Washington's first appearance in the Maui Invitational. This will be an interesting matchup, as Virginia Head Coach Tony Bennett, former head coach of Washington State, will find a familiar foe in Washington Head coach Lorenzo Romar. While head coach of Washington State, Bennett went 5-2 against Romar's Huskies.
Last season, Washington finished with a 26-10 record overall, including the Pac-10 Tournament Title and a trip to the Sweet 16. They'll be returning four of their starters.
The winner of Virginia/Washington will face the winner of Oklahoma/Kentucky. The full bracket can be found here (PDF).