The Wisconsin Badgers have really upped their presence in early-season tournaments as of late, and in 2016, the Badgers will continue that trend as NBCSports.com is reporting the Badgers will be part of the 2016 Maui Invitational field.
Connecticut, Georgetown, North Carolina, Oklahoma State, Oregon, and Tennessee will join Wisconsin as DI representatives. Chaminade, the Division II program in Hawaii, will once again be hosting the event.
If you’ve done the math, that’s a representative from each of the seven biggest conferences in college basketball.
The field also had a chance to be really intriguing, as UConn and Wisconsin appear to be teams that won’t fall off by the time this tournament takes place. There’s a possibility that UW may have a very different look, depending on recruiting and players staying or leaving.
We know there won’t be Frank Kaminsky, Traevon Jackson or Sam Dekker. They could also be without Nigel Hayes, and who knows about Bronson Koenig or other potential high-level recruits.
Overall, this field is likely to present some good challenges for a Wisconsin team in transition from what it is right now.
Maui isn’t a strange environment for the overall program though, as the Badgers participated in 2009 edition. They beat Arizona in the opener, lost to Gonzaga in the semifinal and beat Maryland in the third place game that season.
Depending on where programs like Oregon and Tennessee are in 2016, this could be the most loaded tournament of that season. For Wisconsin, it’s going to give them three huge non-conference games to test themselves early on.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
