Former Pac-12 coaching rivals Sean Miller and Bobby Hurley will meet again on Monday, leading Texas and Arizona State, respectively, in an opening-round matchup at the Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawaii.
Miller is in his first season at Texas (4-1) and coached Arizona from 2009-21. Hurley’s tenure with the Sun Devils (4-1) began with the 2015-16 season.
With the Longhorns’ visit to the tournament, Miller is making his fourth appearance in the Maui Invitational. Arizona won it in 2014.
“There’s probably not a lot of coaches (who) can say they’ve coached in the Maui Invitational more than three times,” Miller said via the tournament’s YouTube account. “No matter what trip I’ve made to the tournament, there’s a couple of things that always seem to be in play: No. 1 is it’s early in the year, so none of us are finished products, and it’s an amazing test.”
Since its debut in 1984, the Maui Invitational has built a reputation as a launching pad to March success. Last season’s winner, Auburn, advanced to the Final Four.
But even participants who do not emerge on top have had success later in the season, which Hurley’s family experienced last year. Brother Dan Hurley’s UConn team rebounded from an 0-3 showing in Maui to return to the NCAA Tournament.
Bobby Hurley is looking to get the Sun Devils back to the postseason after finishing below .500 the past two seasons.
“It spirals on you quick, so you’ve got to do a good job of turning the page,” Hurley said via the tournament’s YouTube account about playing three games in three days. “Hopefully, our guys will be able to do that.”
Arizona State began its Thanksgiving week stretch on the islands last Thursday with an 83-76 win at the University of Hawaii. For the winners, Bryce Ford scored 20 points, improving his season average to 11.2 points per game, and Maurice Odum finished with 15 points and six assists.
Odum averages a team-high 14.8 ppg for Arizona State.
Texas comes into Maui on a four-game winning streak after losing its season opener to Duke. The Longhorns routed Rider last Tuesday 99-65, with three players scoring 20-plus points: Dailyn Swain with 26, Camden Heide with 20, and Matas Vokietaitis with 20.
The 7-foot Vokietaitis leads Texas this season at 16 ppg and adds 7.2 rebounds per game.
