UNC basketball headed to Hawaii. What the Tar Heels will face in Honolulu, and Maui
One thing North Carolina coach Hubert Davis remembers about his first trip to Hawaii are the bicycle rides.
No, not those touristy, leisurely rides to see the beaches and the sights in Maui. More like grueling 6 a.m. rides up the side of a mountain.
It was the fall of 1989 and Davis was a sophomore at UNC. Bill Guthridge, Dean Smith’s trusted assistant coach, was the one who had the bikes ready and headed up the group of players, Davis said.
“I don’t know why we did that, why we had to wake up at 5 in the morning to go ride bikes,” Davis said last week, laughing at the thought.
It was a team bonding thing, as coaches like to say. It also was a good way to get the blood running and get an early focus on the day, especially in a time zone five hours from Chapel Hill.
“When we started, it was pitch black and when we got to the bottom it was bright,” Davis said, smiling. “It was hilarious. At 20, I was thinking, ‘Hey, this is pretty cool.’’
But that’s what these trips are about: playing strong competition while returning with some cool memories that are still fresh decades later. That’s what Davis and the No. 10 Tar Heels hope to get out of the 2024 Maui Invitational, where they’ll face Dayton on Monday at Lahaina Civic Center in their first game in the three-day event.
But not their first game in Hawaii. UNC (2-1) also scheduled a game Friday against the University of Hawaii. It has a 7:30 p.m. start in Honolulu (12:30 a.m. ET Saturday).
“Obviously, we’re out there to compete and to win and to become a better basketball team,” Davis said. ”But there’s also time there to have time together on the road and experience different places. I just think it’s a lot of fun.
“Playing in tournaments like this gives our kids an opportunity to experience (something) they may never be able to experience again, and that they never even thought they’d be able to experience.”
Here’s a look at what’s ahead for UNC on the Hawaii trip, and in a Maui event that also includes 2024 NCAA champ Connecticut, Auburn and Iowa State, all ranked in this week’s AP top 10.
Hawaii at Hawaii
Hawaii, 20-14 last season, is off to a 4-0 start, playing the four games at home at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center, which holds 10,300 for basketball.
In their last game, the Rainbow Warriors scored 16 points in overtime to top Weber State 73-68 behind Tanner Christensen’s 25 points.
Christensen, a 6-10, 265-pound graduate student, hit 10 of 11 shots before fouling out and should be a good test for the UNC bigs. He scored 20 points in the first half and tied the score and forced overtime with a basket with six seconds left in regulation.
Christensen was named the Big West men’s basketball player of the week.
Why play Hawaii? Davis said he wanted a game in Honolulu before the Maui event to help his team to better adjust to the time-zone change. He also wants a win.
Maui opener (Nov. 25): Dayton
The Tar Heels and Flyers have not played since April 1, 2010, when Dayton took a 79-68 win in New York in the championship game of the NIT. Roy Williams remembers that one.
The Flyers’ 5-0 start this season includes a 71-66 win over Northwestern, when Dayton got 16 points from both Nate Santos and Enoch Cheeks. Santos scored 23 Wednesday in a 74-53 win over New Mexico State.
Cheeks, a 6-3 senior and former transfer from Robert Morris, had 23 points and 12 rebounds in a 79-66 win over Ball State last week.
Dayton, coached by Anthony Grant, was 25-8 last season, losing to Arizona in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and was picked to finish second – behind VCU – in the Atlantic-10 preseason poll for 2024-25.
Santos, a senior forward, was a first-team pick for the A-10’s preseason team and senior guard Posh Alexander a second-team choice.
Day two (Nov. 26): Auburn or Iowa State
The Tar Heels host Alabama on Dec. 4 in a highly anticipated matchup in the ACC/SEC Challenge after the return from Maui. But they could first get Auburn – Duke’s opponent in the Challenge.
The Tigers were No. 4 in this week’s AP poll and were ranked No. 1 in the KenPom rankings after beating North Alabama 102-69 Monday to move to 4-0. Auburn is second in the KenPom offensive efficiency rankings.
Or it could be No. 5 Iowa State, which moved to 3-0 after blowing out IU Indianapolis by 35 points on Monday. Joshua Jefferson, a 6-8 junior transfer from St. Mary’s, had a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards.
Day three (Nov. 27): stay tuned
It’s prepare for anything by the final day. If it’s UConn, you’re talking a game against the NCAA champ, albeit with a different look.
Or, it could be Michigan State. Or Memphis or Colorado. Regardless, it will be three games in three days against quality competition, setting up the game against ‘Bama that’s a rematch of the NCAA Sweet 16 game last season the Tide won.
“One of the things I like about our team is the versatility and the depth,” Davis said. “Playing three games in three days, I’m hoping that will help us be fresh, whomever we play.”
History lesson
Davis likes to talk about his first visit to Hawaii and seeing the beauty of the islands was a “cool experience.” But what about the basketball?
The No. 7 Heels edged James Madison 80-79 in their first game in 1989 — JMU coached by Lefty Driesell — before taking a 78-68 win over Villanova. In the title game, No. 11 Missouri won, 80-73.
“I was 0-for-10 and we lost,” Davis said.
Actually, Davis was 1-for-9 from the field, going 0-6 on 3-pointers. One historical footnote: UNC lost to Alabama in its next game, 101-93, in Tuscaloosa
Carolina would lose to Villanova in the 1995 Maui title game but beat Purdue, 90-75, to win in 1999 as Joseph Forte was named MVP. UNC also won in 2004 (Raymond Felton MVP ), 2008 (Ty Lawson MVP) and 2016 (Joel Berry MVP) but lost to Texas in the 2020 title game. The 2020 event was played in Asheville because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This will be UNC’s ninth Maui appearance, and the Tar Heels have a 22-4 overall record. Purdue, led by All-America center Zach Edey, won last year’s Maui.
