Maui's main men

Day 1 of the 2023 Maui Invitational didn’t have the usual offensive flair, but it did have dramatic, compelling games, and a bit of history. With No. 1 Kansas, No. 2 Purdue, No. 4 Marquette and No. 7 Tennessee all in the semifinals, it’s just the third MTE with four AP Top 10 teams in the semifinals.

And the other two? Well, they weren’t televised.

Let’s dive into Maui and everything else from Monday.

1. Centers of attention

HONOLULU — If you won on Monday at Maui, odds are it was because you had a game-changer on your team. And usually, that game-changer was a big guy who altered the gravity of a game simply by being the biggest, most impactful player on the floor.

Sometimes, it was obvious. Hunter Dickinson scored 31 points points on 18 shots. Zach Edey had 25 and 14.

But it manifested in different ways.

The nightcap, Marquette’s thrilling 71-69 win over UCLA, showcased the subtle talents of senior center Oso Ighodaro, whose 14-point, 4-rebound night might not jump out, but coach Shaka Smart knows that Ighodaro — Marquette’s only true big man — is the irreplaceable cog in his team’s approach.

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