University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
2019 Maui Jim Maui Invitational Bracket Revealed
July 11, 2019 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES – The UCLA men's basketball team will face BYU in its first game of the 2019 Maui Jim Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center on the island of Maui on Monday, Nov. 25.
UCLA's contest against BYU will be nationally televised on ESPN2. Game time is 6:30 p.m. in Maui (8:30 p.m., PT). The eight-team bracket was announced on Thursday morning.
The Bruins will face either Kansas or Chaminade University on Tuesday, Nov. 26, the second day of the three-day tournament. The four teams on the opposite side of the bracket from UCLA include Dayton, Georgia, Michigan State and Virginia Tech. UCLA will play against one of those four teams on Wednesday, Nov. 27.
UCLA went 17-16 last season and will open the 2019-20 campaign under the direction of Mick Cronin, who was named The Michael Price Family UCLA Men's Head Basketball Coach on April 9. Cronin compiled a 296-147 record as head coach at the University of Cincinnati the past 13 seasons. In total, Cronin has registered a career record of 365-171 through 16 seasons as a head coach.
The Bruins are slated to return eight of 11 players who competed in at least 17 games last season. Prince Ali (9.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg) returns for his fifth season and will enter the fall as UCLA's top returning scorer. Also back for his fifth season is forward Alex Olesinski (2.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg).
UCLA returns junior Chris Smith (6.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg) and redshirt sophomore forwards Cody Riley (5.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg) and Jalen Hill (4.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg). Back as sophomores in 2019-20 are Jules Bernard (7.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg), David Singleton (5.2 ppg, 1.2 rpg) and Kenneth Nwuba (0.4 ppg, 0.6 rpg). Returning to the squad as redshirt freshmen are Tyger Campbell and Shareef O'Neal.
The Bruins have gone 12-11 in the all-time series against BYU. UCLA's most recent meeting against the Cougars took place at the Honda Center (Anaheim, Calif.) on Dec. 18, 2010. The Bruins secured an 86-79 win over then No. 16-ranked BYU in the John R. Wooden Classic. UCLA and BYU have faced off twice since 1990, with seven contests taking place in the 1980s, two games in the 1970s and 12 contests prior to 1970.
BYU went 19-13 last season, compiling an 11-5 record in the West Coast Conference (WCC). The Cougars finished in a tie for second place with St. Mary's in the West Coast Conference standings.
Each of UCLA's games in Maui will be televised live on either ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU.
This will mark UCLA's sixth appearance in the annual tournament. The Bruins last played in the Maui Invitational on Nov. 2015. UCLA previously won the tournament in Nov. 2006.
2019 Maui Jim Maui Invitational Opponents
| Team | Conference | 2018-19 Record | 2018-19 Conf. Record | 2018-19 Conf. Finish |
| BYU | West Coast (WCC) | 19-13 | 11-5 | t-2nd / 10 |
| Dayton | Atlantic 10 | 21-12 | 13-5 | 3rd / 14 |
| Georgia | Southeastern (SEC) | 11-21 | 2-16 | 13th / 14 |
| Michigan State | Big Ten | 32-7 | 16-4 | t-1st / 14 |
| Kansas | Big 12 | 26-10 | 12-6 | 3rd / 10 |
| Chaminade | Pacific West | 23-8 | 16-6 | t-3rd |
| Virginia Tech | Atlantic Coast (ACC) | 26-9 | 12-6 | 6th / 15 |
