Kansas basketball wins the Maui Invitational, Nov. 25-27
The Jayhawks headed for Maui to take on a loaded field that included Michigan State, Dayton, BYU, and UCLA. In the first round, Kansas took on the mighty Chaminade Silverswords, defeating them 93-63. In the second round, the Jayhawks played a solid BYU squad and beat them 71-56. The Cougars would go on to have a good season, even taking down Gonzaga later on in conference play.
Despite the Jayhawks and Spartans being on a collision course, Michigan State was knocked out. Instead, Kansas took on the Dayton Flyers, led by Obi Toppin. At this point, the Flyers were still relatively unknown, but the game would prove to be one of the most important of the year for both schools.
Kansas won the Maui Invitational over Dayton 90-84 in an overtime game, which showed the world that both Dayton and Kansas were legit. Devon Dotson had a huge night, scoring 31 points and recording five steals. Udoka Azubuike also made his presence known, dropping 29 points.
The Flyers would go on to climb the polls and become one of the best teams in the country, making the Jayhawks’ Maui Invitational victory just that much more important. It would prove that despite a loss to Duke in the season-opener, the Jayhawks were one of the top teams in the country.