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Syracuse travels to Hawaii to take part in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational this week, facing off against some of the premier ranked programs in the country, including No. 7 Tennessee as the Orange’s first opponent of the tournament. The invitational will take place in Honolulu, HI, due to the Maui wildfires in August.

Along with the Volunteers, the Orange come to Hawaii with teams like No. 2 Purdue, No. 11 Gonzaga, No. 1 Kansas and No. 4 Marquette. The slate of opponents serves as a contrast to when SU was once was a ranked national power under Jim Boeheim. But now under Adrian Autry, the Orange get to face off against the modern day powerhouses of college basketball.

Here’s how our beat writers feel Syracuse (3-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) will fare in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational:

Cole Bambini (3-0)
A brutal Aloha
Tournament Record: Loss, Loss, Win

Syracuse pulled off one hefty comeback against Colgate, a team that Syracuse can and should’ve handled with much more ease. The Orange did what they were expected, going 3-0 in the tune-up games for the Maui Jim Maui Invitational. But now the competition gets much harder in a field that includes three AP top-5 teams in the country.

The Orange get three games in this tournament, one historically where it’s been undefeated and has three titles. That won’t be the case this go around as Syracuse will likely fall in its first game against Tennessee, the No. 7 team in the country. The Volunteers enter off wins over Wisconsin and Wofford, scoring 82 points a game in both, having the 22nd best adjusted offensive efficiency rate in the country, per KenPom.

Assuming Syracuse loses, it’ll get the loser of No. 11 Gonzaga or No. 2 Purdue. It’s a brutal back-to-back stretch for Syracuse and it’ll need everything to be working in all facets for any upset against either team. The first three games have shown that Syracuse is still working out some small things, which might cause a brutal welcoming to the Aloha state, though the Orange can get a win over Chaminade if they both lose their first two games.

Henry O’Brien (3-0)
At least you got Chaminade
Tournament Record: Loss, Loss, Win

In honor of the now-fired Dino Babers, who always loved a good movie reference, Syracuse men’s basketball’s first two games in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational will be about as awful as the 2015 Cameron Crowe film “Aloha.” The Orange are for an absolutely brutal stretch against No. 7 Tennessee and then either No. 11 Gonzaga or No. 2 Purdue. All three of these schools quite simply have more talent with guys like Zakai Zeigler, Ryan Nembhard and Zach Edey, the consensus national player of the year last season.

Yes, SU had one its best comebacks in program history against Colgate. But there were some brutal stretches in the win over the Raiders where the Orange looked lost and deflated, with abysmal shooting performances. If Syracuse even looks to be be competitive in the first two games, Chris Bell will have to another career performance while Justin Taylor and J.J. Starling have to have improved performances.

Once the Orange lose those first two games, though, they get at least one win when they face Chaminade, the Division-II school that serves as the host school. The game will serve basically as an exhibition, only this time it will count to make SU’s record look nicer before the ACC/SEC Challenge game against LSU. And who knows, maybe Syracuse can look semi-competitive for a half against a team like the Volunteers. It’s doubtful, but who knows.

Tyler Schiff (3-0)
Back to reality
Tournament Record: Loss, Loss, Win

A 24-point comeback probably won’t happen against the high-caliber teams competing in the Maui Jim Maui Tournament as it did on Nov. 14 versus Colgate. And so Syracuse can’t afford to start slow or sluggish. It will have to put together a near-perfect game to progress past No. 7 Tennessee with either No. 2 Purdue or No. 11 Gonzaga waiting in the wings.

For the Orange, their minimal chances of success in this star-studded tournament begin with Mintz — the ACC’s top point-getter. If he and Starling can push the pace, kicking to a consistent Bell or Taylor on the perimeter to disorient a traditionally disciplined Volunteers team, maybe an opening-round victory can be achieved. But then the road gets tougher against 7-foot-4 Edey or Mark Few’s Gonzaga and SU’s chances morph swiftly from improbable to practically impossible.

Though typically optimistic, I won’t differ from the consensus which is that Syracuse will drop two games before obtaining a win versus Chaminade. But the overall experience will be valuable for Autry’s squad heading into its first ACC/SEC challenge and a grueling league schedule. Feast Week will provide an opportunity for the Orange to see where they rank among the nation’s best and maybe, just maybe, to shock the world.

And even if all hopes are dashed for SU to pick up its first ranked win of the season? Hey, it’s still sunny, glamorous Hawaii.

Published on November 20, 2023 at 11:32 am