The Maui Invitational is always one of the premier college basketball tournaments of the year. The 2023 edition was no exception with all of Tennessee, Gonzaga, Syracuse, UCLA, Marquette, Kansas, Chaminade, and Purdue taking part. The Purdue basketball team won the title after defeating Marquette on Wednesday night, and Matt Painter got brutally honest on the toughness of the schedule during the tournament (h/t ESPN and Associated Press).
“I don't think anyone's leaving this tournament thinking they don't have a chance to win it all. I thought our guys were resilient and I think games like this, whether you win or lose, it obviously makes you a better team.”
The Purdue basketball team defeated Gonzaga on Monday night by 10, then beat Tennessee on Tuesday night and edged out Marquette to win the title, so playing three top-15 teams in three consecutive nights on a neutral floor is definitely not an easy task.
Boilermakers star Zach Edey, who returned to school for another year following the heartbreaking loss to Fairleigh Dickinson, dominated in the Maui Invitational. He had at least a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double in every game, and he had 28 points with 15 rebounds and a pair of blocks against Marquette in a dominating performance, including the go-ahead tip-in with seconds remaining.
After the game, Edey spoke on the tip that gave Purdue the title: “The ball kind of came to me. I didn't try to get two hands on it, so I just tried to hit it at the rim and that worked.”
As Matt Painter points out, the schedule was a brutal one, but a great experience and measuring stick for all of the teams in the Maui Invitational with conference play right around the corner.