Arizona will participate in the 2026 Maui Invitational per report

Arizona will participate in the 2026 Maui Invitational per a report from Jon Rothstein on College Hoops Today earlier this week. Maryland, Notre Dame, Providence, Ole Miss, BYU, and VCU will also participate per Rothstein. The eighth team in the 2026 Maui Invitational is to yet be determined.

Arizona last participated in the 2022 Maui Invitational when they beat Creighton in the Championship Game. Entering the 2024 Maui Invitational, Arizona is tied for the lead with eight appearances in the tournament with Kansas and North Carolina. Arizona has won three Maui Invitationals and finished runner-up twice.

Arizona lost at the buzzer to Kentucky in the 1993 championship game and to Duke in the 1997 title contest. In addition to the 2022 title, Arizona had championship wins over Illinois in 2000 and San Diego State in 2014. Arizona also played in the 2005, 2009 and 2018 Maui Invitationals.

After beating Kansas in the opening game in 2005, Arizona finished in fourth place in the Maui Invitational after losses to Connecticut and Michigan State. Arizona finished in sixth place in the 2009 Maui Invitational and was fourth in the 2018 Tournament.

Arizona is 16-8 All-time in the Maui Invitational. The Wildcats have relied on their big men to win Maui Invitational titles. Michael Wright was the MVP in 2000, Stanley Johnson was the 2014 MVP and Oumar Ballo was the 2022 Maui Invitational Most Valuable Player.

The Maui Invitational was created following one of the greatest upsets in the history of college basketball. Chaminade who was an NAIA school at the time, beat number one Virginia and eventual three-time National Player of the Year Ralph Sampson in 1982 in Honolulu. Two years later the Maui Invitational held its first tournament.

This season, Arizona is playing in the Battle 4 Atlantis in Nassau, Bahamas from November 27-29. Arizona will open with Davidson and play Oklahoma or Providence in the second game. Indiana, Louisville, West Virginia and Gonzaga are the teams in the other half of the bracket.