Aug. 14, 2003
EA Sports Maui Invitational Bracket in PDF Format
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SAN DIEGO - San Diego State will meet Ohio State in the opening round of the 20th Annual EA Sports Maui Invitational in Maui, Hawaii, on Monday, Nov. 24, tournament officials announced today.
The three-day, eight-team tournament will be held Nov. 24-26 at the Lahaina Civic Center. Of the seven Division I schools in the field, six advanced to postseason play last year. Central Michigan and Dayton made the NCAA tournament while Hawai'i, Ohio State, Villanova and San Diego State advanced to the postseason NIT.
"This is a great tournament and we are playing one of the better teams in the country in Ohio State," San Diego State coach Steve Fisher said. "Also included in our side of the bracket is former coaching colleague Jay Smith at Central Michigan. I look forward to seeing him and the possibility of our teams meeting in the second round."
"This further demonstrates that this season we will be playing the most challenging schedule in my five years at San Diego State."
The San Diego State-Ohio State game will be the third contest on the opening day and is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. HT (6 p.m. PST). Other first-round games include Chaminade vs. Villanova, Hawai'i vs. Santa Clara and Dayton vs. Central Michigan.
Ohio State went 17-15 last season and suffered a 72-58 loss at Georgia Tech in the first round of the NIT. The Buckeyes return eight letterwinners from last season's squad, including 7-foot senior Velimir Radinovic.
The Aztecs and the Buckeyes have met twice, splitting the previous two encounters. On Dec. 22, 1995, Ohio State claimed a 72-56 decision in Columbus. The following season, on Dec. 23, 1996, San Diego State was an 81-75 victor at the Sports Arena.
Aztec head coach Steve Fisher will be making his 16th appearance against Ohio State and he owns a 9-6 lifetime mark against the Big Ten Conference school. Fisher-led squads have won seven of their last eight meetings with the Buckeyes.
The winner of the San Diego State-Ohio State contest will face the winner of Dayton-Central Michigan on Tuesday.
This is the second appearance in the Maui tournament for San Diego State. The Aztecs went 1-2 in the 1989 tournament, losing to Villanova (58-66) and James Madison (53-56) before defeating Chaminade (63-49).
Steve Fisher will be leading his second team into the Maui tournament. In 1994, Fisher's Michigan squad placed third in the tournament, defeating Tulane (75-73), losing to Arizona State (62-79) before rebounding to beat Utah (73-69) in the consolation game. Fisher also led a Michigan squad to the Islands to claim the 1992 Rainbow Classic in Honolulu. In that tournament, Fisher's Wolverines posted three wins over top 20 teams (20th-ranked Nebraska, fifth-ranked North Carolina and second-ranked Kansas) en route to the title.
San Diego State posted a 16-14 record last season and advanced to postseason play for the second consecutive season. The Aztecs recorded the first Division I postseason victory in school history when SDSU defeated UC Santa Barbara in the opening round of the NIT. San Diego State returns seven letterwinners including senior forward Aerick Sanders, who started all 30 games last season. Added to the mix this season will be the return of junior forward Chris Walton and the addition of junior guard Wesley Stokes, a transfer from Missouri.