• Main
• Roster
• Coaches
• Schedule
• Statistics
• Archives

Aug. 5, 2010

NORMAN, Okla. -- The Oklahoma men's basketball team will open the 2010 EA SPORTS Maui Invitational by playing Kentucky on Monday, Nov. 22. The bracket for the eight-team tournament was announced this afternoon.

The OU-Kentucky matchup will start at 4:30 p.m. CT and be televised by ESPN2. The Wildcats, who went 35-3 last year and were ranked No. 2 in the final AP poll, had five players taken in the first round of June's NBA Draft. Kentucky was eliminated by West Virginia in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament in March.

"Kentucky will be a tremendous challenge for our young team," said OU head coach Jeff Capel. "They will be extremely talented and well-coached.  Kentucky has one of the best traditions in college basketball and we know their fans will be there in full effect.  We're excited to be a part of the Maui Invitational and look forward to the challenge."

The winner of the OU-Kentucky game will play the winner of the Virginia-Washington first-round matchup on Tuesday, Nov. 23 at 8:30 p.m. CT on ESPN. The first-round losers will meet Nov. 23 at 3:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2. Virginia finished 15-16 last year while Washington posted a 26-10 record.

The other side of the bracket has Wichita State (25-10) meeting Connecticut (18-16) and Michigan State (28-9) taking on host Chaminade (10-15) in the opening round.The championship game is set for Wednesday, Nov. 24 at 9 p.m. CT on ESPN. All games will be played at the Lahaina Civic Center.

This will mark Oklahoma's fourth time to participate in the Maui Invitational, which is in its 27th year. The Sooners were runners-up in the 1988-89 season, finished in fifth place in 1992-93 and seventh place in 2006-07.