Maui Invitational takeaways: USC rides size to title; Watch out for Seton Hall; Uh-oh, NC State?

The inverted Maui Invitational schedule gave us an early helping of championship basketball on Wednesday afternoon. Former Pac-12 adversaries USC and Arizona State squared off after putting forth electric performances on Monday and Tuesday, and the title game delivered — for the first 30 minutes, at least.

In the end, the day belonged to USC, which extended its lead to double-figures with five minutes remaining and cruised to the finish line of an 88-75 win. Chad Baker-Mazara’s shot-making and the Trojans’ wealth of length and depth shined throughout the tournament, and jitterbug point guard Jordan Marsh stepped up in a big way with Rodney Rice forced to sit out the championship game with an injury.

The Players Era Festival may have grabbed some of the Feast Week thunder, but there was plenty to learn from Maui. Below, three takeaways from the action out at the Lahaina Civic Center.

1. Sunny outlook for the finalists

The Trojans won their first two games by a combined five points. Rice and Baker-Mazara repeatedly buried clutch jumpers, and 6-9 forward Ezra Ausar’s brute force bucket-getting around the rim wore down multiple frontcourts. Ausar took 29 free throws across the three contests, using deft footwork and relentless physicality to consistently earn trips to the charity stripe.

Switchable defensive aces Jacob Cofie and Amarion Dickerson wreaked havoc. Even Jaden Brownell, who had not scored since Nov. 9, emerged to rack up 16 points in the championship game after playing three total minutes in the first two rounds. That trio, along with the immense starting backcourt of Rice (6-5) and Baker-Mazara (6-7), contributes to USC ranking 6th in the entire country in average height, per KenPom, and the Trojans’ size advantage is obvious.

For the Sun Devils, the island excursion was still a highly beneficial one. Arizona State notched an important win against Texas late on Monday night and displayed an electrifying backcourt that lends hope for the coming Big 12 gantlet. Moe Odum (26.3 points per game, 4.0 assists per game across the three games) looks like a superstar, and backcourt mates Anthony “Pig” Johnson and Bryce Ford each had big moments. There may not be a faster trio of guards in the country.

Sun Devils coach Bobby Hurley’s job security is shaky, but his team may have enough pop to threaten for an at-large NCAA Tournament berth. Its only losses are to USC and Gonzaga, which boast a combined 14-1 record, and this week’s Texas win could age well.

2. Seton Hall shows out

Of the eight teams in Maui, Will Wade and NC State drew the most hype entering the event. Seton Hall heard all that noise and quickly silenced it, out-physicaling and out-efforting the Wolfpack in the tournament’s opening game. That marked the first time all season that a team unranked in the AP poll defeated a ranked opponent. The Pirates nearly took down USC in the semifinals in a tight 83-81 loss and then took care of Washington State 75-61 in the third-place game.

Lightning rod guard Adam “Budd” Clark was a major reason why. The hyper-quick creator does everything for the Pirates’ offense, getting to the rim and the free-throw line while also showing off a devastating midrange fadeaway. He tallied 17 assists over the course of the week, and Seton Hall is a different team when he’s on the floor. Per CBB Analytics, the Pirates are 25.7 points better per 100 possessions when Clark is playing.

The lasting memory of the Pirates, though, will be their ferocious defensive effort. Stephon Payne and Najai Hines are always lurking around the rim, helping the Pirates lead the nation in block rate. Hines may even get some one-and-done hype soon thanks to his impressive mobility. Clark is a menace on the ball. And the Pirates’ cadre of wings generates plenty of deflections and other mayhem, consistently winning the race to loose balls.

Add in surprisingly effective guard play from Clark, Mike Williams, Tajuan Simpkins and AJ Staton-McCray, and Seton Hall is a real threat to make the NCAA Tournament this year. The Big East has a serious power vacuum after UConn and St. John’s, and Seton Hall has just a good a chance as Creighton, Villanova, Georgetown, Butler or anyone else to finish in the top five.

3. Concern for NC State and Boise State

At the other end of the spectrum lies NC State, who limps home to the mainland after a 1-2 showing in Maui. The Wolfpack had far higher hopes upon arrival, but an opening-round loss to Seton Hall sent them meekly to the consolation side of the bracket. A Tuesday victory over Boise State temporarily helped alleviate worries, but first-year coach Will Wade and his squad fell in a seesaw shootout to fellow rookie boss Sean Miller and Texas to finish sixth in the event.

NC State’s defense was a problem all tournament. Against Seton Hall, the Wolfpack surrendered 65 percent shooting inside the arc, repeatedly getting gashed at the rim with their undersized frontcourt of 6-6 Darrion Williams and 6-8 Ven-Allen Lubin. Then Texas torched the Wolfpack on the perimeter, burying 16 3s and getting into the lane off the bounce at will. NC State wants to switch everything on defense, but Wade’s team looked like it was doing so out of convenience/laziness, rather than to actually make the opponent uncomfortable.

With a solitary victory over a struggling Mountain West team (in what appears to be a down year for that league), the Wolfpack did not do much for their resume on the island. Fortunately, they have plenty of chances to earn key wins in league play, and they also get swings at Auburn and Kansas before ACC play kicks off on New Year’s Eve.

Meanwhile, Boise State and Leon Rice are approaching crisis mode. The Broncos already hold a loss to Division II Hawaii Pacific, and though they exacted some revenge on a different Division II program from Hawaii (shout out to Chaminade, which went 0-3 in the event it hosts but gave Washington State a run for its money on Monday), they leave Maui without a single noteworthy result.

Last year, Boise State made a late charge toward an at-large bid by winning 11 of its final 14 games. However, the league may offer fewer opportunities for needle-moving triumphs this season. For a late surge to matter at all, the Broncos need beat Butler in Indianapolis on Dec. 6 and Saint Mary’s in Boise eight days later to shore up their nonconference resume.