2011 Maui Invitational: 6 Things We Learned About Duke and the Rest of the Field

1. Memphis Is Their Own Worst Enemy

Scoring has not been a problem for the Memphis Tigers early on this season unlike a year ago, but the young Tigers at times play too up-tempo for their own good.

Memphis' primary offense is the dribble drive and they utilized this to perfection in their 99-97 double-overtime victory over Tennessee, however they were flustered by the defenses of Georgetown and Michigan and settled for poor shots on the perimeter. In their two losses in Maui, the Tigers attempted a combined 37 three-point shots compared to just nine in their lone victory.

Big men Tarik Black and Stan Simpson have both struggled with foul problems. Simpson played an average of 10 minutes per game in the tournament and Black fouled out of two games in addition to being limited on both ends of the floor with four fouls against Michigan.

The youth of the Tigers allows them to outrun and outgun a lot of teams, but if they cannot slow down the game when necessary and make better decisions late in games, Memphis will not be a serious factor in the NCAA tournament.

Memphis also lacks depth in the frontcourt, which is why Black and Simpson will have to manage their fouls better if the Tigers hope to live up to preseason expectations.

2. Georgetown and Tennessee Will Be Tough Outs in Conference Play

Not much was expected out of the Georgetown Hoyas and Tennessee Volunteers coming into the 2011-12 season, but both teams proved they will be formidable foes for even the best teams in the country.

Georgetown was picked to finish in 10th place in the Big East coming into the season, but strong play from senior center Henry Sims and senior guard Jason Clark, who averaged 23 points per game in Maui, should put the Big East on notice that the Hoyas will be tough to beat.

The Hoyas routed tournament host Chaminade, defeated nationally ranked Memphis in a 91-88 overtime thriller, but came up short in their opening-round game against No. 14 Kansas even though they never trailed by more than six points in the second half.

Tennessee on the other hand only came away with a victory against the Division II Chaminade Silverswords, however they refused to let No. 6 Duke blow them out in a 77-67 loss and took arch-rival Memphis to double-overtime.

Junior forward Jeronne Maymon turned in one of the best performances of the tournament with a combined 46 points and 32 rebounds in their firs- and second-round games against Duke and Memphis. Maymon set a Maui Invitational record with 20 rebounds against the Tigers.

Sophomore point guard Trae Golden turned in an impressive tournament, but needs to make better decisions and avoid forcing up bad shots like he did in the Memphis game.

If guards Jordan McCray, Cameron Tatum and Golden can continue to get better as the season goes on under the tutelage of new head coach Cuonzo Martin, the Volunteers may not be talented enough to win the SEC East, but Florida and Kentucky better not expect Tennessee to be a pushover.

3. Michigan Is Not Missing Darius Morris Anymore

The Michigan Wolverines returned everyone from last season's talented squad except for Big Ten assist leader Darius Morris, who declared for the NBA draft and left a huge question mark at the point guard position coming into this season.

Any concerns Michigan fans had about the lack of an experienced point guard have been put to rest after freshman Trey Burke had his national coming-out party in Maui. Burke showed a wide variety of ball-handling skills, great passing ability and a deadly jump shot to complement his uncanny ability to drive to the basket.

The Ohio native also took care of the basketball well and finished the tournament with an 18-9 assist-to-turnover ratio. Burke also averaged 15.5 points in Michigan's first two games against Memphis and Duke before he notched a quiet five points in their victory over UCLA in the third-place game.

If Burke continues to play at this level and improve as the season goes on the Wolverines will be contending for a Big Ten title and will forget all about Morris' ill-advised departure for the NBA.

4. UCLA Is Missing Tyler Honeycutt and Malcom Lee

For the first time since 1987 the UCLA Bruins are 1-4 in their first five regular-season games. Everyone knew the Bruins were in big trouble before they got to Maui after being blown out on their own home floor by both Loyola Maramount and Middle Tennessee State.

Not much got better in Maui as the Bruins suffered blowout losses against nationally ranked Kansas and Michigan. UCLA did manage to score their first victory of the season though in a 92-60 rout of Chaminade. 

Guards Jerime Anderson and Tyler Lamb have played well, but fellow guard Lazeric Jones' shooting has been absolutely abysmal and a national audience got to witness how bad it was when he went a combined 1-for-11 against Kansas and Michigan.

Forward Travis Wear played well in the post in the Bruins' three games in Maui, but until center Josh Smith can get his conditioning up to par and avoid silly fouls UCLA will be lacking a complementary player in the post to play alongside Wear.

5. Kansas' Preseason Ranking Was Just Right

A lot of people had some major concerns about Kansas being ranked No. 14 in the country coming into this season after losing nearly all of their starting five from a year ago.

Senior guard Tyshawn Taylor and junior forward Thomas Robinson carried the team to a runner-up finish in Maui and will have to continue to be outstanding for Kansas until some of the other complementary players can piece everything together.

Elijah Johnson also came up with some clutch shots in the Jayhawks' 67-63 win over Georgetown and their 68-61 loss in the championship game against Duke. Johnson also posted 23 points, four rebounds and two steals in Kansas' second-round game against UCLA. 

Kansas has proven it can hang with some of the top teams in the country, but they are probably one more player short of being able to break into the Top 10.

6. The Duke Blue Devils Are Still the Kings of Maui

Five times the Duke Blue Devils have traveled to the Maui Invitational and for the fifth time they will return to the mainland as champions.

The No. 6 Blue Devils shot the lights out of the gym against Tennessee and Michigan with a combined 18 three-pointers and then added 11 more for good measure in their championship game victory over Kansas.

Freshman guard Austin Rivers turned in an impressive tournament box score with 48 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, but it was junior forward Ryan Kelly who stole the show with 17 points in all three of Duke's victories, which earned him tournament MVP honors.

If the Blue Devils continue to shoot the ball the way they did in Maui they are a national championship contender and can go head to head with any team in the country. Will Duke follow in the footsteps of last year's Connecticut team, which won both the Maui Invitational and the national championship? It is a long way from March, but Duke has sent a warning message to the rest of the nation in November.

Zach Dirlam is the Lead Editor for College Basketball and a Big Ten Columnist for the website Sports at Work. Check out his blog, Dirlam’s Dirty Dugout Sports Blog, which features this story along with other articles and video reports on the major sports.

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