Fansided

25 NCAA basketball bucket list items every fan must experience before they die

By Mike Phillips

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 07: The Duke Blue Devils mascot performs during the first half of their game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 07, 2020 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 07: The Duke Blue Devils mascot performs during the first half of their game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 07, 2020 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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NCAA basketball bucket list
(Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /

16. Attend the Maui Invitational

The early portion of the college basketball season is a bit hectic in terms of events and tournaments. A ton of made-for-TV events has cluttered the college hoops landscape, with events taking place all over the country and some contests being played overseas.

We’ve already said the Champions Classic works, but it doesn’t have the longevity or the prestige of the Maui Invitational. Of all the regular-season tournaments you could attend, Maui has to go right to the top of that list.

The event originated as the result of a famed game between top-ranked Virginia and Chaminade in 1982, with the tiny Hawaiian school upsetting Ralph Sampson‘s Cavaliers 77-72. Two years after that game the Maui Classic was born, with Chaminade getting all the way to the finals before falling to Providence.

Chaminade participates every year alongside seven of the top programs in the country, which is a prestigious opportunity for power conference schools to test themselves on a neutral floor. Nary a year goes by when you don’t see a school like Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, or North Carolina headline the Maui Invitational Field.

Taking a trip to Hawaii is always exciting and the opportunity to experience three days of high-level basketball is an added bonus. The college basketball bucket list definitely wouldn’t be complete without tickets to the Maui Invitational.