Boise State heads to tropical paradise of Maui, but it’s a ‘business trip’
Leon Rice has been coaching college basketball for a long time — 36 years, to be precise.
Naturally, that’s a lot of games, both as an assistant and head coach.
But if you were to ask him what might be his favorite game in all that time, the answer comes pretty quickly: Gonzaga vs. Michigan State in the semifinals of the 2005 Maui Invitational.
“It was near perfect on so many levels,” Rice wistfully told reporters in his office on Thursday.
Rice was an assistant coach at Gonzaga under Mark Few at the time, deep in the middle of his 11-year stint with the Bulldogs, which saw them rise into an NCAA Tournament regular and national power.
The Maui Invitational is still regarded as one of the best early-season tournaments on the college basketball calendar. But back in the 2000s, it was the tournament. So for Gonzaga to be there, against a program like Michigan State’s, was a big deal.
An even bigger deal? How Gonzaga trailed for much of the game but pulled out a 109-106 victory over the Spartans in triple overtime. The Zags lost to UConn in the Maui finals, but that didn’t take the luster off the Michigan State game. All three teams were ranked in the top 12.
“To be involved in those kinds of situations is what you want to give, that opportunity for your athletes,” Rice said. “Because it’s the opportunity for these lifelong memories.”
Two decades later, Rice will be back in Hawaii’s Lahaina Civic Center for the first time as a head coach, to lead Boise State into the Maui Invitational — also a first for the school.
The Broncos (4-1) will play three games, win or lose, over the three days before Thanksgiving. They kick off the tournament against USC (3-0) at 3 p.m. Mountain time on Monday. The game will air on ESPN2.
Their second game will be against either Seton Hall or No. 25 N.C. State on Tuesday, and then they’ll face one of the four teams on the opposite side of the bracket on Wednesday: Washington State, Arizona State, Texas or Chaminade.
The Maui Invitational is not quite as highly stacked as it once was, with other tournaments, such as the NIL-infused Players Era Festival in Las Vegas, taking place at the same time. Just last year, for instance, the Maui tourney featured Michigan State, Memphis, North Carolina, Auburn, Iowa State and UConn.
However, it’s still a huge step for Boise State’s program, which this time last year was heading to the Cayman Islands Classic to play the likes of Hampton, South Dakota State and Boston College.
“I’ve watched it pretty much every year,” Boise State junior forward Andrew Meadow said about the Maui Invitational.
“I love basketball, so I’m watching games all the time, so I’m excited to see how that gym feels and that environment. I know it’s a great basketball environment, so I’m super excited to get down there and go to work.”
Junior forward Drew Fielder, a Boise native who transferred from Georgetown, said earlier this week he “never imagined” he’d play in the Maui Invitational.
“It’s a good time to be going to Hawaii, I’ll tell you that,” Fielder said Tuesday with a smile. High temperatures in Hawaii will be in the low 80s next week, while Boise will see mid-40s.
“It’s pretty cool to be able to do it, I didn’t think I would. But it’s a business trip.”
That business trip will not be easy to navigate. USC is 3-0 and receiving votes in the AP Top 25, with the Trojans ranked 31st if you extended the rankings. USC ranks fourth in the nation for assists per game (22.7), 25th in rebounds per game (45) and third in blocks per game (8.3).
The Trojans are coached by someone Rice and Boise State fans are quite familiar with: Eric Musselman, who was the head coach at Mountain West rival Nevada from 2015-19. Mussleman’s Wolf Pack teams were famously good, never winning fewer than 24 games and reaching the NCAA Tournament three times, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2018.
Nevada beat the Broncos seven times in a row at the end of Musselman’s tenure in Reno.
“We’ve got a long history when he was at Nevada, and you know that his guys play hard,” Rice said. “... Their numbers reflect that right now. They’re physical, they’ve got a lot of guys that can get buckets. Just a typical (Musselman) team.”
