Maui Invitational starts with upset of two-time defending national champion

Memphis upset two-time defending national champion and second-ranked Connecticut 99-97 at the Lahaina Civic Center.

“What an unbelievable opportunity to play the back-to-back national champions and then to win the game,” Memphis coach Penny Hardaway said.

UConn (4-1) saw a 17-game winning streak end. That included the last seven games of the 2023-24 regular season, three games in the Big East tournament, six games in the NCAA tournament and the first four games this season. It had won 15 tournament games in a row, including 12 NCAA games over the past two seasons and three in the Big East tournament last March.

Memphis (5-0) recorded its first victory against a top-five team since it beat No. 1 Houston in the American Athletic Conference tournament in 2023. In the postgame press conference, Hardaway called this victory against UConn the biggest of his coaching career.

Memphis will play Michigan State or Colorado in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Tuesday (1 p.m. in Maui). UConn will play the loser of that game at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday (10:30 a.m. in Maui).

Memphis blew a 13-point lead in the second half. Solo Ball, of UConn, made a game-tying 3-pointer with 1 second left in the second half to send the game to overtime.

In overtime, Memphis overcame a 90-86 deficit. Then with the game tied at 92, a foul on UConn and a technical foul on the UConn bench resulted in a four-point possession, all free throws by Memphis, with 40 seconds left.