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Hawai’i selected for Pearl Harbor Invitational

The University of Hawai’i basketball team will participate in the 2016 Fox Sports Pearl Harbor Invitational, which is set for December 6 and 7 at Bloch Arena.

The Warriors are one of four teams in this year’s field, joining California, Princeton and Seton Hall. The pairings have already been determined, and Hawai’i will face Seton Hall on December 6, then Princeton on December 7.

Both games will be televised on Fox Sports 1, although the times have yet to be announced.

The Warriors beat Cal in the 2016 NCAA Tournament, but there will be no rematch in the Pearl Harbor Invitational.

Here is the official announcement from www.hawaiiathletics.com

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HONOLULU – The University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team will take part in the 2016 Fox Sports Pearl Harbor Invitational, Dec. 6-7, at historic Bloch Arena. The two-day, four-team invitational—part of the 75th Commemoration of the attack on Pearl Harbor—will also include California, Princeton, and Seton Hall.

UH will face Seton Hall on December 6 and Princeton on December 7 with the games televised live on FS1. Times are yet to be determined.

All four squads made the postseason in 2015-16. Seton Hall went 25-9 last year before falling to Gonzaga in the opening round of the NCAA, while Princeton advanced to the NIT and finished the season with a 22-7 mark. UH upset California in the NCAA First Round for the program’s first-ever win the in the Big Dance.

“We feel humbled and privileged to be involved in such a special event,” said head coach Eran Ganot. “This tournament is great for our program in terms of national exposure and the chance to compete against a pair of top-notch squads from the East Coast.

But this goes way beyond basketball. More than anything, this is a unique opportunity for our student-athletes to learn about and pay tribute to our fallen heroes, surviving veterans, and active men and women of the armed forces who have and continue to serve our nation. We’d like to thank Fox Sports and the 75th Commemoration of Pearl Harbor Committee for allowing our team and our University to be a part of this.”

This is the second straight year that the Pearl Harbor Invitational will be played at Bloch Arena. Last year’s invitational was a one-day doubleheader which included a contest between Oklahoma and Villanova, in a preview of an eventual Final Four matchup. Oregon, which earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, faced Navy in the second part of the double-header.

Bloch Arena withstood the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and is perhaps best known as the site of an Elvis Presley fundraising concert for the USS Arizona Memorial in 1961.

The Pearl Harbor Invitational is the first of two nationally-televised events that UH will be in this season. The ‘Bows will host the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic, Dec. 22, 23 and 25, with a field that includes Illinois State, San Diego State, San Francisco, Southern Miss, Stephen F. Austin, Tulsa and Utah.

UH is also slated to host national powerhouse North Carolina at the Stan Sheriff Center on Nov. 18. The remainder of UH’s 2016-17 schedule will be announced at a later date.

11 Comments

  1. It’s good to see at the start of the year quality opponents. Even though we are in rebuilding mode, playing against tough competition will only make the team stronger when post season comes around. Hoping to see the new guys playing soon in summer league.

  2. This is a pleasant surprise. Two quality opponents and we don’t have to travel to play them.

  3. Great news. I was hoping UH would have reached out last year to play one of the teams in the tournament, but this is even better. As Pono pointed out, two quality teams from the East Coast and only gotta “travel” some 20 miles!

  4. Two good games, but I would pick to watch UH play Cal again. I cant find anything about why UH vs. Cal is not picked for one of the games instead of vs. Princeton or Seton Hall. This game would make the most sense for TV and get attention because they played in NCAA’s.

  5. With these two games, plus the UNC game and the DHC the schedule has a potential to be much better than last year.

  6. IF CAN Maintain, Or Better, Also Upgrade, RAINBOW CLASSIC — Coastal Carolina (went Four-Deep into NIT before Losing to UC-IRVINE & Mamadou); And NEVADA –SIX Games into Post-Season — Schedule CAN Be Sufficiently Challenging for Ganot and Company to Build a Better Team… And “Power Rating”

    —-

    And LESS Pissy-Moany Excuses From Media-Writers
    And ‘Fans’ who SAY They Want BIG-TIME…
    AND Don’t Even SHOW UP….

    BUILD THAT CULTURE OF Packed, Even SOLD-OUT SSC –
    – Even Bloch Arena — (Yikes, WHO Gets Those FEW Tickets?)
    AND A PROGRAM ‘Almost’ WITHOUT “DOWN” Years

    THIS Schedule ‘COULD’ Even Help Get a Bigger/Better-Valdés-Type Walk-on
    OR Fill The Last Scholie with a ‘Better’ Player-Eligible-Grad-Transfer
    (Please CALL 808-956-6501)

  7. ” Brian McInnis @Brian_McInnis
    Last year’s Pearl Harbor Invitational seating at Bloch Arena was reserved for military personnel and veterans. Appears to be the same (this year).”

  8. Anybody hear something about UH playing game against Cal at the Sheriff that would be before or after the Pearl Harbor tournament. Maybe that is part of the deal. It would be really wise of Matlin to make that agreement to keep UH fans happy.

  9. Great news! Looking forward to the upcoming season. Go ‘Bows!

  10. The eagle has landed. Or the Owies has landed, in Hawaii, per McInnis retweet.

  11. The Miami Heat summer league roster has 19 players with 18 available for the Orlando summer league and 17 for the Las Vegas summer league.
    http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-heat/sfl-miami-heat-summer-league-s062916-story.html

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