Hawaii Opponents Set

Commodores play host Hawaii in first round of Diamond Head Classic

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Matchups for the 2021 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic were announced by tournament officials Thursday. Vanderbilt men’s basketball is set to play host Hawai’i in the first round.

The Commodores will take on the Rainbow Warriors at 7 p.m. HT on December 22, which will be midnight CT on Dec. 23 at SimpliFi Arena in Honolulu on ESPN2 or ESPNU. The winner/loser will play the winner/loser of BYU-South Florida the following day.

The tournament field will also feature Liberty, Northern Iowa, Stanford and Wyoming. All games will be played on Dec. 22, 23 and 25. Consolations and the championship game will be played on Dec. 25.

This will be Vanderbilt’s first trip to Hawaii since 2015. That November, the Commodores defeated St. John’s and Wake Forest en route to the championship game of the Maui Invitational—fifth-ranked Kansas took home the title, 70-63.

In all, this will be Vanderbilt’s seventh visit to the The Aloha State (1986, 1988, 1995, 2001, 2009, 2015). The Commodores are 4-2 in Honolulu and 11-7 in the state of Hawaii, which dates back to 1986 when the Commodores won the Silversword Invitational (now known as Maui Invitational).

Tickets are expected to go on sale in October. Additional information for the family-friendly tournament and resort destination of Honolulu, Hawai‘i, can be found on the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic web site at hawaiianairlinesdiamondheadclassic.com.