What to Expect: Battle 4 Atlantis
Instead of our traditional game preview, we’re looking at the Battle 4 Atlantis at large ahead of Wednesday’s tip against Louisville at noon ET on ESPN.
Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s Battle 4 Atlantis:
The 2024 Battle 4 Atlantis begins tomorrow on the ESPN family of networks. Each of the eight teams in the field will play three games in three days in the Imperial Arena on Paradise Island in the Bahamas.
EVENT ESSENTIALS
This year’s Battle 4 Atlantis field includes Gonzaga, West Virginia, Indiana, Louisville, Oklahoma, Providence, Davidson and Arizona.
While the event is in its 13th season, this is Indiana’s first appearance. The Indiana women’s basketball program wrapped up play in Battle 4 Atlantis on Monday.
THE MATCHUPS
Day one matchups – Wednesday, November 27:
Indiana vs. Louisville – Noon ET on ESPN
West Virginia vs. Gonzaga – 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN or ESPN2
Oklahoma vs. Providence – 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2
Davidson vs. Arizona – 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2
Game times on Thursday are also set for noon ET, 2:30 p.m. ET, 5 p.m. ET and 7:30 p.m. If Indiana beats Louisville, it will play at noon ET on Thanksgiving Day on ESPN. If the Hoosiers fall to the Cardinals, they’ll play at 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
On Friday, the 7th/8th place game will tip at 11 a.m. ET on ESPN2 followed by the 3rd/4th place game at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN, the championship game at 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN and the 5th/6th place game at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
THE FIELD
While the field suffered when it lost Creighton over the summer—the Bluejays are playing in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas this week—there is still a strong group of teams on Paradise Island.
Here’s a little about each program participating:
Indiana – Picked to finish second in the Big Ten in the preseason “official unofficial” media poll, the Hoosiers have high expectations in Mike Woodson’s fourth season. Indiana landed a significant transfer portal haul, highlighted by Oumar Ballo, Myles Rice and Kanaan Carlyle.
The Hoosiers also return Trey Galloway, Malik Reneau and Mackenzie Mgbako, all significant contributors from last season. The trip to the Bahamas allows Indiana to boost its non-conference strength of schedule. Outside of Paradise Island, Indiana is playing just one game against a power conference foe outside of league play. It won that matchup 87-71 against South Carolina in Bloomington.
Louisville – Led by first-year coach Pat Kelsey, the Cardinals have a completely new roster this season after Kenny Payne’s dismissal last spring. Louisville plays an up-tempo style and shoots a high volume of 3-pointers. This group took an offseason trip to the Bahamas for a pair of games in the summer, and it can be dangerous when making perimeter shots.
The Cardinals, who suffered a 22-point loss at home to Tennessee on Nov. 9, force turnovers but lack a post-scoring presence. Indiana fans will be familiar with the program’s point guard, Chucky Hepburn. He played the last three seasons at Wisconsin before transferring to Louisville. The Cardinals were picked to finish 9th in the 18-team Atlantic Coast Conference in a preseason media poll.
West Virginia – Another program with a first-year head coach, the Mountaineers are led by coach Darian DeVries and his son, Tucker DeVries. Like the Cardinals, West Virginia uses the 3-pointer as a focal point of its offense. However, the Mountaineers lack a significant post presence and are highly dependent on their guards and wings to generate offense.
West Virginia has two Illinois transfers, Sencire Harris and Amani Hansberry, in its rotation, along with Javon Small, a South Bend, Indiana native who transferred from Oklahoma State. The Mountaineers were picked to finish 13th in the 16-team Big 12 Conference in a preseason poll conducted by the league’s coaches.
Gonzaga – The favorite entering the event, the Zags have national championship aspirations. Mark Few’s group made a statement to start the season with a 101-63 win against Baylor, a win that should age well come NCAA tournament selection time.
Gonzaga plays up-tempo, is an excellent rebounding team and has no shortage of scoring options. The starting backcourt of Ryan Nembhard and Nolan Hickman is one of the best in the country. The Zags were picked to win the West Coast Conference in the preseason by the league’s coaches.
Oklahoma – There’s pressure for Porter Moser to win this season in Norman and he’s scheduled to rack up wins to begin the season. The Sooners have played four straight games against Division I bottom feeders prior to their arrival on Paradise Island.
But Oklahoma won’t be able to hide this week. With five seniors in the starting lineup – led by forward Jalon Moore – the Sooners have plenty of experience. The SEC is once again loaded and Oklahoma has to make the most of its non-conference opportunities. Its opening matchup against Providence is pivotal after such a favorable slate thus far. The Sooners were picked to finish 15th of 16 teams in the preseason SEC media poll.
Providence – Like the Sooners, the Friars have scheduled extremely soft to begin the season with five games against teams well outside the top 200 in KenPom.
The Friars have a rotation built around its guards and wings, led by Miami (FL) transfer Bensley Joseph. Providence takes a high volume of 3-pointers and currently has a defense ranked inside the top 50 nationally by KenPom. In the preseason Big East coaches poll, the Friars were picked to finish sixth out of 11 teams.
Davidson – The lowest-ranked KenPom team in the field, the Wildcats are led by third-year coach Matt McKillop. Like several of the teams in this year’s field, Davidson has played a weak schedule leading into the event, including one game against a non-Division I opponent.
The Friars are led by 6-foot-10 big man Reed Bailey, who will be one of the best frontcourt players in the Atlantic 10 Conference. In the preseason, Davidson was picked to finish 12th in the 15-team A10 in a poll that included the league’s coaches and media.
Arizona – The Wildcats lost some of their early-season shine thanks to losses at Wisconsin and to Duke in Tuscon. Still, this remains one of the nation’s most talented rosters.
The guard trio of KJ Lewis, Caleb Love and Jaden Bradley is one of the top perimeter groups in the country. After its notable early-season losses, Arizona will be looking to bounce back and make a statement on Paradise Island. The Wildcats were picked to finish 5th in the 16-team Big 12 Conference in a preseason poll conducted by the league’s coaches.
Filed to: Battle 4 Atlantis