Busting Brackets
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Butler Basketball: Breaking down each 2018-19 non-conference opponent

By Lukas Harkins

CINCINNATI, OH - JANUARY 02: Jordan the head coach of the Butler Bulldogs gives instructions to his team against the Xavier Musketeers at the Cintas Center on January 2, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH - JANUARY 02: Jordan the head coach of the Butler Bulldogs gives instructions to his team against the Xavier Musketeers at the Cintas Center on January 2, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images
Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images /

Nov. 21 – 23: Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament

Teams: Butler, Dayton, Virginia, MTSU, Wisconsin, Florida, Stanford, Oklahoma

The Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament in the Bahamas is traditionally one of the elite non-conference college basketball events. With this field for the 2018 edition, that once again looks to be the case. Although the Maui Invitational likely has the most talented field, the B4A should not be all that far behind. With the likes of Butler, UVA, Wisconsin, and Florida competing, there are four projected NCAA Tournament teams in this first with four other really solid programs also competing.

In the first round of the event, Butler will face off against Dayton, a former Atlantic 10 rival (of one season). The Flyers have been extremely successful in the past but do not project to be extremely dangerous this time around. The program lost a ton of talent after the 2016-17 season, including its head coach to Indiana, and it might take some time to recover from that. During this past season, the team went 14-17 (8-10 A10). Looking ahead to this season, Josh Cunningham (15.6 points, 8.4 rebounds), Trey Landers (9.2 points, 4.4 assists), and Jordan Davis (8.0 points) will be the players to watch.

The remaining two games of the tournament will depend on the other results but here is a brief overview of each team competing (other than Butler and Dayton):

  • Virginia: The Cavaliers will be a preseason top-10 led by Kyle Guy and De’Andre Hunter. An elite defensive team, UVA likes to slow down the pace of games and really make things difficult on opponents. That is, of course, unless that opponent is UMBC.
  • Middle Tennessee: New head coach Nick McDevitt will have his hands full this season. The Blue Raiders graduated or lost to transfer their top six scorers this offseason and do not return a single player who averaged more than four points per game last season. They need help from their incoming transfers…badly.
  • Wisconsin: The Badgers missed the NCAA Tournament last season for the first time in what seemed like forever. Star big man Ethan Happ is back to lead the show this season and two major guards are returning from injury. However, their perimeter shooting is a big issue that needs to be remedied if they want to reach the expectations set for this year.
  • Florida: The Gators should be a fringe top-25 team heading into this season thanks to the returns of Jalen Hudson and KeVaughn Allen. However, it will be very difficult to overcome the losses of Egor Koulechov and Chris Chiozza. Can incoming freshman Andrew Nembhard offset the loss of Chiozza enough to keep UF near the top of the nation?
  • Stanford: With Reid Travis around, Stanford might have been able to compete for an NCAA Tournament bid. However, with him heading to Kentucky as a grad transfer, the Cardinal could be near the cellar of the Pac-12. There will be a lot of pressure on rising sophomore Daejon Davis this year.
  • Oklahoma: It will be extremely interesting to see who this team is without Trae Young. He was the leading scorer and playmaker by far and away last season while exhibiting a massive usage rate. Who will step up as the go-to-guy in his absence? Brady Manek and Christian James look to be the most likely candidates.