The Battle 4 Atlantis has a field that includes Virginia, Butler, and Wisconsin. Will those teams continue their early season success or will an underdog emerge to win this Thanksgiving weekend tournament?
While the Maui Invitational continues to be the premier non-conference tournament, the Battle 4 Atlantis has developed into a top-flight tournament of its own. In its 8th year, the Bahamas has done a great job of hosting some of the best college basketball each year.
Last year looked like it would be a great tournament with Purdue, Arizona, and Villanova in the field. Villanova would go on to win the tournament in what was not a shock to anyone. But what did surprise many was Purdue and Arizona played in the last place game. Both teams lost their first two games and in what some thought could be the championship game ended up being the game to see who would not go 0-3.
Villanova became the first team to win two titles in the Bahamas and is the only team to even play in two finals so far.
This tournament is known for its upsets as the top two ranked teams have only met twice in the finals in the eight years. The first winner was Harvard who upset Utah and Florida State before beating UCF in the finals.
One thing is for sure is to expect the unexpected in this tournament. We take a look at each team and make some predictions.