NCAA Basketball: Ranking all 8 teams in 2019 Battle 4 Atlantis tournament

By Brian Rauf | Jul 12, 2019

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - MARCH 06: Shavar Reynolds #33 of the Seton Hall Pirates and the rest of his teammates celebrate the win over the Marquette Golden Eagles on March 06, 2019 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.The Seton Hall Pirates defeated the Marquette Golden Eagles 73-64. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

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ORLANDO, FL – OCTOBER 26: Josh Richardson #0 and assistant coach Juwan Howard of the Miami Heat on the bench on opening night against the Orlando Magic on October 26, 2016 at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Manuela Davies/Getty Images) /

6) Michigan Wolverines

How will the Wolverines look under new head coach Juwan Howard? This tournament will be our first extended look at how he and the team will perform in the post-John Beilein era of Michigan basketball – and it will be very interesting to see how they end up.

Replacing three of their best players from last year’s team in Jordan Poole, Charles Matthews, and Iggy Brazdeikis is going to be difficult, especially offensively. Zavier Simpson, Isaiah Livers, and Jon Teske should be able to provide steadying hands defensively, but none of them are particularly explosive offensive threats.

Outside of that trio, no returning player averaged more than 2.5 points per game. Four-star freshmen Cole Bajema and Franz Wagner will be counted on to play significant roles on that end of the floor, and there’s no guarantee they’re ready to contribute the way Michigan needs them to.

Obviously, there are questions about Howard’s coaching ability as well. He’s qualified for the job – years of experience on the Miami Heat’s coaching staff checks that box – but, as a first time head coach at a new level of basketball, he has to prove himself. Atlantis will be a brutal opening test.

5) Alabama Crimson Tide

Alabama is the wild card in this field and, really, is one of the biggest wild card teams in the country.

They have talent – Kira Lewis Jr. and John Petty are one of the SEC’s best backcourts and Herbert Jones is an elite defender – but this group failed to make the NCAA Tournament last year and hasn’t had a winning record in the SEC each of the last two years.

Former head coach Avery Johnson received a lot of the blame for that and new head man Nate Oats has brought new life into a program. He was extremely successful at Buffalo and has a reputation for developing quality guards. With that trio and West Virginia grad transfer Beetle Bolden joining the fold, the Tide appear to have top 25 potential.

But was the problem really Johnson, or is this group of players being overvalued? And how quickly can Oats get this group playing at a high level? We’ll get our answers in the Bahamas.

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