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The Gonzaga Bulldogs, Indiana Hoosiers and Arizona Wildcats headline the 2024 Battle 4 Atlantis men’s bracket.
Gonzaga comes into the Bahamas as the clear favorite to win annual Thanksgiving week event.
Mark Few’s team already owns a trio of wins over teams inside the KenPom top 65, including a 101-63 triumph over the Baylor Bears to open the season.
Indiana and Arizona are the other ranked teams in the Atlantis bracket. The Hoosiers reside on Gonzaga’s side of the bracket, while Arizona is the top team in its portion of the bracket.
Battle 4 Atlantis Schedule
Wednesday, November 27
Louisville vs. No. 14 Indiana (Noon ET, ESPN)
West Virginia vs. No. 3 Gonzaga (2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Oklahoma vs. Providence (5 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
Davidson vs. No. 24 Arizona (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
Thursday, November 28
Louisville/Indiana winner vs. West Virginia/Gonzaga winner (Noon ET, ESPN)
Louisville/Indiana loser vs. West Virginia/Gonzaga loser (2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
Oklahoma/Providence winner vs. Davidson/Arizona winner (5 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Oklahoma/Providence loser vs. Davidson/Arizona loser (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
Friday, November 29
Seventh-Place Game (11 a.m. ET, ESPN2)
Third-Place Game (3 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
Championship Game (5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Fifth-Place Game (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
All games can be live-streamed on ESPN app.
Gonzaga will try to continue its impressive 5-0 start to the season in the Bahamas.
The Zags have won all of their games by at least eight points. They have four double-digit victories, including wins over Baylor and the San Diego State Aztecs.
Mark Few’s team should cruise past the West Virginia Mountaineers in its Atlantis opener. West Virginia is 3-1, but it lost by 26 points to the Pittsburgh Panthers in its only game against a quality opponent.
Upsets are always possible. After all, this is college basketball and the unranked Villanova Wildcats won Atlantis last season, but there seems to be too much of a gap between Gonzaga and West Virginia.
The tournament opener between Indiana and the Louisville Cardinals could feature a similar result. Louisville was outclassed in a 22-point loss to the Tennessee Volunteers and its three wins have come against teams ranked 168th or worse on KenPom.
Louisville’s pace under new head coach Pat Kelsey might cause issues for the Hoosiers, and if anything, it could be the X-factor to help the Cardinals win a few games after Thursday. All teams play three games in the tournament.
Arizona’s opener against the Davidson Wildcats should feel much easier than the Big 12 program’s last two games against the Wisconsin Badgers and Duke Blue Devils.
Davidson is the only team in the field ranked outside the KenPom top 100 and it ranks near the bottom of Division I in three-point defense, which could be its downfall in the Bahamas.
The Oklahoma Sooners and Providence Friars could play the closest of the four first-round games. Neither team has allowed more than 65 points in a game so far this season.
The OU-Providence winner should provide a defensive challenge to Arizona, but the Wildcats are expected to reach the championship game.
A potential Arizona-Gonzaga final is the main attraction of the event. The Wildcats and Zags have long been two of the best men’s basketball programs in the West and they tend to play close games. Three of the last five Arizona-Gonzaga meetings were decided by four points or less.
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