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Battle 4 Atlantis could feature the Gonzaga vs. Arizona championship game

Battle 4 Atlantis could feature the Gonzaga vs. Arizona championship game

College basketball has undergone massive changes over the past half decade, permanently altering the sport. Conference realignment, the transfer portal, and NIL have changed college circles forever, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t certain constants.

Holiday week — a nickname given to the week before Thanksgiving, where many basketball tournaments are held — is one of those constants. The Maui Invitational, Battle 4 Atlantis, ESPN Events Invitational and more are staples of the late November sports calendar, often pitting the best teams in college basketball against each other for the first big non-conference tests of the season.

While the future of these multi-team events (MTEs) is somewhat in question, with bloated conference schedules limiting non-competitive opportunities, this year still boasts very competitive fields in both Maui and Atlantis – and should once again provide high-quality basketball all week. long.

Battle 4 Atlantis has eight quality programs, even if Creighton makes a last-minute decision to drop the event in favor of a new invitation to the Las Vegas area.

However, the main story for Atlantis is pretty simple: the championship is set up to pit Gonzaga against Arizona – not just an epic battle between two West Coast powers, but a showdown between Mark Few and Tommy Lloyd, who was Few’s assistant for 20 years in Spokane.

Below is a look at each of the eight teams in the field, ranked in order of projected finish, with the standings officially revealed on Wednesday:

James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

2023-24 record: 27-8

Conference: WCC

First round game: West Virginia

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

2023-24 record: 27-9

Conference: Big 12

First round game: Davidson

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

2023-24 record: 19-14

Conference: Big Ten

First round game: Louisville

Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports

2023-24 record: 21-14

Conference: The Great East

First round game: Oklahoma

Syndication: The Courier-Journal

2023-24 record: 8-24

Conference: acc

First round game: Indian

Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

2023-24 record: 20-12

Conference: dry

First round game: Providence

William Purnell-USA TODAY Sports

2023-24 record: 9-23

Conference: Big 12

First round game: Gonzaga

Syndication: Journal-Courier

2023-24 record: 15-17

Conference: A-10

First round game: Arizona