The No. 24 University of Arizona’s men’s basketball team is headed to Paradise Island, Bahamas to compete in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament on Wednesday, Nov. 27 through Friday, Nov. 29.
The Wildcats have the opportunity of playing highly ranked teams such as No. 14 Indiana University or No. 3 Gonzaga University, challenging the team in ways they have seen from both No. 11 Duke University and No. 15 University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Arizona has only made one prior appearance in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in 2017, ending in upsetting results for the Wildcats. The team lost all three games in its schedule against North Carolina State University, Purdue University and Southern Methodist University. Villanova University went on to win the entire tournament that year. Arizona was led by ninth-year head coach at the time, Sean Miller.
With a completely new staff and team, there are many possibilities for Arizona heading into the tournament.
The Wildcats’ first game will be Nov. 27 at 5:30 p.m. against Davidson University. Arizona has not seen Davidson since Dec. 28, 2002, when the Wildcats won 95-69. The opening matchup between the two programs will be their second meeting.
Davidson is led by head coach Matt McKillop, who was appointed to the position in 2022, marking his third season leading the team. Three players average double figures in points this season for Davidson including Reed Bailey, who leads the team with 17 points per game, Bobby Durkin, a sophomore forward who averages 16.8 ppg and Connor Kochera, a fifth-year guard, averaging 16.4 ppg.
Bailey started all 32 games in both his freshman and sophomore seasons, averaging 9.2 ppg and 44.8% from the floor his sophomore year.
Davidson holds a 4-0 record so far this season, though the program has yet to compete against a ranked team.
On the second day of the tournament, Arizona will have a chance to compete in the semifinals against either Providence College or the University of Oklahoma.
Arizona’s record against Providence is 3-3, as the teams alternated winning and losing between each match from 1981 to 2015. The most recent matchup between the two programs occurred on Nov. 27, 2015, resulting in a 69-65 Wildcat loss.
As for Oklahoma, the Wildcats hold a 2-4 losing record against the Sooners. Arizona won its most previous game against Oklahoma on Dec. 5, 2010, 83-60. The history between the schools date back to 1988 but the programs have not seen each other since Arizona’s 23-point victory.
On the final day of the tournament, the Wildcats have the chance to compete against teams like West Virginia University, the University of Louisville and Indiana. However, Arizona has a more likely matchup against Indiana and Gonzaga.
Arizona has faced Indiana once before on Dec. 10, 2022, in Las Vegas, Nevada where the Wildcats won 89-75. However, Indiana is currently 10 spots higher than Arizona in national rankings.
The Wildcats are 6-4 in their history against Gonzaga. Notably, Gonzaga has won the last 3 matchups against Arizona. Since 2014, the two teams have gone 3-3. The Bulldogs hold the No. 3 ranking in the country.
Wildcats to watch
Prior to leading Arizona, head coach Tommy Lloyd spent 20 seasons as an assistant coach for Gonzaga and played a crucial role in recruitment of players like NBA All-Star Domantas Sabonis, Rui Hachimura and Kelly Olynyk. Gonzaga and Arizona are on opposite sides of the bracket, but there is a possibility of the two programs crossing paths in the tournament. Lloyd has tried many different combinations and pairings with the season’s current roster in hopes of achieving success.
Jaden Bradley, a junior guard, led the Wildcats in their matchup against Duke with 18 points. Although the team was defeated 69-55, Bradley remained consistent on the court. Additionally, Bradley also led the team in Arizona’s 103-88 loss against Wisconsin with 22 points.
Another Wildcat to keep an eye out for is KJ Lewis, a sophomore guard. Lewis had 12 points against Duke and put up 15 against Wisconsin. Along with his scoring, he offers crucial plays defensively, putting up six rebounds against Duke and four against Wisconsin-Madison.
Despite the Wildcats coming off of back-to-back losses, this tournament could be a major turning point for the team and the future of their season.
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