Battle 4 Atlantis Bouncing Back with Strong Field After Disappointing Tournament

One of the premier early season tournaments in college basketball is getting back to a strong field

Nov 29, 2024; Paradise Island, Bahamas, BHS; Indiana Hoosiers forward Mackenzie Mgbako (21) shoots against the Providence Friars during the second half at Imperial Arena at the Atlantis resort. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

As muti-team events take a major hit in college basketball due to conference realignment and the Players Era Festival, the Battle 4 Atlantis is trying to make a resurgence this upcoming season with a new format.

Much like the Charleston Classic, the Battle 4 Atlantis will be splitting its format into two tournaments to avoid any overlap with conference teams. Not only is this a major improvement to the event but it’s getting big name programs back in the field.

According to multiple reports, Memphis, Wake Forest, and Penn State are confirmed to be in one of the 4-team brackets while Virginia, Marquette, and Texas A&M will be on the other side of the field.

There will be no crossover between the two brackets in the event.

This past season, there was just one team in the tournament that was currently ranked in the Top 25 in the country and only four teams made the NCAA Tournament.

Vanderbilt beat Saint Mary’s in the title game while VCU and South Florida were the other teams who qualified for the postseason. The rest of the field was comprised of Western Kentucky, Virginia Tech, Wichita State, and Colorado State.

It felt more like a mid-major tournament than one of the biggest early season events in college basketball. The previous edition of the Battle 4 Atlantis had Indiana, Gonzaga, Providence, Davidson, Arizona, Oklahoma, Louisville, and West Virginia.

Feast Week is arguably the biggest week of the regular season in the sport, and it needs its marquee events, like the Battle 4 Atlantis and Maui Invitational, to be filled with competitive fields that have big names which fans can relate and follow.

So far, the Battle 4 Atlantis has made the necessary adjustments and should be back to a very intriguing event this fall.