Gonzaga, Arizona headline loaded 2024 Battle 4 Atlantis field

A number of teams with NCAA Tournament aspirations square off in the Bahamas over Thanksgiving week

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

While the 2024-25 college basketball season is still months away, Gonzaga men’s basketball fans have had a chance to look ahead to the Battle 4 Atlantis event ever since the eight-team field was reported last August.

Since then, a minor change was made after Creighton withdrew from the multi-team event that’s slated for Nov. 27-29 in the Bahamas. With the Bluejays out, fellow Big East member Providence is set to compete in a field that features Arizona, Davidson, Indiana, Louisville, Oklahoma, West Virginia and the Zags.

The Battle 4 Atlantis might not stack up to the 2023 Maui Invitational in terms of overall talent and prestige, but at least four of the programs are preseason Top 25 caliber, and Louisville could surprise a lot of teams with a completely rebuilt roster.

Here’s a breakdown of the field.

Arizona Wildcats

Tommy Lloyd’s program has a case to be ranked in the top 10 of the first AP Poll after All-American guard Caleb Love withdrew his name from the NBA Draft to return to Tucson, Arizona, as did 6-foot-4 guard KJ Lewis. Oumar Ballo (Indiana) and Kylan Boswell (Illinois) both departed via the transfer portal, while Pelle Larsson stayed in the NBA Draft. Lloyd hauled in an impressive transfer portal class, namely Horizon League Player of the Year Trey Townsend from Oakland and Campbell transfer Anthony Dell’Orso. Motiejus Krivas, a 7-foot-2 center from Lithuania, is an under-the-radar pro prospect to keep an eye on as well if he’s to round out the starting five.

Davidson Wildcats

Matt McKillop has a lot of work to do in year three. Coming off a program-worst 5-13 campaign in the Atlantic-10, the Wildcats are expected to take a slight step backward in 2024-25. Davidson sits 241st in Bart Torvik’s projections after finishing last season at 121st in the NET Rankings. Connor Kochera and Grant Huffman graduated while David Skogman left for DePaul via the transfer portal. McKillop returned Reed Bailey, a 6-foot-11 post who put up 12.7 points per game as a sophomore, as well as 6-foot-7 wing Bobby Durkin. 

Indiana Hoosiers

Mike Woodson had himself quite the offseason. Myles Rice, the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year at Washington State, and two-time All-Pac 12 big Oumar Ballo headlined a high-touted transfer portal class that ranked seventh in the nation according to EvanMiya.com. Illinois transfer Luke Goode should provide much-needed shooting on the perimeter for Indiana, which shot 32.4% from downtown last season. Woodson’s returning class is equally as impressive — Big Ten Rookie of the Year Mackenzie Mgbako, 6-foot-9 forward Malik Reneau (15.4 points per game) and Trey Galloway, another double-digit scorer from last season. The blend of incoming talent and returners has some ready to rank the Hoosiers firmly in the top 25 to start next season.

Louisville Cardinals

Following two disastrous seasons under Kenny Payne, the Cardinals appear more suited to compete in the ACC under new head coach Pat Kelsey, who has already revamped the roster entirely through the transfer portal — literally. Louisville didn’t have a scholarship player on the team after its top 12 scorers from last season’s 8-24 squad entered the portal. The clean slate allowed Kelsey to reel in the second-best incoming transfer portal class in the country. BYU transfer Aly Khalifa, Big Ten All-Defense selection Chucky Hepburn and J’Vonne Hadley, a double-digit scorer with Colorado this past season, headline the group of newcomers. The additions have the Cardinals at No. 89 in Bart Torvik’s projections after they finished last season 216th in the NET.

Oklahoma Sooners 

The Sooners missed the NCAA Tournament and finished the 2023-24 season at 46th in the NET. In Torvik’s projections, they rank 63rd. The expected drop-off is based on the departures of some notable seniors in addition to three of the team’s top four scorers leaving via the portal. Porter Moser brought in more shooting and size to surround senior 6-foot-7 wing Jalon Moore.

West Virginia Mountaineers

The first year of the Darian DeVries era in Morgantown, West Virginia, is off to a solid start on paper. The former head coach at Drake brought with him his son Tucker, a two-time Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year who averaged 21.6 points and shot 36.3% from deep last season. The 6-foot-7 guard headlines a transfer portal class that ranks 15th in the nation and third in the Big 12, according to EvanMiya.com. West Virginia checked in at 93rd in Torvik’s projections after it finished 156th in the NET last season.

Providence Friars 

Kim English has the Friars in a position to push for a spot in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. All-Big East forward Bryce Hopkins is back after missing most of last season with an ACL injury. The 6-foot-8 averaged 15.5 points and 8.6 rebounds per game before going down for the season. Providence lost some continuity over the offseason, though English landed some solid pieces in the portal to surround Hopkins.