Iowa to Play Xavier in Battle for Atlantis First Round

[JonDMiller]

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The University of Iowa men’s basketball team will open the 2013 Battle 4 Atlantis holiday tournament against Xavier on Thanksgiving, Nov. 28. The game will be televised in primetime beginning at 6 p.m. (CT) on NBC Sports Network.



The Hawkeyes’ second-round contest will be against either UTEP or Tennessee, pending the outcome of first round games.



Along with Iowa, the eight-team field features Kansas, Tennessee, Villanova, USC, Wake Forest, UTEP, and Xavier. The tournament will be held, Nov. 28-30, at the Atlantis Royal Towers Resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. Four of the eight teams saw postseason action last season; Kansas advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16, Villanova fell to North Carolina in the NCAA second round; Iowa was the NIT runners-up, while Tennessee lost in the NIT first round.



The Hawkeyes and Muskateers have met twice previously, most recently at the 2010 Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands where Xavier beat Iowa, 86-73. The Hawkeyes beat the Muskateers in the first meeting, 33-28, in 1938 in Cincinnati, Ohio.



The impressive tournament field boasts a combined 191 NCAA Tournament appearances, 25 Final Four appearances and five National Championships. Harvard won the inaugural tournament title in 2011 and Duke in 2012.



The games are played in the Imperial Arena, a grand ballroom that seats 3,900 fans, which is turned into a basketball venue, similar to last year's Cancun Challenge. The half-million dollar temporary stadium boasts state-of-the-art regulation facilities at the epicenter of the world's largest open-air marine habitat complete with lavish guest accommodations, restaurants, bars, spa, lounges, waterslides and the largest casino in the Bahamas. The event drew more than 4,000 fans to the 2012 championship game.



Battle 4 Atlantis 2013 ticket and travel packages can be booked by calling 1-800-Atlantis or battle4atlantis.com.



Fans are encouraged to check their cable or satellite provider for channel number in their area. Both channels are typically offered via digital sport packages. After the opening round, all winners’ bracket games will be on NBS Sports Network, while the loser’s bracket games will be on AXS TV.



The remainder of Iowa’s schedule will be released later this summer.



Thursday, Nov. 28

Kansas vs. Wake Forest - 2:30 p.m. (CT) - AXS-TV

Villanova vs. USC - 12 p.m. (CT) - AXS-TV

Iowa vs. Xavier - 6 p.m. (CT) - NBCSN

Tennessee vs. UTEP - 8:30 p.m. (CT) - NBCSN

 

[sportstalent]

Is there any reason Iowa shouldn't play Kansas in the final? If it isn't Iowa it will be Xavier.

This should be a good tournament.

 

[tm3308]

Perfect setup. Gives Iowa the best chance to play three games and play Kansas, which would give a solid bump to our SOS.

 

[theboat]

The Hawkeyes beat the Muskateers in the first meeting, 33-28, in 1938 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Lick would be proud.

 

[Section136]

What an exciting weekend of sports this could be.

Thursday- NFL Games and the Hawks at 6PM against Xavier.

Friday- 11AM kickoff against the Huskers and hopefully the Hawks in the semis in the Bahamas.

Saturday- College football all day and a possible game against Kansas Saturday night.

 

[thejumper5]

I really think that bracket sets up well for a Hawkeyes vs. Jayhawks final. With the talent that KU has next year, it should be a very fun game to watch, and it should be great for Iowa's RPI win or lose.

 

[thejumper5]

Found this on the Battle4Atlantis Website. It includes potential game times for Friday and Saturday.

 

[hawkfan33]

Is there any reason Iowa shouldn't play Kansas in the final? If it isn't Iowa it will be Xavier.

This should be a good tournament.

Tennessee will be better than Xavier. Based on the matchups it looks like the tournament organizers consider us the 3 seed in this tournament.

 

[JHHawk]

This is a beautiful looking bracket for Iowa. If they beat Xavier, they will play against the winner of the other game at nite also...after Iowa -Neb football is over. And the great thing is that if Iowa does make the Final, all three games will be on Channel 220 on DirecTV....NBCSports Channel....sweet!!!

Now, we just have to find a way to beat a very tough Xavier team that will feature Semjau Christon...who will be the best player on that floor in that game.
Then,probably Tenn, who is rising fast with higher rated talent than Iowa can boast.

 

[JonDMiller]

Tennessee will be better than Xavier. Based on the matchups it looks like the tournament organizers consider us the 3 seed in this tournament.

They had to split up Villanova and Xavier due to the fact they play in reg season..so the seedings were affected

 

[David79]

I think Iowa got the tougher side of the bracket. Xavier, Tennessee and UTEP are all decent teams. Where as on the other side USC and Wake are not good. KU Vallanova should be good and I think Iowa will play Tennessee and that. Hopefully they make it to the championship game. That would be a great RPI boost

 

[DodgerHawki]

Is there any reason Iowa shouldn't play Kansas in the final? If it isn't Iowa it will be Xavier.

This should be a good tournament.

I would guess Iowa would be a slight favorite against Xavier, but both the Musketeers and Tennessee are very capable of beating Iowa. It's definitely not a layup against the first two teams. Iowa couldn't beat Wichita State on a neutral floor (who ended up being very good) or a mediocre Virginia Tech team on the road last year. Iowa will have to play very well to beat this team.

Agree that it will be a good tournament.

 

[MisterLucky]

Dang! Where's Archie when you need him?!?

 

[sportstalent]

Tennessee will be better than Xavier. Based on the matchups it looks like the tournament organizers consider us the 3 seed in this tournament.

I don't know it comes down to if Tennessee can get the ball to Stokes, but Christion is a flat out stud and guards dominate earlier in the season.

 

[HawkPhreek]

I really like that Iowa opted for this tournament.

 

[hawkfan33]

I don't know it comes down to if Tennessee can get the ball to Stokes, but Christion is a flat out stud and guards dominate earlier in the season.

Well Tennessee still has Jordan McRae who is a better guard than Christion.

 

[hawkfan33]

They had to split up Villanova and Xavier due to the fact they play in reg season..so the seedings were affected

I don't think that affected where we were seeded. The top four teams in the tournament are us, Kansas, Villanova and Tenessee. If they thought Villianova should be the second or third seed they could have easily flipped them with us and Xavier with USC and made it work.

 

[sportstalent]

Well Tennessee still has Jordan McRae who is a better guard than Christion.

Who? I don't think guard Tennessee has is better than Semaj. Just my opinion probably due to the fact that I think the SEC blows. Stokes is Tennessee's best player and either you let him try and beat you all by himself, or make someone else beat you...in either case I don't think they are good enough.

 

[hawkfan33]

Who? I don't think guard Tennessee has is better than Semaj. Just my opinion probably due to the fact that I think the SEC blows. Stokes is Tennessee's best player and either you let him try and beat you all by himself, or make someone else beat you...in either case I don't think they are good enough.

McRae is the returning SEC player of the year and Tennessee's best player.

 

[sportstalent]

McRae is the returning SEC player of the year and Tennessee's best player.

Being POY in the SEC is not impressive considering it was Noel's to lose and he did when he got hurt. Guards normally win POY in the SEC as it has been a horrible league for big men.
I will stand by Semaj Christian over McCrae and Stokes being Tennessee's best player. When I watched Tennessee I don't even remember McCrae.