The draw for the eight-team Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas has been revealed, and Tar Heel fans will note some familiar opponents among the field.
Carolina will face Northern Iowa in the opening game of the tournament on November 22. UNC last faced the Panthers during the 2017-18 season and took a decisive 86-69 win in Chapel Hill. But Northern Iowa has experience beating the Tar Heels, having upset No. 1 Carolina early in the 2015-16 season.
The winner of the opener will face either Villanova or Texas Tech in the tournament semifinals the next day. Carolina’s most recent meetings with both schools came in the NCAA Tournament; the Tar Heels last saw the Wildcats in the 2016 national championship, and last faced the Red Raiders in the 1996 round of 32. Both resulted in UNC losses, though Carolina holds a winning record against both programs since 1950.
The other side of the bracket features Michigan, Memphis, Arkansas and Stanford. Should the Tar Heels face the Wolverines during the tournament, it would be the sixth meeting in the last seven seasons (UNC holds a 3-2 advantage over that span). The Tar Heels haven’t seen the Razorbacks since the 2017 PK80 tournament, when Carolina defeated Arkansas to advance to the championship round.
Stanford would be a personal matchup for multiple reasons; both Cormac Ryan and Harrison Ingram were a part of the Cardinal program before coming to Chapel Hill, and Stanford head coach Jerod Haase was a longtime assistant coach for Roy Williams at both Kansas and UNC. Haase was on the bench for both the 2005 and 2009 national championships. Memphis is the only team in the field Carolina has never played in men’s basketball.
UNC has played in the Battle 4 Atlantis two previous times but has yet to win the event. The Tar Heels finished in fifth place in 2014 and third place in 2019. The 2023 edition of the tournament is scheduled for November 22-24 on Paradise Island in the Bahamas.
Featured image via Todd Melet
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