Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball will be heading to the Bahamas to take part in the prestigious Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament after a dazzling 5-0 start to its season. The three-day tournament will be held in the lavish Imperial Arena, a grand ballroom that is transformed into an electrifying setting for the eight-team field.  

The tournament possesses a great blend of Power Five teams and well-known mid-majors, with seven of the eight teams in the field being within the top 100 of the KenPom rankings. Vanderbilt, at No. 14, is the highest ranked, and its NCAA Tournament opponent from last year, Saint Mary’s, comes in at No. 26. 

Vanderbilt will be taking on the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (WKU) to start off the tournament, with the winner advancing to take on the victor from the VCU-South Florida matchup. Colorado State and Virginia Tech match up alongside Wichita State and Saint Mary’s on the other side of the bracket.  

The Hustler has everything you need to know before the first tip-off in paradise as the Commodores seek to join the ranks of major programs like Villanova and Baylor as Battle 4 Atlantis champions.  

The first wave 

WKU, like the Commodores, is off to a swift, undefeated start this season, most recently cruising by NAIA opponent Bethel University, 97-67. The Hilltoppers are seeking to build upon their 17-15 record from a year ago in their second season with head coach Hank Plona at the helm.

A part of this process has been a retooling of the roster with nine new players, seven of whom arrived via the transfer portal. They have a few crucial returning players, however, including guard Teagan Moore, who is coming off a season where he medically redshirted. Moore leads the team in both points and rebounds with 18.2 and 6.0 per game, respectively, including two 20-point performances against Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee State.  

Look for senior Grant Newell to get involved, too. The former California and North Texas forward has played well for Western Kentucky thus far, averaging 14.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.  

Western Kentucky has struggled with shooting consistency as a team, though. It is shooting 46.3% from the field and 27.6% from behind the arc through four games. While not meticulous, the Hilltoppers play a style akin to Vanderbilt — wanting to get out and running to outpace their opponents for scoring opportunities. The Hilltoppers typically like to play downhill, blending the pick-and-roll and consistent actions to get players racing through lanes and to the hoop.  

Although Western Kentucky appears to be the team with the most holes among the tournament field, Vanderbilt will have to play strong defense to prevent WKU from getting into a blitzing rhythm. Regardless, ESPN favors Vanderbilt mightily, with the Commodores holding a 92.5% chance of winning, according to the network’s analytics.  

The trident 

The winner of Vanderbilt versus WKU will play the winner of the first-round matchup between South Florida (USF) and Virginia Commonwealth (VCU), and the loser of each game will play each other as well. 

The USF Bulls have a very similar roster composition and playstyle to Vanderbilt, with both having no true center. They bolster a 3-2 record heading into the tournament, with their two losses coming in a tight contest with George Washington at a neutral site and a hard road test against Oklahoma State. Their head coach, Bryan Hodgson, loves to play five-out and run drive-and-kick sets. The team puts up big numbers on offense, averaging 100.8 points per outing through its first five games.  

Josh Omojafo has been the Bulls’ best player so far, putting up 17.6 points a night while shooting 41.7% from 3-point range. His 6’5, muscular frame and elite layup package make him currently one of the best paint scorers in the nation. The senior and his backcourt partner, CJ Brown, play high up defensively and haul in an impressive 3.8 steals per game collectively. This guard duo is akin to the Commodores’ own of Tyler Tanner and Duke Miles in this way. 

VCU also likes to shoot a lot of 3-pointers, but has been far less successful at it, only knocking down 35.3% of its long balls this season. The Rams’ biggest strength is their rebounding ability, especially on the offensive glass, where center Lazar Djokovic has been extremely hard to box out. 

VCU’s team defense has been great on tape, as it plays a sticky man-to-man scheme with few switches. USF is a similar story: protecting the perimeter is key. The Rams have suffered two tough losses despite their solid team play, as they struggled to contain big-time shot creators like North Carolina State’s Darrion Williams and former Commodore MJ Collins of Utah State. 

ESPN analytics gives the Rams a slight edge in this battle of horned animals, and KenPom also has VCU ranked higher. Vanderbilt will have a challenging test no matter which of the two it plays, but stylistically, the more physical VCU team poses a bigger threat to the Commodores’ chase of Poseidon’s crown. 

Sea’s revenge 

On the other side of the bracket are four teams that Vanderbilt could potentially play against in the final round.  

The most enticing matchup for Mark Byington and Co. would be a rematch against St. Mary’s, who defeated the Commodores in the NCAA Tournament last March. The Gaels rank as the second-best team in this tournament in KenPom and are the favorites to emerge from their side of the bracket. They have been nothing short of dominant through six games, with an average margin of victory of 29 points. 

St. Mary’s has several returning stars from last year, including forward Paulius Murauskas, who is averaging 18.3 points and 7 boards a night so far this year. Sophomore Mikey Lewis has also broken out as one of the best shot creators in college basketball, scoring 19.7 points per game on 54.3% shooting from beyond the arc. The combo guard is also elite at baiting defenders into fouls, taking around four free throws a game, which could be problematic for a Vanderbilt perimeter defense that is pesky and likes to reach.  

Wichita State runs a more traditional offense, centered around high-screens and creating isolation opportunities for its star guards, Kenyon Giles and Michael Gray Jr. The duo has averaged 30 points a game, with both being elite mid-range shooters. The Shockers play a lot of zone defense and are quite formidable in the half-court, holding their opponents to just 62.8 points a game. The team’s biggest weakness, though, is its reliance on set pieces on both sides of the ball, as the Shockers have struggled to create and to defend fast breaks. ESPN forecasts that Wichita State has only a 24% chance of beating St. Mary’s, but the similarity of both squads’ pace will make it an interesting matchup. 

The Colorado State Rams have seen smooth sailing offensively thus far. They have four players with double-figure scoring averages, as first-year head coach Ali Farokhmanesh has implemented a unique offensive scheme that features quick passing and limited dribbling, influenced by volleyball plays. The Rams have shot an astounding 44.9% from 3-point range as a team and are one of the best-ranked mid-major teams in KenPom. 

Virginia Tech has gotten off to a hot 5-0 start, led by a breakout star in Neoklis Avdalas. The freshman from Greece plays in a true point-forward role, which is rare to come by in college basketball. Avdalas is averaging 15.2 points and 5.8 assists through his first games as a Hokie this season. Virginia Tech’s other European star, the Englishman Tobi Lawal, has been one of the 10 best rebounders in the nation, grabbing 12 boards a night on average. The senior also blocks two shots a game, contributing to the Hokies’ stout interior defense. While ranked below Colorado State in KenPom, Virginia Tech has a unique and dangerous set of weapons that can be expected to compete for the title in the Bahamas. 

The Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament will run from Nov. 26-28 at Imperial Arena at the Atlantis Paradise Island resort in Nassau, Bahamas. Vanderbilt will play Western Kentucky in its first-round matchup on Nov. 26 at 11 a.m. CST, and the game will be televised on ESPN.