After the Maui Invitational, the Battle 4 Atlantis is consistently the best MTE during Feast Week. While the Players Era Festival can make a claim for the second spot this season, the annual Bahamas tournament always plays on Thanksgiving, making it a nice tradition for college hoops junkies.
I've hit a bit of a bump after a strong start to the season (23-27 record overall), but I will look to bounce back with four plays on Thursday in Nassau.
So, here's 2024 Battle 4 Atlantis odds, picks and predictions for four Thanksgiving games on Thursday, November 28.
Battle 4 Atlantis Predictions
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 12 p.m. | |
  | 2:30 p.m. | |
  | 5 p.m. | |
  | 7:30 p.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NCAAB Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
West Virginia vs. Louisville
After West Virginia upset No. 3 Gonzaga and Louisville cruised past No. 14 Indiana, we have an unexpected semifinal matchup in the Battle 4 Atlantis on Thanksgiving.
And I think this spot favors Louisville.
Why? Well, first, the Cardinals cruised past the Hoosiers and no one of the roster played more than 30 minutes. That's critical when we're talking about two games in two days.
Meanwhile, West Virginia played an extra five minutes against Gonzaga with three players (Javon Small, Sencire Harris and Tucker DeVries) logging 42 minutes.
Also, the Mountaineers don't have a very deep rotation, which doesn't bode well for them against a team that's 34th in adjusted tempo, according to KenPom.
On top of that, the victory over the Zags is an emotional, monumental victory for Darian DeVries and the West Virginia program. It's the biggest victory in the post-Bob Huggins era, and now they have to turn around and play a Louisville team that is hungry to prove to the nation that it's back.
Both teams have first-year head coaches, brand new rotations, toughness and experience (Small and Tucker DeVries for West Virginia and Kasean Pryor, Terrence Edwards Jr., J'Vonne Hadley and Chucky Hepburn for Louisville). However, the fresher team gets the slight advantage on the short spread for me.
Pick: Louisville -2 (Play to -2.5)
Indiana vs. Gonzaga
Through the first couple weeks of the season, the vibes at Indiana were positive.
The Hoosiers finally had their point guard that they so desperately needed for years, Mackenzie Mgbako looked ready to put together a monster breakout season, and veterans like Arizona transfer Oumar Ballo and Malik Reneau upped the roster's talent level.
Those early-season positivities may become realities even as the sample size grows, but after a disastrous loss to Louisville, there's more questions than answers right now.
Prized Stanford transfer Kanaan Carlyle is averaging just 5.3 points per game.
The fit in the frontcourt with Reneau, Mgbako and Ballo can be questionable against smaller, quicker, athletic teams.
Also, the Hoosiers faithful can tell you about Mike Woodson, who doesn't exactly strike confidence in Bloomington.
Indiana was losing to Eastern Illinois at home at halftime and UNC Greensboro stuck around a couple of games later.
And now the Hoosiers didn't even look like they had interest in being in the Bahamas against Louisville.
I just can't trust Indiana right now, regardless of its talent.
I know Gonzaga played an overtime, grueling game against West Virginia on Wednesday, but it's still a deep team that features numerous different players who Mark Few can run his offense through.
Ryan Nembhard isn't going to have too many games in which he shoots 1-of-10 and Graham Ike only played 14 minutes against the Mountaineers.
I trust Few to have his team motivated off a loss rather than Woodson (sorry Indiana fans).
Pick: Gonzaga -9 (Play to -10)
Oklahoma vs. Arizona
Jalon Moore, Jeremiah Fears and Kobe Elvis have proven that they can score for Oklahoma; each has had at least one game in which they have led the Sooners in scoring this season.
However, against what level of competition?
The best team Oklahoma has played is Providence — which is 69th in KenPom, is currently missing its best player Bryce Hopkins and hasn't looked very good this season.
And even then, the Sooners nearly gave that game away in Nassau.
Meanwhile, Arizona has been more than tested; it faced Wisconsin and Duke already this season, although it lost both games.
Even though the Sooners' defense has been solid (40th in KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency metric), they have not faced a team with the tempo and offensive skill set of Arizona.
Plus, Caleb Love, who has been struggling mightily this season, scored 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting against Davidson in the first round of this tournament. The short rest is actually beneficial to him maintaining that rhythm.
Arizona keeps rolling.
Pick: Arizona -4.5 (Play to -5.5)
Davidson vs. Providence
Providence put together a valiant effort against Oklahoma without its best player, Hopkins.
But I just don't think the Friars are very good right now. They nearly lost to Central Connecticut State at home, were trailing Hampton by eight at halftime and have had one of the worst non-conference schedules in the country so far.
The good news is Providence gives up the second-fewest points in the country (53.6 PPG), even though the advanced metrics are not exactly sold on it as a top-five defense nationally.
That's Kim English's bread and butter, and that won't change with Devin Carter off to the NBA and Hopkins still recovering from a torn ACL.
What's concerning about the Friars, though, is their offense. Providence is 292nd in points scored and it shoots just over 31% from 3-point territory.
On top of that, the Friars don't really have a true shot creator, counting on 6-foot-2 Miami transfer Bensley Joseph and Jayden Pierre, who everyone in Friartown is still waiting on to take a leap.
I'm not blown away by Davidson's early-season play either, as the best team it played before Arizona was 131st East Tennessee State (KenPom). However, the Wildcats can still shoot from the perimeter, and they still have Reed Bailey, who is averaging 19 points and eight rebounds a night.
I just don't think the Friars have enough offense to cover this number — even if Hopkins ends up returning for limited minutes.
Pick: Davidson +5.5
