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Tennessee basketball: Vols to face Purdue in first Battle 4 Atlantis game

By Caleb Calhoun

NASHVILLE, TN - MARCH 10: Rick Barnes the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers gives instructions to his team during the 67-65 win over the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second round of the SEC Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena on March 10, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN - MARCH 10: Rick Barnes the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers gives instructions to his team during the 67-65 win over the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second round of the SEC Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena on March 10, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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The bracket for the 2017 NCAA Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas is set, and Tennessee basketball got a rough draw. The Volunteers will face the Boilermakers.

Since he took over in 2015, Rick Barnes has not been shy about Tennessee basketball playing one of the toughest schedules in the country.

That did not change with the draw the Vols got in the Battle 4 Atlantis, which they’ll play in Paradise Island, Bahamas early in the 2017-2018 season. The bracket for the tournament, which will be played Nov. 22-24, has been released.

Tennessee basketball will open up the tournament against the Purdue Boilermakers, who finished last year 27-8 and made the Sweet Sixteen.

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Should they win that game, they would face the winner between the Villanova Wildcats and Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.

In all likelihood, the team winning that game would be Jay Wright’s Wildcats. As a result, the Vols would have to face a team two years removed from a national championship. Oh, and they have an elite coach.

On the other side of the bracket, the SMU Mustangs and Arizona Wildcats are two elite teams that made the NCAA Tournament last year.

They will face the Northern Iowa Panthers and N.C. State Wolfpack respectively.

Tennessee basketball does have a bit of history with Purdue. Matt Painter, Purdue’s coach, has a connection with former Vols coach Cuonzo Martin. Both played for Gene Keady at Purdue, and both run his defense-first system.

On top of that, Purdue ruined Tennessee basketball’s chances of a tournament championship in once before.

In 2010, they beat the Vols and Bruce Pearl 73-72 in the Paradise Jam Tournament championship.

So this is going to be a tough tournament for them. And they are excruciatingly young.

But they do have a lot of talent coming back, and they have added some new pieces. So a team that got on a roll at one point last year should get better. And this tournament is a great starting point for them.

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