ESPN’s Jeff Goodman is reporting that the Louisville Cardinals appear to be one of the teams that will be playing in the Battle for Atlantis in the 2016-17 season.
St. John's also in Battle 4 Atlantis in 2016, source told ESPN. Thus far, Louisville, Michigan State, VCU, Wichita State all in it.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) June 17, 2015
That is a great start to the field that will battle it out in the Bahamas. The first thing that sticks out to me is a possible matchup against Michigan State. As you know, the Cards will play the Spartans this coming season in the ACC/Big10 Challenge. So there is a chance that they could meet for the third consecutive year in the Battle for Atlantis.
If you remember, the Cards have played in this tournament one other time, in the 2012-13 season. Louisville lost to Duke in the Championship game, but would end Duke’s season in the Elite 8 and go on to win the National Championship. A similar ending to the 2016-17 season would be just fine with me. And that is a real possibility.
Without getting too deep into the 2016-17 season, just take a look at what the roster COULD look like.
Mangok Mathiang – SR
David Levitch – SR
Quentin Snider – JR
Jaylen Johnson – JR
Chinanu Onuaku – JR
Anas Mahmoud – JR
Matz Stockman – JR
Dillon Avare – JR
Donovan Mitchell – SO
Deng Adel – SO
Raymond Spalding – SO
V.J. King – FR
Ryan McMahon – FR
Of course there will be a couple more players on the team by then, and we know Maverick Rowan is still a possibility. But I just wanted to point out that the 2016-17 team should be very good and very experienced!
Either way, if the team needs anyone to go with them on this trip to carry bags, fill up water bottles, or keep the ladies away from David Levitch on the beach, you let me know.
