Appearing on the College Hoops Today Podcast with Jon Rothstein, Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd stated he hopes that a potential game against his former program Gonzaga and mentor Mark Few would happen in the Battle 4 Atlantis and not the double-loser consolation game.
That is unlikely as Rothstein mentions in his article on Fan Duel. Gonzaga is the favorite at plus 135 and Arizona is second at plus 180 to win the Battle 4 Atlantis. There is a significant drop-off after Arizona to Indiana at plus 600. Arizona plays Davidson in the Battle 4 Atlantis opener on November 27 with a 5:30 PM MST tip-off on ESPN2.
Arizona will play either Oklahoma or Providence in its second game in the Bahamas. Indiana and Louisville open the Battle 4 Atlantis on November 27 with a 10:00 AM Mountain Standard Time kickoff. Gonzaga plays West Virginia in the other game in the top half of the bracket.
Lloyd spent 21 years as an assistant at Gonzaga before being hired by Arizona as head coach in 2021. Gonzaga went from an unknown mid-major following a 1999 run to the West Regional Final to appearances in the 2017 and 2021 National Championship Games.
As arguably the top two programs in the West, Gonzaga and Arizona are likely to meet in the NCAA Tournament. Arizona won a memorable double-overtime game over Gonzaga in the 2003 NCAA Tournament second round and in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. Arizona leads the all-time series with Gonzaga 6-4.
Gonzaga has won the last three games against Arizona. The Bulldogs and Wildcats have played once in Spokane and twice in Tucson. The other seven meetings between Arizona and Gonzaga have been on neutral sites. Gonzaga beat Arizona 91-74 during their only in-season tournament meeting in the 2018 Maui Invitational.