2017 Battle 4 Atlantis bracket: Arizona to play NC State in tournament opener

The Arizona Wildcats will take on the NC State Wolfpack in their opening game of Battle 4 Atlantis at 5 p.m. MT on November 22 in the Bahamas, it was announced Monday.

Here is the full bracket for the early-season tournament:

Assuming Arizona beats NC State, it would play either SMU or Northern Iowa in the semifinals and then Villanova, Western Kentucky, Purdue, or Tennessee in the championship game should it advance that far.

Villanova is ranked No. 8 in CBS Sports’ preseason rankings, while Purdue is No. 23.

NC State went 15-17 (4-14 in the ACC) last season, and fired head coach Mark Gottfried, plus lost star point guard Dennis Smith Jr. (NBA Draft) and second-leading scorer Terry Henderson (graduation), so it’s a transitioning program at the moment.

The Wolfpack are now led by former UNC Wilmington head coach Kevin Keatts. NC State brought in the 77th-ranked recruiting class in 2017, and return three starters, and former four-star recruit Omer Yurtseven.

Battle 4 Atlantis takes place at Imperial Arena on Paradise Island.

Arizona is 2-0 all-time against NC State, with the last matchup being played in December 2010, when the Wildcats escaped Raleigh with a 72-62 victory.

The year before that, Nic Wise hit a game-winning layup to lift the Wildcats to a 76-74 win in Tucson.

Follow Ryan Kelapire on Twitter at @RKelapire