FILE - In this Nov. 10, 2017, file photo, Villanova's Mikal Bridges (25) goes up for a shot between Columbia's Rodney Hunter (4) and Gabe Stefanini (15) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game,in Philadelphia. Bridges is averaging 18.3 points to lead the fifth-ranked Wildcats entering the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas.

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – The sprawling and scenic Atlantis resort has become a prime destination for college basketball’s best teams.

Thirteen schools have won Division I national championships since 1995. Each of those programs, with the exception of Kentucky and Maryland, has either played in the Battle 4 Atlantis since its inception in 2011, or will do so this year for the first time.

“This is, in our minds, the best tournament of its kind,” Arizona coach Sean Miller said Tuesday.

This year’s Battle 4 Atlantis was set to kick off Wednesday when No. 18 Purdue tangled with Tennessee. Western Kentucky’s first-round battle with No. 5 Villanova was set to follow.

No. 2 Arizona highlights the bottom half of the bracket, with North Carolina State, Northern Iowa and Southern Methodist also competing.

“To be here and able to play in it is an amazing opportunity,” Hilltoppers forward Justin Johnson said of the tournament. “To play the teams we’ll be able to compete against is even better.”

The Battle 4 Atlantis’ rise to the top of the Thanksgiving week tournaments has been swift. The event started in 2011, with Harvard knocking off Central Florida in the championship game.

The 2012 event featured Duke beating Louisville, which won the national title months later. The fields have stayed strong since then, with Villanova (2013), Wisconsin (’14), Syracuse (’15) and Baylor (’16) all winning Atlantis crowns.

Despite not existing as an event until 2011, the Battle 4 Atlantis has consistently assembled fields as strong as any among the Thanksgiving week tournaments. Those include the Maui Invitational and events taking place this week in New York, Kansas City, Mo., Las Vegas and Portland, Ore.

The 2017 Battle 4 Atlantis features three teams that have won national championships – Arizona, N.C. State and Villanova, which won the 2016 NCAA Tournament. Purdue is a Top 20 team and SMU has been ranked that high at least once each of the past four seasons.

Tennessee represents a traditionally strong college sports brand, WKU ranks ninth across Division I in all-time winning percentage (.660) and UNI has been to the NCAAs seven times since 2003-04.

“Like they say when you’re boxing, styles make fights,” N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts said. “I think they’ve put together some really, really good teams from different conferences that wouldn’t play against each other than playing in an early-season tournament.

“When you look at the field this year, I think it’s as strong as it’s been.”

WKU coach Rick Stansbury pointed to the Atlantis resort and the Bahamas as primary reasons the tournament has been able to attract strong national programs to its event.

The Bahamas is a shorter trip for fans and teams than Maui, especially for those programs in the Eastern and Central time zones. The warm, sunny weather compares favorably to the late-November weather for most tournaments back in the U.S.

This tournament also has the added advantage of being self-contained entirely to the Atlantis resort. Fans and teams can walk through a series of hallways from their rooms to Imperial Arena as opposed to hopping on a bus or taking a taxi offsite to see games.

“There are plenty of things for everybody to go do,” Stansbury said. “There’s great eating places. If you like to shop, you can shop. Those who like to gamble, there are casinos.

“So there are just so many different things, and it’s all confined right here in a beautiful setting. There aren’t many places in the world with a setting any better than this.”

The backing of ESPN, which is broadcasting the Battle 4 Atlantis across its platforms, is another reason the event has drawn top-flight teams, Stansbury said.

Iconic sportscaster Dick Vitale was set to broadcast WKU’s first-round game Wednesday against Villanova on ESPN2. The Atlantis games represent the only time this year the Toppers are slated to appear on an ESPN network, with the exception of a Feb. 17 game at Rice scheduled for an ESPN3 broadcast.

“That’s what’s taken it over the top to make it what I think is the best tournament in the country,” Stansbury said.{&end}