Syracuse Basketball: Orange’s path to 2021 Battle 4 Atlantis title is brutal

Syracuse basketball will have to be at the top of its game, and then some, if the Orange wants to capture the 2021 Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis, a tournament that it won a few years back.

Up first for the ‘Cuse in this annual pre-season tournament that takes place over the Thanksgiving holiday is VCU, according to a press release from the Orange athletics department.

Syracuse basketball will face VCU on Nov. 24 from the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. Per cuse.com, the Orange is 3-0 all-time against the Rams, a really good squad that went on a magical run to the Final Four during the 2011 NCAA Tournament.

A season ago, VCU qualified for the Big Dance, but the Rams unfortunately were unable to play their March Madness contest as a result of Covid-19 protocols.

Syracuse basketball has a formidable task looming in the 2021 Battle 4 Atlantis.

According to an article from Mike Waters of Syracuse.com, the ‘Cuse is situated on the same side of the Battle 4 Atlantis bracket as Baylor and Arizona State.

This means that if the Orange is able to conquer VCU, Syracuse basketball could potentially suit up versus Baylor in the next round. The Bears cut down the nets at the end of the 2021 NCAA Tournament, and they’re a pre-season top-10 team heading into the upcoming term, per numerous national prognosticators.

On the other side of the bracket, Big Ten Conference powerhouse Michigan State will play Loyola Chicago, while Auburn goes toe to toe with former Big East Conference rival Connecticut.

Loyola Chicago made the 2021 Sweet 16 after stunning No. 1 seed Illinois in the round of 32, while both the Spartans and the Huskies received invites to this past spring’s March Madness.

Glancing ahead to the 2021-22 stanza, Michigan State, Auburn and UConn are all getting included in various early pre-season top-25 rankings.

In the 2021 Battle 4 Atlantis, the ‘Cuse will compete in three games as part of a daunting non-conference slate. Syracuse basketball claimed this tournament crown in 2015, defeating top-25 foes Connecticut and Texas A&M along the way, in the same season when the Orange reached the Final Four.