Battle for Atlantis: Biggest Takeaways from Early Action in the Bahamas

Some of college basketball's marquee teams have gathered in the Bahamas to take part in the 2013 Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, and we've already learned plenty about the teams in the field.

While No. 2 Kansas and No. 23 Iowa stand as the only ranked teams heading into the tourney, they're far from the only formidable teams in the field that are worth dropping the magnifying lens on. There's no shortage of solid schools in Atlantis that could shock the college basketball world. 

Here's a look at the biggest takeaways thus far in the early action from Atlantis.


Andrew Wiggins, The Closer

The No. 2 Kansas Jayhawks have shown early on in the season that they're much more than just Andrew Wiggins, and that proved true again in the Bahamas.

With Wiggins scoring just five first-half points, Kansas was still able to get out to a 40-26 halftime lead over a Wake Forest team that came into Atlantis unbeaten.

But the Demon Deacons surged in the second half and made it quite the contest, trimming the Jayhawks' lead down to just four points. Wiggins wasn't having any of that.

He scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half to give Kansas enough momentum to get out of its quarterfinal bout with an 87-78 win. And scoring was far from his only contribution, as he added four boards, four assists and a game-high three steals.

Wiggins hasn't put up the gaudy numbers of Julius Randle or Jabari Parker early on in his freshman season, but he's ever-valuable to Kansas' chances of winning tight games.

Up next is Villanova at 9:30 p.m. ET Friday. 


Tennessee's Stock Goes from Up, to Down, to Up

Entering the season with 2012-13 SEC Player of the Year runner-up Jordan McRae, burly forwards Jarnell Stokes and Jeronne Maymon, along with 247Sports five-star newcomer Robert Hubbs III, hopes were high on Rocky Top to start the season. 

That, along with slow starts in each of head coach Cuonzo Martin's first two seasons, made the Vols' opening loss to UTEP on Thursday night especially painful. Tennessee struggled on both sides of the ball en route to a 78-70 loss that wasn't as close as the score suggested.

With less than 13 hours between that loss and a consolation ladder matchup with Xavier early Friday, the Vols transformed literally overnight to beat the Musketeers 64-49 in a dominating showing.

Stokes and Maymon dominated the boards, combining for 34 points and 16 rebounds.

Tennessee lost to Xavier on the road in its season opener, so Martin and company were able to cook up some revenge in Atlantis despite losing the opening game to UTEP. Although that loss may leave a sour taste in the mouths of Vol fans, they turned things around in a convincing manner on Friday.


USC's Early Struggles Continue

As if head coach Andy Enfield's tenure at USC didn't start out bad enough with a season-opening loss to Utah State, the Trojans were quickly bounced from contention in Atlantis by Villanova.

The Wildcats jumped out on Southern Cal out of the gates, and a slightly more encouraging second half performance wasn't enough to get USC into a position to win. Villanova would cruise to a 94-79 win.

Villanova's offensive firepower came from every direction. Four of the five starters finished in double figures, while Dylan Ennis added 14 off the bench. The Wildcats got hot from deep by going 11-for-28 from long range, and USC simply didn't have an answer.

Enfield came into the USC job garnering plenty of excitement after he took Florida Gulf Coast to the Sweet 16 in last year's NCAA Tournament. But early on, he hasn't done much to erase the past few woeful years of Trojan basketball.