THE ESSENTIALS WHAT Battle 4 Atlantis QtrF3 #37 Michigan (3-1) vs #32 Memphis (3-0) WHERE Autograph Ballroom at Rewarding Fans Resort The Bahamas WHEN 5:18 PM THE LINE Kenpom: Mem-1 Torvik: Mem-1 TELEVISION ESPN2 (link) Via sources, the tiger mascot has been replaced with this shit-talking doll. THE OVERVIEW Michigan is back competing for the Cursed Trident of Atlantis, and begins the tournament against an athletic, up-tempo team of high-profile transfers that Penny Hardaway has assembled in a second swing at becoming the Prime U of basketball. Led by a two-time portal gem, the Tigers like to get in transition, create isolation for their slashers, and score at the rim. Their opponents thus far are two bottom-of-the barrel (#284 and #341 out of 362 teams on Kenpom) buy games and a centerless Mizzou team that just lost at home to the afore mentioned #284 team. Michigan is coming off a defensive collapse against Long Beach State, an athletic up-tempo mid-major that might compete for the Big West but wasn't supposed to be competitive in Ann Arbor. Michigan's own suite of transfers are still trying to gel with a mostly sophomore core left over from a mostly Hunter Dickinson squad that is now definitively not that. Offsetting their recent upset is a win in Madison Square Garden against a somewhat suspect St. John's team in Year 1 under Zombie Rick Pitino that featured a rim monster and a bunch of transfer slashers. The Michigan team that beat them zoomed Dug into the lane and switched the athletes into oblivion in the second half. Which team shows up to the Ballroom in the Bahamas is unknown. They're probably not going to be the Beach team. But like the ceiling in the weird hotel they play this thing in, there's still bound to be leaks. [Hit THE JUMP for a day at a different beach.]