Battle 4 Atlantis Championship Game Pits Michigan Against No. 8 Gonzaga

» Michigan will face No. 8 Gonzaga for the Battle 4 Atlantis title in the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
» U-M advanced with a 73-64 semifinal win over No. 6 North Carolina -- the first win over a ranked opponent for U-M head coach Juwan Howard.
» Eli Brooks led U-M with a career-high-tying 24 points vs. North Carolina and is averaging 16.0 points per game in the tournament.
» The Wolverines are making their second trip to the Battle 4 Atlantis and are 4-1 in the two tournaments.

The University of Michigan men's basketball team (6-0) will play in the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis against Gonzaga (No. 8 AP, No. 7 USA Today Coaches) on Friday (Nov. 29) at the Atlantis Resort's Imperial Arena. The title game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. tip on ESPN with Jon Sciambi (play-by-play), Dick Vitale (analyst) and Jimmy Dykes (sideline) as the broadcast crew.

Who are the Gonzaga Bulldogs

• No. 8 Gonzaga is a perfect 8-0 this season and has reached the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis with a 94-69 win over Southern Miss followed by a dramatic 73-72 overtime win against No. 11 Oregon.
• Five players are scoring in double figures for Gonzaga, which is averaging 87.1 points per game as a team. Sophomore forward Filip Petrusev is leading the way at 17.0 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, while junior forward Corey Kispert is second at 14.1 ppg and leads the team with 23 three-pointers. After missing five games due a knee injury/rest, senior forward Killian Tillie is third with 11.7 points per game and 5.7 rebounds. Freshman forward Drew Timme adds 11.1 ppg, and grad-transfer forward Admon Gilder (Texas A&M) is at 11.0 per game.
• Tillie has been named to the Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy and NABC Player of the Year watch lists.
• Mark Few is in his 21st season as head coach at Gonzaga, having guided the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament in each of his first 20 seasons, including the Final Four in 2017 and the Sweet 16 in each of the last five years.
• Gonzaga went 33-4 in 2018-19, winning the West Coast Conference with a league record of 17-1. The Bulldogs advanced to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament before falling to Texas Tech.

Series with Gonzaga (0-0)

The Battle 4 Atlantis championship game will be the first-ever meeting between the Wolverines and Bulldogs.

The 2019 Battle 4 Atlantis

• For the second time, Michigan is playing in the Bad Boy Motors Battle 4 Atlantis over the Thanksgiving holiday in Paradise Island, Bahamas. The Battle 4 Atlantis has become one of the premier preseason college basketball tournaments. Hosted at the Atlantis resort, games are played in the Imperial Arena, which is a grand ballroom turned into a basketball venue.
• In the 2015 event, the Wolverines won an 88-68 decision over Elon (Nov. 16) in a pre-travel campus match-up. In the opening round on the island, U-M dropped a 74-60 decision to UConn (Nov. 25) before rallying with a 102-47 win over Charlotte (Nov. 26). U-M closed with a 2-1 record after a 78-72 win over Texas (Nov. 27) to earn a fifth-place finish.
• This year, the Wolverines defeated Iowa State 83-76 (Nov. 27) in their quarterfinal game before advancing to the championship game with a 73-64 win over No. 6 North Carolina in the semifinals. The Wolverines will face No. 8 Gonzaga for the 2019 Battle 4 Atlantis title.

Statistically Speaking on the Battle 4 Atlantis

• Michigan is averaging 78.0 points per game in the tournament, posting a two-game-best 83 vs. Iowa State.
• U-M has four players averaging in double figures in the Battle 4 Atlantis: Eli Brooks (16.0), Isaiah Livers (14.5), David DeJulius (12.5) and Jon Teske (10.5).
• Zavier Simpson is averaging 9.5 assists per game, highlighted by a Battle 4 Atlantis record 13 assists vs. Iowa State.
• As a team, U-M has shot 53.7 percent from the field and 44.7 percent on three-pointers. U-M opponents are shooting 43.1 percent and 20.6 percent from long range.
• Michigan got 31 points from the bench vs. Iowa State, led by a career-best 14 from DeJulius and 10 from Colin Castleton. In fact, all 10 Wolverines who played against the Cyclones scored.
• Against North Carolina, the bench again had a key 17 points, led by DeJulius' 11, as all eight Wolverines who played scored.

This and That

• The 73-64 victory over No. 6 North Carolina marked the first win over a ranked opponent for U-M head coach Juwan Howard. No. 8 Gonzaga is the second of three straight top-10 opponents for the Wolverines, who will play at Louisville, currently ranked No. 2, on Tuesday (Dec. 3) in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
• Michigan is averaging 82.5 points per game with four players averaging in double figures: Isaiah Livers (16.3), Eli Brooks (13.7), Jon Teske (12.3) and Zavier Simpson (12.2).
• Livers, who leads U-M with 16.3 points per game, has posted two 20+ point scoring outings, including a career-best 24 against Houston Baptist and 22 against Creighton. Overall, he has scored in double digits in five games.
• Brooks has posted the first three double-figure games of his career this season, including hitting for a career-high 24 twice. The first was in the season opener against Appalachian State as he made a career-best five three-pointers. The second was in the semifinal win over No. 6 North Carolina at the Battle 4 Atlantis as he made four triples.
• Livers leads U-M with 16 three-pointers and is shooting 48.5 percent. Brooks is second with 14 triples and is shooting 50 percent from long range. As a team, U-M is shooting 40.8 percent from deep and has posted three straight games of 10+ triples, including a season-high 14 against Houston Baptist.
• Simpson has six straight games of 6+ assists with two 10+ assist games including a career-best 14 against Houston Baptist. He leads the nation and the Big Ten with 9.2 per game.
• With his two 10+ assist games, Simpson has posted two double-doubles. He posted his first 20/10 double-dip with 22 points and a career-best 14 assists against Houston Baptist. He added a second with 10 points and a Battle 4 Atlantis record 13 assists vs. Iowa State. Overall, he has seven double-doubles in his career with four by points/assists.
• Simpson's 13 assists vs. Iowa State marked the 10th 10+ assist game of his career. He moved into second in U-M history and needs four more to catch all-time leader Gary Grant (14).
• After starting 2-for-8 from the field in the season opener against Appalachian State, Simpson has gone 27-for-39 (69.2 percent) in the next five games.
• Teske is nearly averaging a double-double with his 12.3 points and 8.8 rebounds. He already has two 10+ rebounding games, including a career-best 13 in the opener against Appalachian State.
• Teske has posted 6+ rebound in all six games this season.
• Teske has posted a team-best 14 blocks and 10 steals.
• DeJulius has scored in double figures in his last four games, including a career-best 14 vs. Iowa State (Battle 4 Atlantis). During the four-game stretch, he is 18-for-30 (60.0 percent) from the field and 7-for-14 (50.0 percent) from long range.