Villanova overwhelms Memphis to win Battle 4 Atlantis championship

The equation for Friday’s final in the Bahamas was simple. One team wanted to play for the tournament championship. The other wished it was still on the beach.

Villanova was a tidal wave, overwhelming Memphis offensively and defensively. The Wildcats opened the game on a 16-2 run and never relented, beating the Tigers (5-1), 79-63, to win the Battle 4 Atlantis championship. Villanova led by as many as 35 points.

The Wildcats (6-1) improved to 9-0 all-time in the tournament, winning a third title after Battle 4 Atlantis championships in 2013 and 2017.

The Wildcats swept in as if on trade winds. Redshirt senior forward Eric Dixon was the catalyst for Villanova’s win over North Carolina with 34 points, but Friday was a true team effort. Nine of the 11 Villanova players who appeared scored.

Five players scored in double figures. Senior guard TJ Bamba led Villanova with 13 points. Graduate guard Justin Moore, graduate forward Tyler Burton, and Dixon all scored 11. Mark Armstrong added 10.

Villanova came out firing. Five different Wildcats made threes in the first six minutes. The Wildcats reeled off a 12-0 run and two 10-0 runs in the first half to open up a 44-16 halftime lead. The Wildcats clearly were the more aggressive team, especially in the first half, and rode effort and hot shooting to a commanding victory.

“Every person that went into the game just gave it their all,” Villanova coach Kyle Neptune said. “It really starts on the defensive end. When you can get stops like that and get out in transition, normally your offense looks a lot better.”

Villanova shot 42.6% (26 for 61) from the field, 37.1% (13 for 35) from three.

After the game, Dixon was named Battle 4 Atlantis MVP. He averaged 21.3 points and eight rebounds in the tournament, but shrugged off the individual accolade. He was more excited to see his teammates and Villanova’s staff celebrating.

“It means more for me that they’re excited,” Dixon said.

The Wildcats were as good on the defensive end. They held Memphis to 14.8% shooting from the field in the first half, 8.3% from three.

Memphis struggled to deal with Villanova’s length and intensity. The Wildcats forced eight early turnovers and 11 on the day.

“That first half was definitely a nightmare because we couldn’t make a shot, we couldn’t get a rebound,” Memphis coach Penny Hardaway said. “We couldn’t do anything right. You could just see the team losing confidence by the second.”

In a similarly commanding first-half performance against Maryland a week ago, Villanova eased up in the second half and went 12 minutes without a field goal. The Wildcats suffered a similar lull against Memphis. After extending its lead to 35 points midway through the second, Villanova allowed Memphis to go on a 21-0 run.

The run took place against Villanova’s backups. Though the lead was never truly in doubt, Neptune brought Moore and Dixon back in to clinch the victory.

» READ MORE: In a rout of Maryland, Villanova shows its potential, but also its flaws

David Jones was the leading scorer for Memphis with 13. He played two seasons at DePaul and last season at St. John’s before heading to the Tigers.

However, the second-leading scorer was well-known to Villanova. Former Wildcat Jahvon Quinerly scored 12 points in his first game against the team since transferring in 2019. He spent the last three seasons at Alabama.

“It was kind of weird, to be honest with you,” Quinerly said. “Still having a relationship with some of those guys over there was a little bit weird. They were the more disciplined team today.”

Villanova returns to Finneran Pavilion on Wednesday (6:30 p.m., FS1) against St. Joseph’s (3-2) in Big 5 play. The game will function as a de facto Big 5 semifinal. The Wildcats suffered their lone loss of the season against Penn, but still would qualify for the Big 5 championship on Dec. 2 with a win over St. Joe’s. If Villanova loses, the Hawks will win their three-team pod and play in the championship, sending Villanova to the fifth-place game.