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The Paradise Island, Bahamas-based tournament is perhaps the richest pre-season event for college basketball programs, and that allows organizers to put together some of the strongest fields out there. This Thanksgiving weekend, when Villanova travels to the Atlantis resort, they will have a challenging draw to finish at the top of the heap. Xavier, who will also play in the contest, was held to the opposite side of the bracket, and the conference foes can therefore cannot meet before the championship.
With games starting on Thankgiving day, Villanova will tip off at 1:00 PM against the Southern California Trojans, led by former "Dunk City" (FGCU) coach Andy Enfield, who upset Georgetown with high-flying heroics in the NCAA Tournament last season.
The winner of that game will move on to play headliner Kansas at 9:30pm the next day with the loser tipping off against the likely weak-link, Wake Forest. A game against Kansas on a neutral court will be a valuable asset to an upwardly-mobile program seeking to build a strong RPI this season.
