UNC Basketball: Tar Heels to return to Bahamas in 2019

The UNC Basketball program is returning to the Bahamas for a tournament early in the 2019-2020 college basketball season

If you’ve ever wanted to plan a trip to the Bahamas or watch the North Carolina Tar Heels men’s basketball team, now you can do both at the same time.

Following their preseason trip to Nassau in August, the Tar Heels are headed back to the Bahamas but this time the games will count.

According to college basketball writer Jon Rothstein, the Tar Heels will be one of the teams in field for the 2019 Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament. The annual event takes place during Thanksgiving week and is played at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas.

Joining UNC will be Gonzaga, Michigan, Oregon, Iowa State, Seton Hall, Alabama, and Southern Miss according to Rothstein.

The Tar Heels have been in this event once before back in 2014, finishing in fifth place after being upset by Butler in the opening round 74-66. As the No. 5 overall team in the nation, the Tar Heels went 2-1 in the tournament as they beat No. 22 UCLA and then No. 18 Florida.

While the thought of the Bahamas in November is a great idea, this tournament does have one main gripe from me. The extra low ceilings in the venue are a pain and for some reason, this tournament usually produces a lot of early-season upsets for whatever reason.

But who can beat an awesome waterpark and a vacation to the Bahamas?

The teams haven’t officially been announced but Rothstein is usually very reliable with his reports and we don’t see why he would be wrong about this one. A general announcement for the 2019 field could come anytime during the upcoming season with the bracket being released next July.

If you’re thinking of taking a trip to somewhere warm next Thanksgiving, then this just might be ideal for you.

For more on the Tar Heels basketball program, please check back with Keeping It Heel.