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While the news of a November 25th start date for the basketball season reported as likely by CBS last week would not impact the start date for the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis, CBS Sports also broke the news Tuesday afternoon that the tournament will be looking for alternate locations if it will be played.
Hoops scheduling nugget: The Battle 4 Atlantis tournament is not expected to be played in the Bahamas this year, sources tell @CBSSports. The initial preferred destination for tournament organizers is the Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. Other cities are still under consideration.
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) September 8, 2020
The Ohio State Buckeyes are currently listed as a participant for the 2020 tournament. The Utah Utes are as well from the Pac-12, but no official word has been indicated as to whether the Pac-12 will be altering their postponement of all sports until January 1, 2021 after reports of rapid testing protocols being enacted or whether an alternate team will replace them.
The mandatory 14-day quarantine in effect for all US visitors likely played a factor in this, along with the lack of fans that will be allowed to attend games as a result of COVID-19. The Sanford Pentagon was named as the top alternate site in mind for tournament organizers. The 3,250 seat venue in Sioux Falls, South Dakota is home to the NBA’s G-league team the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Big Ten teams are familiar with the arena as many have played games there since it opened in 2013. Minnesota played Oklahoma there in 2019, Nebraska played Oklahoma State there in 2018, and Iowa was scheduled to play Oregon State there December 22nd prior to the Pac-12’s announcement postponing sports until January 1, 2021.
The Buckeyes are not the only team who have an early season tournament that might be changing venues or impacted. The Indiana Hoosiers are set to participate in the 2020 Maui Jim Maui Invitational in Hawaii. However, the tournament is reportedly considering Asheville, North Carolina’s Harrah’s Cherokee Center as their alternate location. The Stanford Cardinal are also listed as a participant, but that will hinge on the Pac-12 reversing course.
Source: The 2020 Maui Invitational is considering Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina as a potential location.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) September 3, 2020
Field includes North Carolina, Indiana, Alabama, Texas, Stanford, Providence, UNLV, and Davidson. https://t.co/2MIfJUHgfI
Other early season tournaments that might be impacted due to their start date include the Northwestern Wildcats in the Hall of Fame Classic scheduled for November 23rd-24th in Kansas City. Cal-Berkley will also play a factor in addition to the start date. The Nebraska Cornhuskers are scheduled to participate in the Myrtle Beach Invitational, but the tournament dates are November 19th-22nd.