March 28, 2019; Anaheim, CA, USA; Michigan Wolverines forward Ignas Brazdeikis (13) moves to the basket against Texas Tech Red Raiders forward Tariq Owens (11) during the second half in the semifinals of the west regional of the 2019 NCAA Tournament at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Iowa State officially knows its first opponent in the 2019 Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.
The Cyclones will square off with the University of Michigan on Wednesday, No. 27, at 11 a.m. in their first game of the bracket scheduled to take place Nov. 27-29 in Paradise Island, Bahamas, according to CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein.
The Wolverines went 30-7 during the 2018-19 season, advancing to the Sweet 16 before losing to Texas Tech in dominating fashion. This will be Michigan’s first season under new head coach, and former Wolverine Fab Five star, Juwan Howard after John Beilein left the school to become the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Howard is tasked with replacing three of the team’s top players from last season but does return second-team All-Big 10 senior point guard Zavier Simpson (8.8 points, 6.6 assists per game last season) and senior 7-foot-1 center Jon Teske (9.5 points, 7.0 rebounds per game last season).
Iowa State and Michigan have met 10 times previously with the series split at five victories apiece. The last time the two teams met, the Cyclones topped the (at the time) No. 7 Wolverines 77-70 behind 22 points from Melvin Ejim on Nov. 17, 2013, at Hilton Coliseum.
That win remains one of the most memorable of the Fred Hoiberg era at Iowa State considering it was former Iowa State (and Michigan) head coach Johnny Orr’s last appearance in the arena he helped turn into one of college basketball’s most feared before his death a little more than a month later.
The other first-round matchups in the tournament will pit North Carolina against Alabama, Gonzaga against Southern Mississippi and Oregon against Seton Hall. It is unclear at this time how the bracket exactly comes together out of those matchups.