Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament: No. 22 Uconn vs. No. 19 Auburn

PARADISE ISLAND, BAHAMAS — Uconn men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley was far from thrilled with how his team played Saturday against mid-major program Binghamton, even though the Huskies came away with a 24-point win.

The Huskies’ Battle 4 Atlantis tournament opener Wednesday offers a chance for the squad to bounce back, but they have to do so against the toughest team they’ve yet to face. No. 22 Uconn (4-0) will play its first ranked opponent of the season, No. 19 Auburn (3-0), at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN.

Hurley is hoping that, if anything, Saturday was the “wake-up call” his team needed to come out as he knows they’re capable of playing.

“Obviously a lot of things in the way that we played on Saturday would take a wrecking ball to our chances of winning [this week] if we do it again,” Hurley said. “Hopefully, we will look back on the tournament saying we’re glad that the things happened Saturday because it allowed us to course-correct.”

Hurley has tremendous respect for Auburn, who he said could be good enough to make an Elite Eight or Final Four run. It’s not simply its depth, attacking style, size, and athleticism that stands out, but more so its toughness. Hurley went as far to call the Tigers “one of the hardest playing teams in the country, and the way that they play negates the advantage that we have over most teams.”

Auburn boasts a 23-point win over Morehead State, a 28-point one over Louisiana-monroe and a six-point road victory over USF.

“They play really hard. They’re really athletic, so they can match us on that level,” Uconn sophomore Andre Jackson said. “It’s going to be a really good game. We’re both really hard-nosed teams, so it’ll be a fun game to watch and definitely an intense and physical game.”

The road won’t get much easier after Wednesday. No. 6 Baylor, the defending national champs, are in the tournament, as well as Michigan State and Loyola-chicago, who both received votes in the latest Associated Press poll.

Regardless of how the Huskies fare this weekend, the primary goal is to become a better team by the end of it.

“These games are important in terms of what you’re trying to do long-term, learning about your team and where your blind spots are and where you really, really need to get better,” Hurley said. “The level of competition is going to rise significantly here, and the areas where we need to improve will be exposed this week.”

Here’s what else you need to know about the matchup.