Most teams long to have tournament experience to carry over from season to season.
No team, though, has tournament success to lean on like Connecticut.
The fourth-ranked Huskies headline the eight-team Battle 4 Atlantis at Paradise Island in the Bahamas, where they open play Thursday night against North Carolina-Asheville.
Connecticut (4-0) was at its best last season in must-win situations - three victories in a loaded field to capture the Maui Invitational and five wins in five days to claim the Big East tournament title after a ninth-place finish.
After parlaying the Big East championship into a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament, UConn won its final six games for its third NCAA tournament title in school history as star guard Kemba Walker capped his collegiate career in grand style.
With Walker waiting for his NBA rookie season to start, the Huskies are more of a two-man show this season. Jeremy Lamb and Shabazz Napier have established themselves as the primary scorers, averaging 22.8 and 18.0 points, respectively.
It was Napier, though, who took control of the game Sunday as Walker watched from the stands, finishing with 22 points, 13 assists, 12 rebounds and only one turnover in 39 minutes as the Huskies overcame an early 13-point deficit to beat Coppin State 87-70.
"To come in and do a triple-double, with all that pressure on him: Don't foul, take care of the ball, let's not turn it over," coach Jim Calhoun said. "He is one tough kid. He is crafty. I thought he was just terrific."
Lamb, who almost didn't play due to a sprained right ankle suffered in practice Saturday, added 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting to snap out of a two-game funk in which he shot 11 of 31.
"It bodes well for UConn in the future, because he had to play through some pain," Calhoun said about his sophomore guard. "When he went down (Saturday), he went down pretty good."
Sophomore forward Tyler Olander added 11 points and 10 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double.
Connecticut, which has a 15-game winning streak that started with its Big East tournament run, is holding opponents to 35.5 percent shooting while outrebounding opponents by nearly 14 per game.
UNC-Asheville (2-2) is making its first appearance in an exempt tournament since moving to Division I in 1986 and playing in its first in-season tournament since participating in the Coca-Cola Classic in Chattanooga, Tenn., in 1997.
The Bulldogs, though, enjoyed tournament success last season and have four starters back from a team that won the Big South conference tournament before advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament following its victory over Arkansas-Little Rock in the First Four.
"This will give our school and our program some great exposure this week," coach Eddie Biedenbach said. "We're going to be rubbing shoulders with some great college basketball programs and this week's tournament can only make us a better basketball team no matter what happens."
After opening its new arena with a 91-75 loss to No. 1 North Carolina on Nov. 13, UNC-Asheville regrouped by pounding a pair of non-Division I opponents. The Bulldogs rolled to an 89-48 victory over Brevard Collage on Monday as Matt Dickey, who leads the team at 15.8 points per game, finished with 19.
UConn has won both previous meetings between the teams.
The winner will advance to play the UCF-College of Charleston winner in the semifinals Friday, while the losers will also meet in the consolation bracket Friday night.
