Off-limits

After Arizona lost to NC State on Wednesday, the school chose seniors Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Dusan Ristic to accompany coach Sean Miller for the team’s postgame interviews … but not Deandre Ayton, who had 27 points and 14 rebounds in his first game back in his home country.

While it is customary for Arizona to select veterans to be interviewed after defeats, the decision appeared to puzzle a local reporter.

“Where’s Deandre?” the reporter asked Miller.

“He’s in the locker room,” Miller said.

The Nassau reporter then followed up by asking how Ayton appeared to be feeling.

“He’s not depressed,” Miller said. “He played a great game. Of course, he’s disappointed that he lost but we’re here for two more nights.”

Headliner

Ayton’s return home to Nassau is a big deal, good or bad.

Blared across the Nassau Guardian’s sports page Thursday was a huge, two-line headline reading “N.C. State upsets Ayton and the Wildcats.”

Perspective

But the Nassau Guardian’s really big story Thursday, splashed across the front page, concerned a family feud that has erupted since Sir Arlington Butler died at age 79 earlier this month. Butler was the Bahamas’ first Speaker of the House Assembly since the country gained independence from Britain in 1973.

The Guardian also published a story celebrating its 173rd birthday. The newspaper was founded during a slavery debate in November 1844.

The beat

Now I know why Deandre Ayton liked playing drums here as a kid. This is the halftime show: pic.twitter.com/FETXcMKxSd

— Bruce Pascoe (@BrucePascoe) November 24, 2017

Why Ayton loved playing drums as a child growing up in Nassau probably became clear during Thursday’s halftime show.

A local youth band full of drums and some percussion nearly blew the roof off the Imperial Ballroom, smiling, swaying and playing one song for almost half of the halftime period.

Missing Alkins

For the first time this season, Miller made a reference to the impact of Rawle Alkins’ injury after the Wildcats lost to NC State.

Even though Alkins made the trip and is now within the 8-12 week window that he was expected to return in, Miller said before the Atlantis tournament that he wasn’t sure when Alkins would be back.

“We’re playing a lot of young players,” Miller said. “Part of why we’re ranked (high) is Rawle. … He’s a big part of what makes our team go. Without him, we have a lot more young guys playing bigger roles, a lot of young guys playing away from home for the first time.”

Other Wildcats are in

The long-awaited Villanova-Arizona championship game will have No. 5 Villanova in it, at least.

Those Wildcats beat Tennessee 85-76 to reach Friday’s 10 a.m. final with Northern Iowa, a 64-60 winner over North Carolina State. Tennessee led by 12 points at halftime, when Villanova had three starters with two fouls or more, with star point guard Jalen Brunson playing just 10 minutes.

“Great, great college basketball game,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “We played a great second half. … Happy Thanksgiving to everybody.”

Turkey day?

Since the Battle 4 Atlantis is being played in the Bahamas, it technically wasn’t Thanksgiving.

But you’d hardly know it at the Atlantis resort, which has a distinct Las Vegas/Disney feel. It posted signs Thursday inviting visitors to check out “Turkey Bowl Football,” “Tom the Turkey’s Kids Carnival,” “Turkey Day Dance Party” and “Tom’s Thanksgiving Picnic Party.”

No Turkey day

Rather than risk any kind of grogginess from a big Thanksgiving dinner, the Wildcats have made a tradition of avoiding turkey if they have a game that day.

Last year, the Wildcats moved their Thanksgiving feast up a day, since they were playing Santa Clara in Las Vegas on Thanksgiving night, and this year they skipped it altogether. Arizona instead had only its typical pregame meal Thursday.

Local flavor

While there aren’t too many reminders inside the Atlantis resort that it is actually located in the Bahamas, the games inside the Imperial Ballroom are another story.

At games, fans can purchase either of the country’s two major beers (Kalik or Sands), sample a local microbrew, and step up to the conch salad bar, where a uniformed chef chops up and mixes in the local seafood delicacy.

The concession area also serves conch fritters, conch chowder and Bahamian mac and cheese — a more complex dish than the typical American version, with herbs, spices, chopped vegetables and layers of cheese that’s usually served casserole style and cut into squares.

Intimate crowd

While the 3,500-seat Imperial Ballroom was about half full for Arizona’s first game Wednesday, just about 1,000 showed up for its late game Thursday — and about 70 percent of them appeared to be rooting for the Wildcats.

The big number

18

Purdue’s rank in The Associated Press Top 25 before the Boilermakers lost to Tennessee and Western Kentucky in its first two Battle 4 Atlantis games. They will take on Arizona tonight.

Quotable

“We want to be tested against the best. I’m not worried about wins or losses, I’m worried about getting our team better. I liked the way we responded.”

— Western Kentucky coach Rick Stansbury, after the Hilltoppers upset Purdue 77-73 to reach Friday’s fifth-place game.