The Basketball Tournament

[Da Coach]

Maybe other Bradley fans are like me, I don't have the same level of interest in this year's TBT because of the absence of an Always a Brave team.
And the Peoria AllStars, the only team with local connections, was eliminated in their first game.

The tournament started with 64 teams in 8 Regionals. The games this weekend involved 4 of the Regionals (32 teams) and have trimmed those 32 down to 4 teams.
Here are the results of the Regional games for half the bracket-

http://thetournament.com/bracket

Schedule, including the other 4 Regionals next weekend-

http://thetournament.com/news/tbt-releases-2019-teams-and-bracket

The 4 Regional Champions from this weekend that will advance to the Championship Weekend August 1-6-
#1 seed- Loyalty is Love- http://thetournament.com/teams/loyalty-love
#1 seed- Team Hines- http://thetournament.com/teams/team-hines
#1 seed- Carmen's Crew (Ohio State alumni)- http://thetournament.com/teams/carme...o-state-alumni
#8 seed- Jackson TN Underdogs- http://thetournament.com/teams/jackson-tn-underdawgs

Those 4 teams, plus the other 4 Regional Champions from next weekend will meet in a single elimination bracket Championship in Chicago August 1-6 at the Wintrust Arena (home to DePaul).

https://www.thetournament.com/news/tickets-championship-week-chicago-sale-now

[Da Coach]

2 of the semifinalists have been determined, and the other 2 will be determined tonight in Chicago (at the WinTrust Arena).

Bracket-

http://thetournament.com/bracket

Schedule-

https://www.thetournament.com/2019-tbt-schedule

One of the semifinalists, #1 seed Carmen's Crew, is made up mostly of Ohio State alumni, but they do have one former Illinois player, Demetri McCamey, who came off the bench to lead them in scoring. They beat #1 seed Eberlein Drive last night 79-71. Eberlein Drive included Jerome Randle (who played with the 2017 Always a Brave team and is a cousin of Bradley's Tony Bennett), and former ISU player Osiris Eldridge. Randle was the game's leading scorer with 27 points.

The other semifinalist team is also a #1 seed, Golden Eagles. They are made up of Marquette alumni. They beat the #8 seed Jackson TN Underdogs 79-62.

The 2 other quarterfinal games will be played tonight on ESPN & ESPN2. There is also a Dunk Contest tonight between games on ESPN2.

https://www.thetournament.com/2019-tbt-schedule

The first game tonight features #1 seed Overseas Elite, who have won the $2 million winner-take-all tournament the last 3 years in a row. They will face another #1 seed Loyalty is Love, which features a former Brian Wardle player from Green Bay, Keifer Sykes, as well as a former Marquette player and Bradley recruit Darius Johnson-Odom.

The 4 semifinalists will play on Sunday, August 4 to determine the 2 semifinalists. Then the championship game will be Tuesday, Aug. 6 at 9:00 PM on ESPN-

https://www.thetournament.com/2019-tbt-schedule

[Da Coach]

After winning the last 3 championships in The Basketball Tournament, the team named Overseas Elite will not repeat and win a 4th title this year. They won the Richmond, Virginia Regional, then advanced to the Final Four with a quarterfinal win on Friday in Chicago. But they were just upset by the Carmen's Crew (Ohio State Alumni) in the semifinals today in Chicago.

Carmen's Crew will face the winner of the other semifinal game (a close game in progress now on ESPN) between Team Hines (almost all small school guys) and Golden Eagles (Marquette alumni) for the $2 million championship prize on Tuesday night.

https://www.thetournament.com/2019-tbt-schedule

[Da Coach]

The final on Tuesday night will be Carmen's Crew (Ohio State alumni) vs. Golden Eagles (Marquette alumni) on ESPN at 8 pm Central

https://www.thetournament.com/2019-tbt-schedule

[MacabreMob]

The final on Tuesday night will be Carmen's Crew (Ohio State alumni) vs. Golden Eagles (Marquette alumni) on ESPN at 8 pm Central
https://www.thetournament.com/2019-tbt-schedule

Bradley does have a slight connection to the Golden Eagles right? A Jim Les recruit that committed to Bradley but then went to Marquette - Dwight Buycks.

[Da Coach]

Yes, Dwight Buycks committed to Bradley back in 2006 (he was a 2007 recruit out of Milwaukee Bay View HS), but reportedly missed qualifying by a couple points on his ACT. As a result, he went to Indian Hills junior college, had a great career there, and ended up committing to Marquette when he finished juco in 2009. He had a fine career at Marquette, and played several years in the NBA for multiple teams, as well as stints with a number of international teams. He is still playing pro overseas..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_Buycks

[Da Coach]

Bradley didn't have a team in the 2019 The Basketball Tournament, and so far, there is no word whether they will have one in this year's (2020) tournament.
But it appears The Basketball Tournament organizers are going ahead with plans to have the 2020 tournament as in past years, starting in late July. They are currently selling tickets-

http://thetournament.com/tickets

But The Basketball Tournament did tweet out a slightly cryptic message this afternoon that has people guessing what it means-
https://twitter.com/thetournament/st...93083414937601



Who is The "G.O.A.T" that they are referring to? MJ?

[Dub]

Dirk Nowitzki?

[Tommy]

Dirk Nowitzki?

You read my mind!

[bradleyfan124]

Not sure but there was a player from New York, Kenny Manigault that was a great school yard player until he got into drugs. His nickname was the Goat

[battlebasset]

I wasn't even paying attention to this with no Braves team/Braves players on alternative teams, but with no sports, and the extreme disappointment of no March Madness this year, are any Braves alumni playing on any of these teams?

[Da Coach]

I wasn't even paying attention to this with no Braves team/Braves players on alternative teams, but with no sports, and the extreme disappointment of no March Madness this year, are any Braves alumni playing on any of these teams?

Good question. I looked through the rosters of many of the teams that are currently registered,
Here is the list of teams so far-

http://www.thetournament.com/teams

I have only found one former Bradley player, so far.
Zach Andrews is playing for the Peoria All-Stars, a team that has had some success playing in the tournament in past years.

Zach Andrews page- http://www.thetournament.com/players/zach-andrews
Video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2hKACRpdUA

Peoria All Stars team page- http://www.thetournament.com/teams/peoria-allstars

There could be others, but I haven't searched all the rosters. If anyone knows of any other Bradley alumni, let us know.


One other familiar name I saw- Remy Abell, a former Bradley commit in 2011 (was released when Jim Les was fired and committed to Indiana) is playing-

http://www.thetournament.com/teams/sideline-cancer

[Da Coach]

Was just looking at more rosters and found another Bradley player who played several times for Always a Brave-
Former Bradley star from 2004-2006 Tony Bennett is playing for a team named The Region, centered in northwest Indiana.-
Tony Bennett player page- http://www.thetournament.com/players/tony-bennett-0
The Region team page- http://www.thetournament.com/teams/region



Note that The Region team also has former Bradley recruit and Loyola player Milton Doyle, and a former player for Brian Wardle at Green Bay Keifer Sykes.

[Da Coach]

And here is another former Bradley player- Chris Roberts is playing for a team named Team Emmett-
Player page- http://www.thetournament.com/players/chris-roberts
Team page- http://www.thetournament.com/teams/team-emmett



Love the polka dots.

It appears that a lot of teams have not filled their rosters yet, so other former BU players may sign up ebentually.

Not sure but there was a player from New York, Kenny Manigault that was a great school yard player until he got into drugs. His nickname was the Goat

Kenny Manigault is on the roster of a team named NAIA Alumni. He played for a small NAIA school in Kentucky, University of Pikeville.
http://www.thetournament.com/teams/a...ge-naia-alumni

[battlebasset]

And here is another former Bradley player- Chris Roberts is playing for a team named Team Emmett-
Player page- http://www.thetournament.com/players/chris-roberts
Team page- http://www.thetournament.com/teams/team-emmett

Would love to see him play again. OK - officially interested.