The Basketball Tournament 2020

The Basketball Tournament

2020
Tournament information
Location	Nationwide Arena Columbus, Ohio
Dates	July 4–July 14, 2020
Tournament format(s)	Single elimination
Participants	24
Purse	Championship: US$1,000,000 winner-take-all
Final positions
Champions	Golden Eagles
Runner-up	Sideline Cancer
Tournament statistics
MVP	Darius Johnson-Odom
Games played	22 (plus one walkover)
← 2019 2021 →

The Basketball Tournament 2020 was the seventh edition of The Basketball Tournament (TBT), a 5-on-5, single elimination basketball tournament. The tournament, involving 24 teams, started on July 4 and continued through the championship game on July 14, with all games held at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The winner of the final, Golden Eagles, received a $1 million prize.

Format[]

Initial plans for TBT 2020 called for a field of 64 teams, organized into eight regions of 8 teams, all of which would be seeded. Each regional in the 2019 edition was hosted by a competing team, with the winner of each regional received a prize equal to 25% of that region's ticket proceeds,^[1] although it was unclear whether this procedure was slated to continue in 2020. The open entry period was set as March 15 to June 15.^[2]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was announced on June 11 that the start of the event would be moved up to July 4 in a modified form, with the entire tournament taking place at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, and downsized to 24 teams with a $1,000,000 purse. It marked the first televised basketball event held in the United States since the onset of the pandemic and the suspension of all U.S. professional sports in mid-March, as the NBA did not plan to resume its 2019–20 season until July 31 (with all games hosted by the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando, Florida).^[3] TBT 2020 organizers put extensive quarantine and testing protocols in place, including the immediate disqualification of any team that had a player test positive. Games were broadcast via ESPN networks (with ESPN having also announced a renewal of its media rights to the tournament), and closed to the public. State governor Mike DeWine considered the event "another step forward in our state's efforts to responsibly restart Ohio".^[4]

As with previous years, all tournament games operated with the "Elam Ending", a format of ending the game without use of a game clock. Under the Elam Ending, the clock is turned off at the first dead-ball whistle with under four minutes to play in the game. At that time, a target score, equal to the score of the leading team plus eight, is set, and the first team to reach this target score is declared the winner of the game.^[5] Thus, all games end on a made basket (field goal or free throw) and there is no overtime.

Teams[]

Multiple teams in the tournament were expected to be comprised mostly or exclusively of alumni of a particular school, program, or a group of closely related schools. As early as October 2019, Florida State had announced plans to enter a team, and St. Bonaventure and Virginia Tech had also announced the same by the end of 2019. ^[6] In January 2020, Purdue also announced plans to enter a team.^[7] By the end of February 2020, Alabama, Illinois, Marshall, Maryland, Oklahoma State, and Virginia had also announced plans to enter TBT 2020.^[8] The status of defending champion Carmen's Crew (Ohio State) was initially uncertain; the team did officially enter by early March.^[9] Other alumni teams confirmed included Syracuse,^[10] West Virginia,^[11] and Wichita State.^[12] Additionally, Luke Hancock announced that he was exploring entering a Louisville alumni team.^[6]

Ultimately, alumni teams from Clemson, Dayton, Illinois, Marquette, Marshall, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Purdue, Syracuse, and West Virginia were entered, along with teams representing the Big Ten and Mid-American (MAC) conferences. The remaining fifteen teams were not associated with a specific school or conference. The teams representing West Virginia and the MAC would later withdraw, due to each having a player test positive for COVID-19.

The tournament bracket was released on June 16, 2020.^[13]

Key:  Alumni team representing a specific school 

Seed	Team	School/program	Origins of name
1	Carmen's Crew	Ohio State Buckeyes	School song "Carmen Ohio"
2	Overseas Elite		"a collection of stars who play hoops at basketball outposts around the world"[14]
3	Boeheim's Army	Syracuse Orange	Current Syracuse men's basketball head coach Jim Boeheim
4	Golden Eagles	Marquette Golden Eagles	School nickname
5	Eberlein Drive		Street in Fraser, Michigan that co-GM Jacob Hirschmann grew up on
6	Team Challenge ALS		Supporting measures to help in cure of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease
7	The Money Team		Nickname of American boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr., who is supporting the team
8	Red Scare	Dayton Flyers	Name given to the Dayton student section at home basketball games
9	Big X		Big Ten Conference, in which most of the team's players played
10	Peoria All-Stars		City of Peoria, Illinois
11	Team Hines		American basketball players Tyler and Kyle Hines, who are the team's head coach and booster, respectively
12	Brotherly Love		City of Philadelphia, known as the "City of Brotherly Love"
13	Team CP3		American basketball player Chris Paul, who is serving as the team's GM
14	HEARTFIRE		Arizona nonprofit HeartFire Missions, a mission trip provider
15	Armored Athlete
16	House of 'Paign	Illinois Fighting Illini	Champaign, Illinois—the Illinois campus is divided between that city and neighboring Urbana
17	War Tampa		Variation of Auburn's battle cry, "War Eagle" (players are from Auburn and the state of Florida)
18	Power of the Paw	Clemson Tigers	Reference to school's nickname, the Tigers, and main athletic mark, a tiger paw
19	Men of Mackey	Purdue Boilermakers	Mackey Arena, Purdue's home basketball arena
20	PrimeTime Players
21	Stillwater Stars	Oklahoma State Cowboys	Stillwater, Oklahoma, the location of Oklahoma State University
22	Sideline Cancer		Supporting measures to help in cure of cancer
23	Herd That	Marshall Thundering Herd	Short version of school nickname
24	D2		NCAA Division II, the division in which the schools attended by the players compete

Replacements[]

Tournament organizers announced that any team that had a player test positive for COVID-19 would be immediately disqualified and removed from the tournament.^[15] Five teams had positive tests; all five were removed before playing in the tournament. Four of the teams were replaced, with the final removal, that of Eberlein Drive, resulting in another team being awarded a walkover.^[16]

• On June 22, Best Virginia (No. 10), a team for West Virginia alumni, withdrew after having several players test positive. They were replaced by Playing for Jimmy V, a team in support of the V Foundation.^[17]
• On July 1, Jackson TN UnderDawgs (No. 24) were diagnosed with a case and replaced by D2, a team of former NCAA Division II players.^[18]
• On July 2, Mid-American Unity (No. 20), had one of their players test positive, although he was asymptomatic. The team withdrew and was replaced by PrimeTime Players.^[19]
• On July 3, Playing for Jimmy V (No. 10), themselves a replacement team, had a player test positive and were subsequently disqualified. They were replaced with Peoria All-Stars.^[17]
• On July 5, the day before their opening game, Eberlein Drive (No. 5) was disqualified after a player tested positive, despite being asymptomatic. Their Round of 16 opponent, Brotherly Love, advanced automatically to the quarterfinals.^[16]

Squads[]

Schedule[]

Session	Game	Time*	Matchup#	Television	Score
Round of 24
Saturday, July 4	1	3:00 p.m.	No. 9 Big X vs. No. 24 D2	ESPN	79–74
	2	5:00 p.m.	No. 12 Brotherly Love vs. No. 21 Stillwater Stars		87–71
	3	8:00 p.m.	No. 16 House of 'Paign vs. No. 17 War Tampa		76–53
	4	10:00 p.m.	No. 13 Team CP3 vs. No. 20 PrimeTime Players		76–74
Sunday, July 5	5	2:00 p.m.	No. 10 Peoria All-Stars vs. No. 23 Herd That		65–80
	6	4:00 p.m.	No. 11 Team Hines vs. No. 22 Sideline Cancer		91–93
	7	7:00 p.m.	No. 14 HEARTFIRE vs. No. 19 Men of Mackey	ESPN2	79–85
	8	9:00 p.m.	No. 15 Armored Athlete vs. No. 18 Power of the Paw		98–91
Round of 16
Monday, July 6	9		No. 5 Eberlein Drive vs. No. 12 Brotherly Love	ESPN	w/o
	10	7:00 p.m.	No. 4 Golden Eagles vs. No. 13 Team CP3		76–67
Tuesday, July 7	11	2:00 p.m.	No. 6 Team Challenge ALS vs. No. 22 Sideline Cancer		66–76
	12	4:00 p.m.	No. 3 Boeheim's Army vs. No. 19 Men of Mackey		76–69
Wednesday, July 8	13	2:00 p.m.	No. 8 Red Scare vs. No. 9 Big X		77–68
	14	4:00 p.m.	No. 1 Carmen's Crew vs. No. 16 House of 'Paign		68–76
Thursday, July 9	15	2:00 p.m.	No. 7 The Money Team vs. No. 23 Herd That		99–102
	16	4:00 p.m.	No. 2 Overseas Elite vs. No. 15 Armored Athlete		76–70
Quarterfinals
Friday, July 10	17	2:00 p.m.	No. 4 Golden Eagles vs. No. 12 Brotherly Love	ESPN	83–76
	18	4:00 p.m.	No. 8 Red Scare vs. No. 16 House of 'Paign		83–76
Saturday, July 11	19	2:00 p.m.	No. 2 Overseas Elite vs. No. 23 Herd That		93–76
	20	4:00 p.m.	No. 3 Boeheim's Army vs. No. 22 Sideline Cancer		48–65
Semifinals
Sunday, July 12	21	4:00 p.m.	No. 4 Golden Eagles vs. No. 8 Red Scare	ESPN	79–70
	22	6:00 p.m.	No. 2 Overseas Elite vs. No. 22 Sideline Cancer		65–67
Championship Game
Tuesday, July 14	23	7:00 p.m.	No. 4 Golden Eagles vs. No. 22 Sideline Cancer	ESPN	78–73
*Game times in Eastern Time • #Rankings denote tournament seeding. • Schedule source[20][21]

Tournament bracket[]

	Round of 24 July 4–5					Round of 16 July 6–9					Quarterfinals July 10–11					Semifinals July 12					Championship July 14
						1	Carmen's Crew	68
	16	House of 'Paign	76			16	House of 'Paign	76
	17	War Tampa	53								16	House of 'Paign	76
											8	Red Scare	83
						8	Red Scare	77
	9	Big X	79			9	Big X	68
	24	D2	74													8	Red Scare	70
																4	Golden Eagles	79
						4	Golden Eagles	76
	13	Team CP3	76			13	Team CP3	67
	20	PrimeTime Players	74								4	Golden Eagles	83
											12	Brotherly Love	76
						5	Eberlein Drive
	12	Brotherly Love	87			12	Brotherly Love	w/o
	21	Stillwater Stars	71																		4	Golden Eagles	78
																					22	Sideline Cancer	73
						3	Boeheim's Army	76
	14	HEARTFIRE	79			19	Men of Mackey	69
	19	Men of Mackey	85								3	Boeheim's Army	48
											22	Sideline Cancer	65
						6	Team Challenge ALS	66
	11	Team Hines	91			22	Sideline Cancer	76
	22	Sideline Cancer	93													22	Sideline Cancer	67
																2	Overseas Elite	65
						7	The Money Team	99
	10	Peoria All-Stars	65			23	Herd That	102
	23	Herd That	80								23	Herd That	76
											2	Overseas Elite	93
						2	Overseas Elite	76
	15	Armored Athlete	98			15	Armored Athlete	70
	18	Power of the Paw	91

Game summaries[]

Round of 24[]

Round of 16[]

Quarterfinals[]

Semifinals[]

Championship[]

Championship game statistics[]

Statistics for the title game are below.^[22][23] The championship basket (reaching the Elam Ending target score) was made by Travis Diener.^[24]

Key

Awards[]

All Tournament Team

Pos	Player	Team
PG	Darius Johnson-Odom (MVP)	Golden Eagles
SF	Jamil Wilson	Golden Eagles
PG	Marcus Keene	Sideline Cancer
SF	Joe Johnson	Overseas Elite
SG	Trey Landers	Red Scare
GM	Billy Clapper	Sideline Cancer
Coach	Joe Chapman	Golden Eagles

Source: ^[25]

References[]

Further reading[]

• Anderson, Jason (July 9, 2020). "The Basketball Tournament is winning COVID-19 fight, but NBA has bigger bubble battle". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
• Borzello, Jeff (July 14, 2020). "Everything you need to know about the 2020 TBT final". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
• Borzello, Jeff (July 14, 2020). "Golden Eagles, TBT's second-winningest team, win first title". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 15, 2020.

External links[]

• Official website
• 2020 TBT Semi-Finals – #4 Golden Eagles vs #8 Red Scare Highlights via YouTube
• 2020 TBT Semi-Finals – #2 Overseas Sideline vs #22 Sideline Cancer Highlights via YouTube
• 2020 TBT Final – # 4 Golden Eagles vs #22 Sideline Cancer Highlights via YouTube