It’s The Basketball Tournament (TBT) Sunday and there is a full slate of games to keep you thoroughly entertained. Let’s look at the TBT picks for Sunday, July 25, and some teams to watch.
(5) Autism Army -2.5 vs (12) SCD Hoops 1 pm EST
A matchup between two first-year TBT entrants will also pit two teams playing for two great causes against each other.
Autism Army will be led by former St. Johns guard, D’Angelo Harrison. Harrison is a pan-fried chicken bucket and has the playmaking ability to hit his teammates where they need to be. He’ll be joined by Isaiah Swann who is a former double-digit scorer at Florida State.
SCD Hoops, comprised of a number of DePaul alumni, will be led by former DePaul standout and NBA player Billy Garrett Jr. Garrett has TBT experience as he played with House of ‘Paign in the TBT bubble last year. He has also added LaQuinton Ross, formerly of Ohio State and Carmen’s Crew, to the roster. Not to mention Devon Baulkman who also has experience playing in the NBA G-league.
These are two rookie teams, however, SCD Hoops has TBT experience and a few guys coming from playing together at DePaul. I like SCD Hoops and the points.
The Pick: SCD Hoops +2.5
(2) Red Scare -6.5 vs (10) Category 5 2 pm EST
Red Scare almost made it look easy as they gave BC Vahakni City a 40-piece crispy in their first-round matchup. Trevor Thompson was virtually unstoppable down low, while Jordan Sibert was hitting anything and everything from three. The two combined for 22 of their 27 first-half points.
Category 5 is fresh off their first win in TBT beating ACC rival alumni team, Wolf Blood. Rion Brown brought his TBT experience to the court finishing with 18 points and an Elam ending three-pointer. Zach Johnson was also big for Category 5 being able to score all over the court as he finished with 15 points.
This Red Scare team looked really good with the chemistry they had on the court. Category 5 is very athletic and has multiple players that can get downhill in a hurry. This should be a fun game and come down to a tight Elam Ending.
The Pick: Category 5 +6.5
(4) Always Us -4.5 vs (13) Peoria All-Stars 3 pm EST
Always Us makes their first splash into the TBT as the Oregon Ducks alumni team. Tajuan Porter and Johnathan Loyd profile as a strong backcourt with prolific scoring. But they will have their hands full with a hometown team that is a little underrated.
Peoria All-Stars will take the court with the home crowd backing them. They are a veteran TBT team that is back for a fifth tournament. Zach Andrews, former G-League player, will have his hands full with an Always Us team that outside of their starting guards is very long.
I like the Peoria All-Stars experience with multiple guys that have played TBT basketball before. They should be able to keep it close with a still new Always Us team.
The Pick: Peoria All-Stars +4.5
(1) Carmen’s Crew -5.5 vs (8) Men of Mackey 4 pm EST
July 25th is going to bring us an epic clash of Big 10 rivals in the TBT. Carmen’s Crew seemed to really settle down after a rough beginning to their first-round game. In the second half, they looked a lot like the TBT champions we know them to be.
Kosta Koufos was huge for the Ohio State alumni team—LITERALLY. The big man had a double-double as he went 7-8 from the field with 16 points and ten boards.
Men of Mackey also had a strong groove as they had five players in double figures as they took down the Ballinteers. Kelsey Barlow looked virtually unstoppable in that first half. The Purdue Alumni seemingly cruised to the second round.
But now they get the former TBT champions. I believe Carmen’s Crew has worked out some of the rust. I like them to keep the foot on the gas in the next round against rival Purdue.
The Pick: Carmen’s Crew -5.5
(1) Golden Eagles -13.5 vs (16) B1 Ballers 6 pm EST
The Golden Eagles seem to not be as talked about this tournament. This is surprising because they are the defending TBT champions. The Marquette alumni squad is coming off of back-to-back championship game runs and is one of the most veteran teams in the TBT.
And they are going to get a B1 Ballers team that is in their first year of the tournament. The difference in experience and talent between the two teams is reflected in the large spread. The Golden Eagles are hungry to repeat as champions and know that they have to make a statement in game one. Roll with the big-time TBT favorites despite this being one of the larger spreads among all the July 25 picks.
The Pick: Golden Eagles -13.5
(4) Team Hines -3.5 vs (5) The Money Team
Both of these teams fought through adversity in their first-round games to come back and cover for bettors. Team Hines has a deeper bench than The Money Team. Isaiah Miles was big coming off the bench and dropped some devasting threes. Kyle Hines was efficient and able to settle the team down to run the offense.
Jarrod Jones was the single form of consistent offense for The Money Team all game. He finished with 24 points and Jordon Crawford came alive in the second half and ended it with an Elam ender.
The Money Team had some shooting woes for the majority of their game versus the Region. If they can continue the offense they had late, then Team Hines might have some problems. However, Team Hines has shooters of their own and I like them to cover in a game that should be full of offense.
The Pick: Team Hines -3.5
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