The TBT rolls on into another set of games on Wednesday night featuring the Rucker Park and Xavier regions. The Rucker Park regional final features Americana for Autism and HBCUnited while the Xavier region features a pair of semifinals. Let’s take a look at these matchups and talk about my TBT best bets for the day!
Rucker Park Region Final
Americana for Autism -4.0 vs HBCUnited
Americana for Autism heads into the finals coming off a strong performance where they pulled away from the Big 5 for an 83-67 win. They were led by Delroy James (21 points) and Isaiah Swann (15 points) in their semifinal win. On the other side, HBCUnited continued their Rucker Park magic with the upset over the #1 seed YGC 66-59. Malique Trent led the way for HBCUnited, scoring 16 points and grabbing 7 rebounds.
HBCUnited has served this tournament so far as the cinderella type of team and has won over the fans in the process. I anticipate Rucker Park having one last really good atmosphere at the TBT for this finals matchup that should deliver another quality game. However, I think the clock strikes midnight for HBCUnited in the finals, and Americana for Autism is too much for them led by the inside presence of Delroy James. I will take Americana for Autism to cover and move on to Dayton as the Rucker Park Region Champions! I love the Americana for Autism as one of my TBT Best Bets for tonight!
Pick: Americana for Autism -4.0
Xavier Region Semifinals
Florida TNT -8.5 vs Fort Wayne Champs
The #1 seed Florida TNT rolls into the semifinals coming off an opening round 114-57 statement win. They were led by the three-headed monster of Kenny Boynton, Keith Clanton, and Brandon Robinson who combined for 66 points in the blowout win. In the other matchup, the Fort Wayne Champs grinded out a gutsy win over the Nasty Nati 71-67. They were led by the impressive shooting display of Tayler Persons, who poured in 26 points on 4/8 from 3.
Florida TNT is another heavy favorite in this matchup after their run last season and their opening-round statement win. However, they will have their hands full against a TBT veteran group in the Fort Wayne Champs who have double-digit all-time TBT wins. I like the Florida TNT to advance, but for the Fort Wayne Champs to give them all they can handle and cover before eventually falling short in the end. I love Fort Wayne Champs to cover the spread as a TBT Best Bet!
Pick: Fort Wayne Champs +8.5
Sideline Cancer -1.5 vs Zip Em Up
The Sideline Cancer found a way to win another close TBT contest 78-77 over Defeat Diabetes in the opening round. Mike Daum led the way with a dominant 31-point performance including the Elam Ending game-winner off a pick & pop 3. Their opponent, Zip Em Up was impressive in their TBT opener in front of their home fans routing Sweet Home Alabama 94-61. Additionally, Zip Em Up led the game wire to wire and had a very balanced attack with six guys scoring in double figures.
I anticipate a highly contested semifinal with both teams battling it out for the right to advance to the regional final. Furthermore, Zip Em Up will look to feed off the Xavier home crowd energy and Sideline Cancer will have to do a good job of managing runs to limit the crowd’s impact on the game. I like the experience of Sideline Cancer finding a way to win yet another close TBT game and advance over Zip Em Up in a back-and-forth semifinal matchup. I love Sideline Cancer as my TBT best bet!
