The 10th year of The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is set to begin on Wednesday, July 19th. The tournament consists of 64 teams in a single-elimination bracket, with the champion taking home the grand prize of one million dollars.
The bracket is broken down into eight eight-team regions. There is a new Final 4 and Championship site, the city of Philadelphia! In past years it has been in Dayton, but this year it will shift over to the city of “Brotherly Love” on August 2nd-3rd. Let’s break down the bracket and give out some Elam Ending winners!
TBT Preview & Bracket Breakdown
Wichita Region #2 (July 19th – 23rd)
Mass Street +110
Heartfire +220
LA Cheaters +425
Show Me Squad +1400
Vegas Rebellion +1500
Livin The Dream +1700
JUCO Products +3500
We Are D3 +4000
The second Wichita region will kick off the TBT action on Wednesday night. The winner of this Wichita Region will meet the winner of the other Wichita region on July 25th for the right to get to Philadelphia. Out of the eight regions, this region is the only one that does not have the home court host site advantage.
I believe Mass Street will be the trendy pick because of the loaded Kansas alumni roster, but they have not played in the TBT yet as a group. I always look to back the veteran teams in this unique tournament that have made runs in years past. The potential rematch of last year between the Heartfire and the LA Cheaters is where I’m looking to win this region. And just like last year, I believe the veteran group of the Heartfire will prevail.
Pick: Heartfire +220
Wichita Region #2 (July 20th – 23rd)
AfterShocks +120
Purple & Black +300
Beale Street Boys +380
Team Arkansas +550
Ram Up +1800
DaGuys STL +3000
Broad Street Birds +3500
B1 Ballers +8000
The primary Wichita Region will kick off on Thursday, a day after the other one. Unlike the other Wichita Region, this region has a heavy favorite, and it’s the hometown Shockers. Last year the Wichita State alumni completed four straight wins in front of their home crowd en route to a TBT Final 4.
I like the makeup of the Purple & Black (Kansas State alumni) and Team Arkansas (Arkansas alumni), both of which won games in the TBT last year. But in the end, I am backing the home team here to get back to the Final 4 and have a chance at the one million dollars.
Pick: AfterShocks +120
Syracuse Region (July 24th – 28th)
Boeheim’s Army +135
Blue Collar U +145
The Rhody Way +650
The Nerd Team +800
The Commonwealth +2500
Team Gibson +2800
Happy Valley Hoopers +2800
Big 5 +7000
The Syracuse Region features the last two TBT champions. Boeheim’s Army (Syracuse alumni) cut down the nets in 2021, and it was Blue Collar U (Buffalo alumni) brought home the one million dollars last summer. It’s hard to see these two not being on a collision course, but everyone said the same thing last year.
The Nerd Team is back in the #4 seed spot, hoping to play spoiler again against the Syracuse alumni. The rest of the field contains multiple teams making their TBT debuts. Ultimately, I think we will get the upstate New York final on the 28th. I like the defending champs to get it done in Syracuse once again and improve on their 10-1 all-time TBT record.
Pick: Blue Collar U +145
West Virginia Region (July 25th – 29th)
Best Virginia +140
Sideline Cancer +250
Herd That +600
Challenge ALS +600
DawgTown +1100
Zoo Crew +1400
Ram Nation +3000
DuBois Dream +5000
The West Virginia Region moved to the northern part of the state of West Virginia this time around in Wheeling compared to Charleston in years past. The top half of the bracket features a lot of old rivalries with Best Virginia (West Virginia alumni), Zoo Crew (Pittsburgh alumni), and Herd That (Marshall alumni).
At the same time, the bottom half of the bracket has two veteran TBT groups in Sideline Cancer and Challenge ALS. Every year the former Mountaineers have advanced one round further than the previous year, and I think it will happen again in front of the loyal Mountaineer fans.
Pick: Best Virginia +140
Xavier Region (July 21st – 24th)
The Program for Autism +160
Zip ‘Em Up +210
The Money Team +450
Bucketneers +450
Fort Wayne Champs +1600
Nasty Nati +1800
Georgia Kings +8000
Team DRC +10000
The Xavier Region kicks off next weekend and is probably the most balanced region regarding the 1-4 seeds. All four of those top seeds made at least the Sweet 16 last year, including the deep run all the way to the finals by The Program for Autism. The Money Team came in last year with all the hype but fell just short after losing in Dayton.
They have a tough draw where they must go through both home teams: Nasty Nati (Cincinnati alumni) and Zip ‘Em Up (Xavier alumni), before a potential regional final. However, I like their experience and believe they will be battle-tested to get out of this region over a tough Program for Autism group.
Pick: The Money Team +450
Dayton Region (July 26th – 29th)
Red Scare +155
Friday Beers +225
Carmen’s Crew +450
Team Colorado +700
Men of Mackey +850
Team Overtime +1800
Athletics Miami +4000
India Rising +10000
The Dayton Region looks to be one of the more entertaining regions because of how great the Dayton Flyers crowd shows up at UD Arena. The potential Red Scare (Dayton alumni) and Carmen’s Crew (Ohio State alumni) finals matchup is a must-watch TV for the state of Ohio. The former Buckeyes group won the TBT back in 2019 and took last year off.
However, I like a veteran TBT group flying under the radar in the region to spoil the Ohio party. I like the Friday Beers, with their 15-8 all-time TBT record, especially after nearly knocking off Blue Collar U last year.
Pick: Friday Beers +225
Lubbock Region (July 19th – 23rd)
Air Raiders +160
HBCUnited +310
Bleed Green +450
The Enchantment +600
Austin’s Own +750
In the Lab +1900
Rise & Grind +2000
Purple Hearts +3000
The Lubbock Region will be the first region that kicks off the TBT action on Wednesday night. The Air Raiders (Texas Tech alumni) enter as the early favorites after making their TBT debuts. The potential matchup with Austin’s Own (Texas alumni) will have the Lubbock community geared up. And although the region is in the state of Texas, I like the two teams the best in the bottom half of the region.
Bleed Green (North Texas alumni) and HBCUnited both made it to the Sweet 16 last year and returned the majority of their cores. Grant McCausland is the new Red Raiders head coach, and I like his former group of the Mean Green to get it done in Lubbock and advance.
Pick: Bleed Green +450
Louisville Region (July 25th – 29th)
Gutter Cats +160
The Ville +310
Eberlein Drive +350
Gataverse +650
Shell Shock +1200
War Ready +1400
Jackson TN Underdawgs +1700
The Nawf +5000
The Louisville Region is the region that probably has the most unknown. The Ville (Louisville alumni) are making their TBT debuts and are hosting at the same time. They will most likely be the sexy pick because of their name and fan base, but they have to get by two TBT groups that have advanced in past years: Gutter Cats and Eberlien Drive.
Like in other regions, I always lean toward the experience and winning culture of teams that have played in the TBT before. Eberlien Drive lost a heartbreaker in the opener last year on an Elam Ending. I like the veteran group in a bounce-back year to grind it out in this region.
Pick: Eberlein Drive +350
Who Will Win the $1 Million in Philadelphia on August 3rd?
When looking for the team that I think will cut down the nets and take home $1 million on August 3rd, I looked at the criteria of things to check off. The first thing I looked at is who is hosting because the odds are stacked heavily in their favor to win 3 or 4 straight home games rather than 3 or 4 straight road/neutral games.
The next thing I looked for is a team that has been knocking on the door year after year and winning multiple games in past TBT years. And the final item I looked for in this criteria was a team that added a couple of younger pieces to an already veteran core roster. The team that checked all the boxes was Best Virginia.
This group has advanced one round further every year at the TBT, including an Elite 8 loss to Dayton in Dayton last year. They arguably have the best home-court advantage in front of the Mountaineer fans. And finally, they added fresh young legs to an already veteran group in Kedrian Johnson, Erik Stevenson, and Sean McNeil. My pick to win the $1 million is Best Virginia!
Pick: Best Virginia +1200
