Single elimination basketball tournament
The Basketball Tournament 2023 was the tenth edition of The Basketball Tournament (TBT), a 5-on-5, single elimination basketball tournament with a $1 million winner-take-all prize. The tournament, involving 64 teams, began on July 19 and ended on August 3 with the championship game in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . The tournament format was similar to that of the last edition in 2022 —64 teams, each playing in one of eight regionals.
The event had a "championship week", starting with the regional winners advancing to quarterfinals at one of four sites, Dayton, Louisville, Wheeling, WV, and Wichita. The quarterfinal winners then traveled to Philadelphia for the semifinals and championship game. Heartfire, a team sponsored by MedImpact, won the tournament.[ 3]
For its 2023 edition, TBT retained its traditional 64-team format and eight-region format, with each regional involving eight teams at a single host site (similar in format to the NCAA Division II men's and women's tournaments). Wichita is serving as host for two separate regionals.
In a feature it calls "Run It Back", TBT organizers invited all teams that won first-round games in the 2022 edition to play in 2023. The remaining teams, and the regional placements for all entrants, were revealed in a selection special hosted by Andrew Zoldan with analyst Seth Greenberg that aired on TBT's YouTube channel on June 21, 2023.[ 4]
As with previous years, all tournament games operate 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 4 minutes or less to play in the game. At that time, a target score, equal to the score of the leading team (or tied teams) 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.
Venues
The Basketball Tournament 2023 featured games in eight locations, seven of which hosted a regional. The eighth hosted the championship weekend (two semifinal contests and the championship game). Official regional names, if different from the location names, are indicated in the listings below the location names.
Teams
Source:[ 6] [ 7]
TBT has a history of teams rostered primarily with alumni from specific NCAA Division I college basketball programs; 33 such teams entered the 2023 tournament. Three other teams were rostered primarily with alumni from groups of NCAA basketball programs sharing a common bond. Two mostly consist of alumni from a specific Division I conference, one is drawn from a group of historic basketball rivals, another is drawn from NCAA Division III alumni, and the last is drawn from historically black colleges and universities .
Name
College or sponsor affiliation
Source of team name
Region
AfterShocks
Wichita State alumni
School nickname of Shockers
Wichita 2
Air Raiders
Texas Tech alumni
School nickname of Red Raiders
Lubbock
Athletics Miami
—
Team sponsor Athletics Miami, a basketball facility
Dayton
Austin's Own
Texas alumni
School location in Austin
Lubbock
B1 Ballers
—
Wichita 2
Beale Street Boys
Memphis alumni
Street where school arena is located
Wichita 2
Best Virginia
West Virginia alumni
West Virginia
Big 5
Philadelphia Big 5 alumni
Syracuse
Bleed Green
North Texas alumni
School nickname of Mean Green
Lubbock
Blue Collar U
Buffalo alumni
Primary school color, plus city's blue-collar image
Syracuse
Boeheim's Army
Syracuse alumni
Former Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim
Syracuse
Broad Street Birds
Temple alumni
Street where school arena is located, Owl mascot
Wichita 2
Bucketneers
ETSU alumni
School nickname of Buccaneers
Xavier
Carmen's Crew
Ohio State alumni
"Carmen Ohio ", Ohio State's school song
Dayton
Challenge ALS: Florida
—
Combination of former teams Challenge ALS and Florida TNT
West Virginia
The Commonwealth
UMass alumni
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Syracuse
DaGuys STL
—
Team YouTube channel, with players mainly from Greater St. Louis
Wichita 2
DawgTown
Georgetown alumni
Team mascot Jack the Bulldog
West Virginia
Dubois Dream
—
Based out of Dubois, Pennsylvania
West Virginia
Eberlein Drive
—
Team owners' home street
Louisville
The Enchantment
New Mexico alumni
State nickname, "Land of Enchantment"
Lubbock
Fort Wayne Champs
—
Players with connections to Fort Wayne, Indiana
Xavier
Friday Beers[ a]
Armored Athlete
Dayton
Gataverse
Florida alumni
Florida Gators mascot
Louisville
Georgia Kingz
—
Players with connections to the state of Georgia
Xavier
Gutter Cat Gang[ b]
—
Team sponsor Gutter Cat Gang, an NFT company[ 8]
Louisville
Happy Valley Hoopers
Penn State alumni
Location of the school in Happy Valley
Syracuse
HBCUnited
HBCU alumni
Lubbock
Heartfire
MedImpact
Arizona nonprofit HeartFire Missions, a provider of Christian medical mission trips
Wichita 1
Herd That
Marshall alumni
School nickname of Thundering Herd
West Virginia
India Rising
—
Players of Indian origin
Dayton
In the Lab
—
In The Lab, a basketball content creation company
Lubbock
Jackson TN Underdawgs
—
Players with connections to Jackson, Tennessee
Louisville
Juco Products
—
Players with connections to Junior colleges
Wichita 1
LA Cheaters
Drew League
Wichita 1
Living the Dream
—
Wichita 1
Mass Street
Kansas alumni
Short for Massachusetts Street , the main street through the central business district of the school's home of Lawrence
Wichita 1
Men of Mackey
Purdue alumni
Purdue home court Mackey Arena
Dayton
The Money Team
TMT
Team sponsor Floyd "Money" Mayweather
Xavier
Nasty Nati
Cincinnati alumni
Nickname of the city of Cincinnati
Xavier
The Nawf
—
Players with connections to Gwinnett County, Georgia
Louisville
The Nerd Team
—
Players from "more prestigious" universities
Syracuse
The Program for Autism
—
The Program NYC, a youth basketball initiative
Xavier
Purple & Black
Kansas State alumni
School colors
Wichita 2
Purple Hearts
—
Gun violence awareness
Lubbock
Ram Nation
VCU alumni
School nickname of Rams
West Virginia
Ram Up
Colorado State alumni
School nickname of Rams
Wichita 2
Red Scare
Dayton alumni
Name of Dayton student section
Dayton
The Rhody Way [ c]
Rhode Island alumni
School mascot Rhody the Ram
Dayton
Rise & Grind
—
Lubbock
Shell Shock
Maryland alumni
Maryland Terrapins school mascot
Louisville
Show Me Squad
Missouri alumni
Missouri state nickname "Show Me State"
Wichita 1
Sideline Cancer
—
Pancreatic cancer awareness
West Virginia
Team Arkansas
Arkansas alumni
Wichita 2
Team Colorado
Colorado alumni
Dayton
Team DRC
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie
Xavier
Team Gibson
—
Team sponsor Taj Gibson
Syracuse
Team Overtime
Overtime
Team sponsor Overtime, a sports media company
Dayton
The Ville
Louisville alumni
City nickname
Louisville
Vegas Rebellion
UNLV alumni
Vegas Rebels school mascot
Wichita 1
Virginia Dream
—
Players with connections to the state of Virginia
Syracuse
War Ready
Auburn alumni
School battle cry "War Eagle"
Louisville
We Are D3
NCAA Division III alumni
Wichita 1
Zip Em Up
Xavier alumni
Former Xavier team motto
Xavier
Zoo Crew
Pittsburgh alumni
Oakland Zoo student section
West Virginia
Note: team names are per the TBT bracket; some names have slight variation on TBT website pages.
^ Known in previous TBT editions as Armored Athlete.
^ Known in previous TBT editions as Team Hines.
^ Withdrew from the tournament July 22.[ 9]
Tournament bracket
Seven of the eight no. 1 seeds advanced in first-round play, with no. 8 India Rising upsetting Red Scare in the Dayton Regional.
Five no. 1 seeds advanced in second-round play; the lowest seed to advance to the third round was no 6. Nasti Nati from the Dayton Regional.
Two no. 1 seeds advanced in third-round play; the lowest seed to advance to the quarterfinals was again Nasti Nati.
No no. 1 seeds won a quarterfinal match; the lowest seed to advance to the semifinals was no 4. Herd That from the West Virginia Regional.
In the first semifinal game, Herd That were eliminated by Heartfire, the no. 2 seed from the Wichita 1 Regional.
In the second semifinal game, Friday Beers were eliminated by Bleed Green, the no. 2 seed from the Lubbock Regional.
Heartfire then defeated Bleed Green in the championship game.
Source:[ 7] [ 10] [ 11]
Lubbock Regional – United Supermarkets Arena
First Round July 19
Second Round July 21
Third Round July 23
1
Air Raiders
83
8
Purple Hearts
64
1
Air Raiders
67
4
The Enchantment
84
4
The Enchantment
77
5
Austin's Own
66
4
The Enchantment
57
2
Bleed Green
70
3
HBCUnited
58
6
In The Lab
88
6
In The Lab
72
2
Bleed Green
83
2
Bleed Green
94
7
Rise & Grind
78
Wichita 1 Regional – Charles Koch Arena
First Round July 19
Second Round July 22
Third Round July 23
1
Mass Street
70
8
We Are D3
67
1
Mass Street
69
4
Show Me Squad
65
4
Show Me Squad
96
5
Vegas Rebellion
90
1
Mass Street
60
2
Heartfire
73
3
LA Cheaters
86
6
Living The Dream
72
3
LA Cheaters
57
2
Heartfire
62
2
Heartfire
69
7
JUCO Products
66
Wichita 2 Regional – Charles Koch Arena
First Round July 20
Second Round July 21
Third Round July 23
1
AfterShocks
66
8
B1 Ballers
54
1
AfterShocks
73
4
Beale Street Boys
69
4
Beale Street Boys
73
5
Broad Street Birds
67
1
AfterShocks
63
3
Team Arkansas
59
3
Team Arkansas
70
6
Ram Up
58
3
Team Arkansas
63
2
Purple & Black
52
2
Purple & Black
72
7
DaGuys STL
59
Xavier Regional – Cintas Center (Cincinnati)
First Round July 21
Second Round July 22
Third Round July 24
1
Program for Autism
91
8
Team DRC
76
1
Program for Autism
86
5
Fort Wayne Champs
74
4
Bucketneers
52
5
Fort Wayne Champs
85
1
Program for Autism
51
6
Nasty Nati
76
3
The Money Team
76
6
Nasty Nati
88
6
Nasty Nati
77
2
Zip Em Up
73
2
Zip Em Up
84
7
Georgia Kingz
78
Syracuse Regional – The Oncenter
First Round July 24
Second Round July 26
Third Round July 28
1
Blue Collar U
78
8
Big 5
77
1
Blue Collar U
107
4
Virginia Dream
86
4
Virginia Dream
79
5
The Commonwealth
73
1
Blue Collar U
54
2
Boeheim's Army
69
3
The Nerd Team
54
6
Happy Valley Hoopers
49
3
The Nerd Team
75
2
Boeheim's Army
83
2
Boeheim's Army
99
7
Team Gibson
83
Louisville Regional – Freedom Hall
First Round July 25
Second Round July 27
Third Round July 29
1
Gutter Cats
77
8
The Nawf
72
1
Gutter Cats
71
4
Shell Shock
57
4
Shell Shock
77
5
Gataverse
74
1
Gutter Cats
64
2
The Ville
62
3
Eberlein Drive
68
6
Jackson TN Underdawgs
88
6
Jackson TN Underdawgs
74
2
The Ville
79
2
The Ville
91
7
War Ready
67
West Virginia Regional – WesBanco Arena (Wheeling)
First Round July 25
Second Round July 27
Third Round July 29
1
Best Virginia
70
8
Dubois Dream
68
1
Best Virginia
61
4
Herd That
74
4
Herd That
86
5
Zoo Crew
71
4
Herd That
73
2
Sideline Cancer
64
3
Challenge ALS: Florida
95
6
Dawg Town
66
3
Challenge ALS: Florida
51
2
Sideline Cancer
60
2
Sideline Cancer
83
7
Ram Nation
72
Dayton Regional – UD Arena
First Round July 26
Second Round July 28
Third Round July 29
1
Red Scare
67
8
India Rising
77
8
India Rising
56
4
Carmen's Crew
82
4
Carmen's Crew
80
5
Team Overtime
68
4
Carmen's Crew
63
2
Friday Beers
72
3
Team Colorado
68
6
Men of Mackey
70
6
Men of Mackey
68
2
Friday Beers
73
2
Friday Beers
84
7
Athletics Miami
72
Championship Week
Quarterfinals games were played at Wichita, West Virginia, Dayton, and Louisville. All semifinal and championship games were played in Philadelphia.
Quarterfinals July 25–31
Semifinals August 2
Championship August 3
W1 2
Heartfire
76
W2 1
Aftershocks
53
W1 2
Heartfire
73
WV 4
Herd That
68
SY 2
Boeheim's Army
71
WV 4
Herd That
88
W1 2
Heartfire
78
LB 2
Bleed Green
73
XV 6
Nasty Nati
66
DY 2
Friday Beers
72
DY 2
Friday Beers
65
LB 2
Bleed Green
68
LB 2
Bleed Green
72
LV 1
Gutter Cats
61
Eric Collins , Fran Fraschilla , and Ashley ShaAhmadi were the announcers for both semifinal matches and the championship game.[ 12]
Semifinals
August 2, 2023
7:00 p.m. EDT
August 2, 2023
9:00 p.m. EDT
Championship
August 3, 2023
7:00 p.m. EDT
Awards
Source: [ 13]
References
^ "TBT 2023 Stats: Leaders" . thetournament.com . 2023. Retrieved August 4, 2023 .
^ @thetournament (August 4, 2023). "Your TBT 2023 MVP: Brandon Jefferson" (Tweet ) – via Twitter .
^ March, Lochlahn (August 3, 2023). "Team Heartfire wins $1,000,000 prize at The Basketball Tournament" . The Philadelphia Inquirer . Retrieved August 4, 2023 .
^ "TBT 2023 Bracket Reveal Show" . The Basketball Tournament. June 21, 2023. Retrieved July 28, 2023 – via YouTube .
^ Selig, David. "What is the Elam Ending?" . sun-sentinel.com . Retrieved June 21, 2021 .
^ "All Teams" . thetournament.com . 2023. Retrieved July 28, 2023 .
^ a b "Bracket" . thetournament.com . 2023.
^ "Gutter Cat Gang | The Basketball Tournament | Puma" . guttercatgang.com . May 27, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2022 .
^ Koch, Bill (July 22, 2023). "The Rhody Way withdraws from The Basketball Tournament; what happened" . The Providence Journal . Retrieved July 28, 2023 .
^ "TBT 2023 Schedule" . thetournament.com . Retrieved July 28, 2023 .
^ "Stats: Schedule" . thetournament.com . 2023. Retrieved July 28, 2023 .
^ Ufnowski, Amy (July 2023). "ESPN Announces Schedule and Commentators for TBT 2023, Tipping Off July 19" . espnpressroom.com (Press release). Retrieved July 28, 2023 .
^ "Your TBT 2023 All-Tournament Team" . Instagram . August 3, 2023. Retrieved August 4, 2023 .
External links
Tournaments Champions MVPs Related