Previewing the $1 Million Dollar TBT Championship
On Aug. 2, two teams will play the TBT Championship for $1 Million Dollars. Here's a preview of what to expect.
64 teams dreamt about this moment, but only two teams get to play in it: The $1 million dollar TBT Championship game.
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On Tuesday, Aug. 2 at 8pm ET on ESPN, Americana For Autism will face off against Blue Collar U in the TBT Championship for not only pride but a seven-figure prize. They’ll both be playing for a cause as well: Americana For Autism needs no further explanation, while Blue Collar U (which is largely made up of former Buffalo stars) will donate a portion of their winnings to a non-profit focused on helping at-risk youth through sports.
Following our preview of the TBT quarterfinals, we reconnected with Inside TBT hosts Joey Lane and Andrew Zoldan for a preview of the championship, a talk about Tournament MVP, and more. Check out our interview and use the link below to get a special offer on your first month of Sling.
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Who is Your Tournament MVP Heading into the Championship?
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JL: My tournament MVP is a guy that we didn’t even think was gonna play in the tournament before it started: C.J. Massinburg, Blue Collar U. As consistent as they come, as dominant as they come, whether you want Elam Enders, 20 points, five assists, whatever you want, he has brought it to this Blue Collar U team. He was the best player on the team when they were at Buffalo, surprise surprise, he’s the best player now, the most important player. That’s my MVP, and really, the props should go to his wife and his newborn son, because that’s where he gets all his powers from.
AZ: If you’re gonna ask me about MVP, the front runner right now if the tournament was over, yeah, it’s like Joey said, C.J. Massinburg. However, a big game from Wes Clark, another Sling Shot winner, and it’s gonna be tough to not give it to Wes Clark. Now on the other side with Americana For Autism, they have a few guys where, play your best game in the championship whether it’s Isaiah Swann, Delroy James, Nigel Johnson, J'Covan Brown even…if they have a 15 to 20-point game, make a Sling Shot, win your team $1 million dollars, it’s gonna be tough not to give them the MVP.
JL: It’s also important I will note, from America For Autism who are missing guys, Darryl Monroe Jr. has been unbelievable. That’s who their coach says is their MVP, their leader. So if he has a great game, I bet that the coach runs up to the TBT guys and goes, ‘give that man the MVP, that’s our MVP.’
Which Teams Do You See Having a Bright Future in The Basketball Tournament?
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AZ: I got two teams for you that are up-and-coming and will make some noise in the future of the TBT. The first one is The Nerd Team. They lost two years in a row to Blue Collar U, which is unfortunate, but [they’re] a good team. They did beat Boeheim's Army, the defending champs on the way to making it to the regional final, which is very impressive.
Another team, [from] Texas Tech, the Air Raiders. They were without Matt Mooney, without Zhaire Smith, players who were a couple of late scratches. And we’re gonna see another batch of seniors go through at Texas Tech. So that’s a team that is not only going to be back next year, but there are rumblings that they want to host, bringing TBT to Lubbock. And as we saw this year, you play in front of a home crowd, you got a good chance at doing something special.
JL: The easiest answer is Buffalo, Blue Collar U. They went to Dayton last year and they are back in Dayton this year. But they’re the youngest team in the tournament. Not only are they probably going to be back, but they’re probably going to host. They have a great chance to have another great year.
Another team that maybe outperformed how we thought they’d do, and maybe that’s because they played every single game at home in front of their fans, but it’s the Red Scare, Dayton alumni. They were unbelievable, the crowds were unbelievable. They got a taste of it, they’ll be back.
The final team, a little bit more outside the box, a newer team to The Basketball Tournament, is Bleed Green, the North Texas alumni team. They had some upsets themselves, they were one shot away from getting to Dayton. They’re a team that has great guard play, we know how important that is in the tournament, they have a fan base that is obsessed with basketball, which we saw on Twitter. They’ll be back, I would assume, as a much higher seed. I’d be very surprised if they didn’t back it up with another great year next year.
AZ: Joey and I both know some behind-the-scenes stuff. There were a few teams that almost got in, whether it’s alumni teams or just players who were trying to find a team and didn’t get in. So don’t be surprised if there’s three or four more additional alumni teams in the field next year that make some noise.
What is Your Biggest Takeawy From This Year's Tournament?
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JL: We always joke about it: Everything always comes up TBT. It’s just always delivering, always delivering incredible finishes, incredible teams, incredible moment, incredible players. But what really stood out to me this year was the alumni teams. They just dominated. Obviously it’s not all on an all-alumni final, but three out of the final four teams in the semifinals were alumni teams. I think there’s also a huge pull for these professional basketball players to come back and play with their former college teammates in front of their fans and their families with guys from the past.
AZ: I think there’s two things that really stick out to me this year. One was the amount of former NBA players that were in TBT this year, which was really cool to watch. Whether it’s Jimmer Fredette, Trevor Booker, Omari Spellman. Jeremy Evans who was a dunk contest champion. It was really cool to see some former guys that you know you’ve seen in the NBA back on your TVs. And then another thing is just the exposure that TBT gets to basketball is so incredible. What I mean by that is, the amount of in-the-locker-room clips you see. We stand right next to players and record them talking, record their halftime speeches. We get to grab them during practice and ask them questions. It’s stuff that fans would love to see from other sports leagues that TBT gets to deliver on.