The Basketball Tournament 2022

The Basketball Tournament 2022 was the ninth 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 16 and ended on August 2 with the championship game in Dayton, Ohio. The tournament format was similar to that of the last pre-COVID-19 edition in 2019—64 teams, each playing in one of eight regionals.

The Basketball Tournament
2022
Tournament information
Location
Regional sites
Quarterfinal sites
  • Dayton, Ohio
  • Wichita, Kansas
Championship site
  • Dayton, Ohio
DatesJuly 16–August 2, 2022
Tournament
format(s)
Single elimination
Participants64 teams
PurseChampionship: US$1,000,000 winner-take-all
Final positions
ChampionsBlue Collar U
Runner-upAmericana for Austism
Tournament statistics
MVPC. J. Massinburg
Top scorer(s)C. J. Massinburg (94 pts)[1]
Games played63
← 2021
2023 →

For the first time, the event had a "championship week", starting with the regional winners advancing to quarterfinals at one of two sites, Dayton and Wichita, Kansas. The quarterfinal winners then traveled to (or remained in) Dayton for the semifinals and championship game. Blue Collar U, a team primarily rostered with alumni of the Buffalo Bulls men's basketball program, won the tournament.[2]

Format edit

For its 2022 edition, TBT retained its traditional 64-team format, and returned to an 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). Seven of the eight regional sites, plus the championship week venues, were revealed by TBT organizers on December 8, 2021.[3] The eighth regional site was revealed on May 19, 2022, as Rucker Park, an iconic outdoor venue in the New York City neighborhood of Harlem. It became TBT's first-ever outdoor venue.[4]

In a feature it calls "Run It Back", TBT organizers invited all teams that won first-round games in the 2021 edition to play in 2022. All but one of these teams accepted their bids before the organizers' initial deadline (the other one missed the deadline, but later accepted). These 31 teams, plus The Enchantment, a team consisting mostly of New Mexico alumni, were announced as the first 32 teams on January 26, 2022. The Enchantment was accepted based on New Mexico's home arena of The Pit being a regional site.[5] The remaining teams, and the regional placements for all entrants, were revealed in a selection special hosted by Chris Vosters with analysts Seth Greenberg and April Gray that aired on TBT's YouTube channel on June 22, 2022.[6]

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.[7] Thus, all games end on a made basket (field goal or free throw) and there is no overtime.

Venues edit

The Basketball Tournament 2022 featured games in eight locations, each of which hosted a regional. Two served as quarterfinal sites, with one of those also hosting 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.

  Regional sites only
  Regional and quarterfinal site
  Regional, quarterfinal, and championship site
Albuquerque
(New Mexico)
Charleston
(West Virginia)
Cincinnati
(Xavier)
Omaha
The Pit Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center Cintas Center D. J. Sokol Arena
Capacity: 15,411 Capacity: 11,519 Capacity: 10,250 Capacity: 2,950
       
Rucker Park Syracuse Wichita Dayton
Greg Marius Court SRC Arena Charles Koch Arena UD Arena
Capacity: N/A Capacity: 6,500 Capacity: 10,506 Capacity: 13,435
       

Teams edit

Source:[8][9]

TBT has a history of teams rostered primarily with alumni from specific NCAA Division I college basketball programs; 27 such teams entered the 2022 tournament. Five 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
Air Raiders Texas Tech alumni School nickname of Red Raiders Wichita
Always Us Oregon alumni Phrase used by Oregon head coach Dana Altman Omaha
Americana for Autism[a] Team sponsor Americana, an NFT company Rucker Park
Athletics Miami Team sponsor Athletics Miami, a basketball facility Dayton
B1 Ballers Wichita
Best Virginia West Virginia alumni West Virginia
Big 5 Philadelphia Big 5 alumni Rucker Park
Bleed Green North Texas alumni School nickname of Mean Green Wichita
Blue Collar U Buffalo alumni Primary school color, plus city's blue-collar image Syracuse
Boeheim's Army Syracuse alumni Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim Syracuse
Brown & White St. Bonaventure alumni School colors Syracuse
Bucketneers ETSU alumni School nickname of Buccaneers West Virginia
Cititeam Dayton
Competitive Choice New Mexico
The Cru Valparaiso alumni Former school nickname of Crusaders Omaha
DaGuys STL Team YouTube channel, with players mainly from Greater St. Louis Omaha
Defeat Diabetes JDRF Xavier
Eberlein Drive Team owners' home street Wichita
The Enchantment New Mexico alumni State nickname, "Land of Enchantment" New Mexico
Ex-Pats Patriot League alumni Rucker Park
Florida TNT Players with connections to the state of Florida Xavier
Fort Wayne Champs Players with connections to Fort Wayne, Indiana Xavier
Founding Fathers James Madison alumni Status of school namesake James Madison as one of the Founding Fathers West Virginia
Friday Beers[b] Armored Athlete Syracuse
Fully Loaded Alumni of AAU program Team Loaded West Virginia
Golden Eagles Marquette alumni School nickname of Golden Eagles Dayton
Gutter Cat Gang[c] Team sponsor Gutter Cat Gang, an NFT company[10] Omaha
HBCUnited HBCU alumni Rucker Park
Heartfire MedImpact New Mexico
Herd That Marshall alumni School nickname of Thundering Herd West Virginia
Hoopville Warriors Players with connections to Chicago Rucker Park
India Rising Players of Indian origin Syracuse
Jackson Underdawgs Players with connections to Jackson, Tennessee Omaha
LA Cheaters Drew League New Mexico
Lone Star Legends Players with connections to the state of Texas, nicknamed "Lone Star State" Wichita
Men of Mackey Purdue alumni Purdue home court Mackey Arena Dayton
Mental Toughness JCK Foundation Syracuse
Mid American Unity Mid-American Conference alumni Dayton
The Money Team TMT Team sponsor Floyd "Money" Mayweather Dayton
Nasty Nati Cincinnati alumni Nickname of the city of Cincinnati Xavier
The Nerd Team Players from "more prestigious" universities Syracuse
NG Saints Neumann Goretti High School Abbreviation and nickname of school Syracuse
Ohio 1804 Ohio alumni Year of school's founding Dayton
Omaha Blue Crew Creighton alumni Location and primary color of school Omaha
Once a Bronco Boise State alumni School nickname of Broncos New Mexico
Panamaniacs New Mexico State alumni NMSU home court Pan American Center New Mexico
Peacock Nation Saint Peter's alumni School nickname of Peacocks Rucker Park
Purple & Black Kansas State alumni School colors Wichita
Ram Up Colorado State alumni School nickname of Rams New Mexico
Red Scare Dayton alumni Name of Dayton student section Dayton
Sideline Cancer Pancreatic cancer awareness Xavier
Skip to My Lou Streetball moniker of team head coach Rafer Alston Rucker Park
Sweet Home Alabama Classic Lynyrd Skynyrd song, reflecting the Alabama origins of team players Xavier
Team AboutBillions Brand of team sponsor Adrien Broner Xavier
Team Arkansas Arkansas alumni Omaha
Team Challenge ALS New Mexico
Team Overtime Overtime Team sponsor Overtime, a sports media company Omaha
Virginia Dream Players with connections to the state of Virginia West Virginia
War Ready Auburn alumni School battle cry "War Eagle" West Virginia
We Are D3 NCAA Division III alumni Wichita
WoCo Showtime Wofford alumni Wofford College West Virginia
YGC Marcus Smart Rucker Park
Zip Em Up Xavier alumni Former Xavier team motto Xavier

Note: team names are per the TBT bracket; some names have slight variation on TBT website pages.

  1. ^ Known in previous TBT editions as Autism Army.
  2. ^ Known in previous TBT editions as Armored Athlete.
  3. ^ Known in previous TBT editions as Team Hines.

Tournament bracket edit

All eight no. 1 seeds advanced in first-round play; the lowest seed to advance to the second round was no. 7 Bleed Green in the Wichita Regional.

Six no. 1 seeds advanced in second-round play; the lowest seed to advance to the third round was again Bleed Green.

Five no. 1 seeds advanced in third-round play; the lowest seed to advance to the quarterfinals was no 3. Red Scare from the Dayton Regional.

Only a single no. 1 seed, AfterShocks from the Wichita Regional, won a quarterfinal match; the lowest seed to advance to the semifinals was again Red Scare.

In the first semifinal game, AfterShocks were eliminated by Americana for Autism, the no. 2 seed from the Rucker Park Regional.[11]

In the second semifinal game, Red Scare were eliminated by Blue Collar U, the no. 2 seed from the Syracuse Regional.[12]

Blue Collar U then defeated Americana for Autism in the championship game.[13]

Source:[9][14][15]

Rucker Park Regional – Greg Marius Court (New York City) edit

First Round
July 16
Second Round
July 17
Third Round
July 20
         
1 YGC 79
8 Hoopville Warriors 74
1 YGC 59
4 HBCUnited 66
4 HBCUnited 76
5 Skip To My Lou 72
4 HBCUnited 63
2 Americana for Autism 67
3 Ex-Pats 67
6 Big 5 74
6 Big 5 67
2 Americana for Autism 83
2 Americana for Autism 69
7 Peacock Nation 68

Xavier Regional – Cintas Center (Cincinnati) edit

First Round
July 18
Second Round
July 20
Third Round
July 21
         
1 Florida TNT 114
8 Team AboutBillions 57
1 Florida TNT 87
5 Fort Wayne Champs 78
4 Nasty Nati 67
5 Fort Wayne Champs 71
1 Florida TNT 76
3 Zip Em Up 72
3 Zip Em Up 94
6 Sweet Home Alabama 61
3 Zip Em Up 89
2 Sideline Cancer 81
2 Sideline Cancer 78
7 Defeat Diabetes 77

New Mexico Regional – The Pit (Albuquerque) edit

First Round
July 18
Second Round
July 19
Third Round
July 21
         
1 Heartfire 84
8 Competitive Choice 75
1 Heartfire 79
4 The Enchantment 74
4 The Enchantment 89
5 Panamaniacs 82
1 Heartfire 86
3 LA Cheaters 72
3 LA Cheaters 73
6 Ram Up 68
3 LA Cheaters 80
2 Team Challenge ALS 74
2 Team Challenge ALS 87
7 Once A Bronco 71

Syracuse Regional – SRC Arena edit

First Round
July 22
Second Round
July 23
Third Round
July 25
         
1 Boeheim's Army 90
8 India Rising 62
1 Boeheim's Army 74
4 The Nerd Team 81
4 The Nerd Team 79
5 Brown & White 71
4 The Nerd Team 62
2 Blue Collar U 83
3 Friday Beers 82
6 Mental Toughness 69
3 Friday Beers 75
2 Blue Collar U 78
2 Blue Collar U 91
7 NG Saints 64

Wichita Regional – Charles Koch Arena edit

First Round
July 22
Second Round
July 23
Third Round
July 25
         
1 AfterShocks 83
8 We are D3 52
1 AfterShocks 70
4 Air Raiders 60
4 Air Raiders 90
5 B1 Ballers 89
1 AfterShocks 70
7 Bleed Green 69
3 Purple & Black 75
6 Lone Star Legends 73
3 Purple & Black 62
7 Bleed Green 87
2 Eberlein Drive 78
7 Bleed Green 79

Omaha Regional – D. J. Sokol Arena edit

First Round
July 16
Second Round
July 17
Third Round
July 19
         
1 Gutter Cat Gang 88
8 The Cru 78
1 Gutter Cat Gang 72
4 Always Us 62
4 Always Us 79
5 Jackson Underdawgs 78
1 Gutter Cat Gang 62
2 Team Arkansas 52
3 Omaha Blue Crew 74
6 Team Overtime 70
3 Omaha Blue Crew 63
2 Team Arkansas 69
2 Team Arkansas 72
7 DaGuys STL 69

Dayton Regional – UD Arena edit

First Round
July 24
Second Round
July 26
Third Round
July 27
         
1 The Money Team 71
8 Athletics Miami 67
1 The Money Team 92
4 Men of Mackey 75
4 Men of Mackey 76
5 Mid American Unity 58
1 The Money Team 81
3 Red Scare 83
3 Red Scare 75
6 Cititeam 70
3 Red Scare 62
2 Golden Eagles 56
2 Golden Eagles 77
7 Ohio 1804 72

West Virginia Regional – Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center edit

First Round
July 24
Second Round
July 26
Third Round
July 27
         
1 Best Virginia 75
8 Virginia Dream 45
1 Best Virginia 89
4 Herd That 79
4 Herd That 77
5 Founding Fathers 71
1 Best Virginia 63
2 Bucketneers 62
3 WoCo Showtime 67
6 War Ready 70
6 War Ready 80
2 Bucketneers 83
2 Bucketneers 83
7 Fully Loaded 73

Championship Week – Dayton & Wichita edit

All games played at Dayton, except for one quarterfinal (Wichita winner vs. Omaha winner) played at Wichita.

Quarterfinals
July 27–29
Semifinals
July 30
Championship
August 2
         
DA 3 Red Scare 67
WV 1 Best Virginia 60
DA 3 Red Scare 69
SY 2 Blue Collar U 74
SY 2 Blue Collar U 74
NM 1 Heartfire 66
SY 2 Blue Collar U 89
RP 2 Americana for Autism 67
WT 1 AfterShocks 74
OM 1 Gutter Cat Gang 67
WT 1 AfterShocks 75
RP 2 Americana for Autism 78
XA 1 Florida TNT 83
RP 2 Americana for Autism 93

Announcers for both semifinal matches and the championship game were Bob Rathbun, Fran Fraschilla, and Angel Gray.[16]

Semifinals edit

July 30, 2022
4:00 p.m. EDT
WT 1 AfterShocks 75, RP 2 Americana for Autism 78
Scoring by quarter: 18–22, 18–21, 23–20, 16–15
Pts: C. Frankamp 15
Rebs: J. Dickey 8
Asts: R. Kelly 4
Pts: I. Swann 18
Rebs: D. James 6
Asts: D. Monroe 6
UD Arena
Dayton, Ohio
Referees: E. Walton, T. Morrisey, D. George
July 30, 2022
6:00 p.m. EDT
DA 3 Red Scare 69, SY 2 Blue Collar U 74
Scoring by quarter: 15–19, 20–14, 14–22, 20–19
Pts: S. Smith 22
Rebs: J. Cunningham 8
Asts: S. Smith 3
Pts: W. Clark 22
Rebs: N. Perkins 11
Asts: C. Massinburg 4
UD Arena
Dayton, Ohio
Attendance: 4,412
Referees: C. Armstong, R. Natilli, M. Potter

Championship edit

August 2, 2022
8:00 p.m. EDT
SY 2 Blue Collar U 89, RP 2 Americana for Autism 67
Scoring by quarter: 25–13, 20–18, 22–20, 22–16
Pts: N. Perkins 19
Rebs: B. Hamilton & C. Massinburg 8
Asts: C. Massinburg 8
Pts: N. Johnson 20
Rebs: C. Wright 5
Asts: D. Monroe 6
UD Arena
Dayton, Ohio
Attendance: 1,925
Referees: J. Anderson, R. Natilli, E. Walton

The final points of the tournament, securing the championship for Blue Collar U, came on a dunk by Montell McRae.[17]

Awards edit

 
C. J. Massinburg, tournament MVP
All Tournament Team
Pos Player Team
PG Chris Warren Florida TNT
PG Scoochie Smith Red Scare
SG C. J. Massinburg (MVP) Blue Collar U
PG Wes Clark Blue Collar U
PF Nick Perkins Blue Collar U
Coach Adam Bauman Blue Collar U
GM Griffin Taylor Americana for Autism

Source: [18][19]

33-Point Contest edit

The "33-Point Contest", first held in 2021, returned. In the 2022 edition, select individual players competed in each region to see who could make 11 three-point field goals the fastest, with regional winners advancing to a final round in Dayton.[a]

Finalists (team, region):[20]

The contest and prize of $33,333.33 was won by Ryan Taylor.[21][b]

Notes edit

  1. ^ If a regional winner was unavailable for the final round in Dayton, organizers selected a replacement.
  2. ^ Two players named Ryan Taylor have played in TBT: forward Ryan Taylor who attended Marshall,[22] and guard Ryan Taylor who attended Ohio, Evansville, and Northwestern.[23] The latter Ryan Taylor was the winner of the 33-Point Contest.

References edit

  1. ^ "Stats: Leaders". thetournament.com. 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  2. ^ Borzello, Jeff (August 2, 2022). "Blue Collar U downs Americana for Autism, takes home $1 million The Basketball Tournament title". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  3. ^ "The Basketball Tournament Announces Format, Locations for 2022" (Press release). The Basketball Tournament. December 8, 2021. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  4. ^ "The Basketball Tournament Announces Format, Locations for 2022" (Press release). The Basketball Tournament. May 19, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  5. ^ "TBT Accepts 32 Teams for 2022 Tournament, Half of Field Set" (Press release). The Basketball Tournament. January 26, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  6. ^ "TBT 2022 Bracket Reveal Show". The Basketball Tournament. June 22, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2022 – via YouTube.
  7. ^ Selig, David. "What is the Elam Ending?". sun-sentinel.com. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  8. ^ "All Teams". thetournament.com. 2022. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  9. ^ a b "Bracket". thetournament.com. 2022.
  10. ^ "Gutter Cat Gang | The Basketball Tournament | Puma". guttercatgang.com. May 27, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  11. ^ Eldridge, Taylor (July 30, 2022). "AfterShocks' run for the TBT $1 million ends in semifinal with heartbreaking loss". kansas.com. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  12. ^ "Red Scare's T.B.T. run comes to an end Saturday night". WHIO-TV. July 30, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2022 – via MSN.com.
  13. ^ Kindberg, Scott (August 3, 2022). "Hodgson's Blue Collar U Captures TBT Title". The Post-Journal. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  14. ^ "TBT 2022 Schedule". thetournament.com. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  15. ^ "Stats: Schedule". thetournament.com. 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  16. ^ Ufnowski, Amy (July 2022). "ESPN Announces Schedule and Commentators for TBT 2022, Tipping Off July 16". espnpressroom.com (Press release). Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  17. ^ @thetournament (August 3, 2022). "MONTELL MCRAE SLAMS HOME THE $1 MILLION @SLING SHOT!!!!!" (Tweet). Retrieved August 2, 2022 – via Twitter.
  18. ^ @thetournament (August 3, 2022). "Your TBT 2022 MVP is CJ Massinburg!" (Tweet). Retrieved August 2, 2022 – via Twitter.
  19. ^ @thetournament (August 3, 2022). "Introducing your TBT 2022 All-Tournament Team!" (Tweet). Retrieved August 2, 2022 – via Twitter.
  20. ^ @thetournament (July 28, 2022). "Your contestants for tonight's @PUMAHoops 33-Point Contest, live at 9p on ESPN2!" (Tweet). Retrieved July 28, 2022 – via Twitter.
  21. ^ @thetournament (July 29, 2022). "$33,333 RICHER RYAN TAYLOR IS YOUR @PUMAHoops 33-POINT CONTEST CHAMP!!!" (Tweet). Retrieved July 28, 2022 – via Twitter.
  22. ^ "Ryan Taylor". thetournament.com. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  23. ^ "Ryan Taylor". thetournament.com. Retrieved July 31, 2022.

External links edit