| The Basketball Tournament | |
| Year: | 2024 |
| Location: |
|
| Start Date: | July 19 |
| End Date: | August 4, 2024 |
| Tournament Format: | Single elimination |
| Participants: | 64 teams |
| Stat1 Label: | Games played |
| Stat1: | 63 |
| Purse: | Championship: US$1,000,000 winner-take-all |
| Champions: | Carmen's Crew |
| Runner-Up1: | Forever Coogs |
| Mvp: | Jared Sullinger[1] |
| Top Scorer: | Rob Gray (110)[2] |
| Previous: | 2023 |
| Next: | 2025 |
The Basketball Tournament 2024 was the eleventh 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 4 with the championship game in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The tournament format was similar to that of the last edition in 2023—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 two sites, Houston and Louisville. The quarterfinal winners then traveled to Philadelphia for the semifinals and championship game. Carmen's Crew, a team mostly made up of Ohio State alumni, won the tournament.[3]
For its 2024 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).
The teams and the regional placements for all entrants were revealed in a selection special hosted by Andrew Zoldan with John Fanta that aired on TBT's YouTube channel on June 26, 2024.[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.
The Basketball Tournament 2024 featured games in nine locations, eight of which hosted a regional. The ninth 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.
| Butler (Indianapolis) | Cincinnati | Dayton | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hinkle Fieldhouse | Fifth Third Arena | UD Arena | |
| Capacity: 12,012 | Capacity: 13,409 | Capacity: 7,100 | |
| Houston | Lexington (Kentucky) | Louisville | |
| Fertitta Center | Rupp Arena | Freedom Hall | |
| Capacity: 9,100 | Capacity: 20,500 | Capacity: 18,865 | |
| Pittsburgh | Wichita (Wichita State) | Philadelphia (Drexel, Championship) | |
| Petersen Events Center | Charles Koch Arena | Daskalakis Athletic Center | |
| Capacity: 12,508 | Capacity: 10,506 | Capacity: 2,509 | |
Source:[6]
TBT has a history of teams rostered primarily with alumni from specific NCAA Division I college basketball programs; 29 such teams entered the 2024 tournament. One is drawn from NCAA Division II alumni, another is drawn from NCAA Division III alumni.
| Name | College or sponsor affiliation | Source of team name | Region | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 305 Ballers | Main area code for Miami, Florida, where the team is based | Lexington | ||
| AfterShocks | Wichita State alumni | School nickname of Shockers | Wichita | |
| All Good Dawgs | Butler alumni | School nickname of Bulldogs | Butler | |
| Assembly Ball | Indiana alumni | Assembly Hall home arena | Butler | |
| Austin's Own | Texas alumni | School location in Austin | Houston | |
| Best Virginia | West Virginia alumni | Pittsburgh | ||
| Bleed Green | North Texas alumni | School nickname of Mean Green | Houston | |
| Brotherly Love Pro Am Foundation | Pittsburgh | |||
| Brown Ballers | Made up of brown athletes | Cincinnati | ||
| Ohio State alumni | "Carmen Ohio", Ohio State's school song | Dayton | ||
| D2 Waymakers | Former NCAA Division II athletes | Lexington | ||
| DaGuys STL | Dayton | |||
| Dream 34 | Wendell Scott Foundation | Formerly "Virginia Dream", Scott's racing number was 34) | Cincinnati | |
| Dubois Dream | Pittsburgh | |||
| Team owners' home street | Butler | |||
| Fail Harder | Butler | |||
| Florida TNT | Wichita | |||
| Forever Coogs | Houston alumni | Houston Cougars mascot | Houston | |
| Fort Wayne Champs | Players with connections to Fort Wayne, Indiana | Butler | ||
| Penn State alumni | Pittsburgh | |||
| Heartfire | MedImpact | Arizona nonprofit HeartFire Missions, a provider of Christian medical mission trips | Dayton | |
| Marshall alumni | School nickname of Thundering Herd | Lexington | ||
| Herkimer Originals | Pittsburgh | |||
| Jackson TN Underdawgs | Players with connections to Jackson, Tennessee | Lexington | ||
| LA Cheaters | Wichita | |||
| La Familia | Kentucky alumni | Ode to recently departed coach John Calipari's Italian heritage; also name of a UK basketball NIL collective | Lexington | |
| Los Angeles Ignite | Houston | |||
| Mass Street | Kansas alumni | Wichita | ||
| Men of Mackey | Purdue alumni | Butler | ||
| Midtown Prestige | Wichita | |||
| Million $ Worth of Game | Pittsburgh | |||
| Nasty Nati | Cincinnati alumni | Nickname of the city of Cincinnati | Cincinnati | |
| Once a Bronco | Boise State alumni | Boise State Broncos mascot | Houston | |
| Purple Hearts | Gun violence awareness | Dayton | ||
| Purple Reign | Kansas State alumni | Kansas State school colors | Wichita | |
| Ram Up | Colorado State alumni | School nickname of Rams | Wichita | |
| Red Rose Thunder | Cincinnati | |||
| Red Scare | Dayton alumni | Name of Dayton student section | Dayton | |
| Rise & Grind | Dayton | |||
| Run DFW | Based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area | Louisville | ||
| Sideline Cancer | Pancreatic cancer awareness | Louisville | ||
| Stars of Storrs | UConn alumni | Charles and Augustus Storrs, establishers of the Storrs Agricultural School (now the University of Connecticut) | Pittsburgh | |
| Sweet Home Alabama | Dayton | |||
| Takeover BC | Cincinnati | |||
| Team Aboutbillions | About Billions | Cincinnati | ||
| Team Arkansas | Arkansas alumni | Butler | ||
| Team Colorado | Colorado alumni | Wichita | ||
| Team Diesel | Louisville | |||
| Team DRC | Louisville | |||
| Team Fredette | Louisville | |||
| Team Gibson | Cincinnati | |||
| Houston | ||||
| Valparaiso alumni | Former nickname Valparaiso Crusaders | Butler | ||
| New Mexico alumni | State nickname: "Land of Enchantment" | Houston | ||
| Lexington | ||||
| Houston | ||||
| Louisville alumni | City nickname | Louisville | ||
| UKnighted | Bellarmine alumni | Bellarmine Knights nickname and mascot | Louisville | |
| Veniceball | Louisville | |||
| War Ready | Auburn alumni | School battle cry "War Eagle" | Lexington | |
| We Are D3 | NCAA Division III alumni | Dayton | ||
| Woco Showtime | Wofford alumni | Institutional name of Wofford College | Lexington | |
| Zip Em Up | Xavier alumni | Former Xavier team motto | Cincinnati | |
| Zoo Crew | Pittsburgh alumni | Oakland Zoo student section | Pittsburgh |
Six of the eight no. 1 seeds advanced in first-round play, with no. 7 Takeover BC upsetting Red Rose Thunder in the Cincinnati Regional.
Three no. 1 seeds advanced in second-round play; the lowest seed to advance to the third round was no 8. Team DRC from the Louisville Regional.
No no. 1 seeds advanced in third-round play; the lowest seed to advance to the quarterfinals was again Takeover BC.
The lowest seed to advance to the semifinals was no 6. Eberlein Drive from the Butler Regional.
In the first semifinal game, Eberlein Driver were eliminated by Forever Coogs, the no. 2 seed from the Houston Regional.
In the second semifinal game, La Familia were eliminated by Carmen's Crew, the no. 3 seed from the Dayton Regional.
Carmen's Crew then defeated Forever Coogs in the championship game.
Quarterfinals games were played at Houston and Louisville. All semifinal and championship games were played in Philadelphia.
Eric Collins, Nick Bahe, and Cayleigh Griffin were the announcers for both semifinal matches and the championship game.[10]
| Pos | Player | Team | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PG | Forever Coogs | |||
| PG | La Familia | |||
| SG | Sam Sessoms | Happy Valley Hoopers | ||
| PG | Eberlein Drive | |||
| PF | Carmen's Crew | |||
| bgcolor=lightgray | Coach | Jordan Surenkamp | Eberlein Drive | |
| bgcolor=lightgray | GM | Twany Beckham | La Familia |
Source:[11]