The Basketball Tournament 2018

The Basketball Tournament 2018 was the fifth edition of The Basketball Tournament, a 5-on-5, single elimination basketball tournament broadcast by the ESPN family of networks. The tournament involved 72 teams; it started on June 29 and continued through August 3, 2018.^[2] The winner of the final, Overseas Elite, received a two million dollar prize.^[3]

The Basketball Tournament

2018
Tournament information
Dates	June 29–August 3, 2018
Tournament format(s)	Single elimination
Host(s)	Spokane, WA Milwaukee, WI Richmond, VA Los Angeles, CA Brooklyn, NY Columbus, OH Atlanta, GA Baltimore, MD
Participants	72
Purse	US$2,000,000 winner-take-all
Final positions
Champions	Overseas Elite
Runner-up	Eberlein Drive
Tournament statistics
MVP	D. J. Kennedy
Top scorer(s)	Jimmer Fredette (155 pts)[1]
Games played	71
← 2017 2019 →

Format

The tournament started with a field of 72 teams, organized into four regions of 18 teams, all of which were seeded. The 18 teams in each region consisted of: nine teams selected based on fan popularity per the tournament's website, four teams selected via at-large bids, four teams accepted via buy-in of a $5000 fee, and the returning regional winner from the 2017 tournament.^[2]

2018 Regional winners

Region	Team
Northeast	Boeheim's Army
Midwest	Scarlet & Gray
South	Overseas Elite
West	Team Challenge ALS

Dunk contest

Derek Cooke

The Puma Hoops Dunk Contest was held during the Super 16 round, on July 27, with six contestants. There were four celebrity judges: Dominique Wilkins, Terry Rozier, God Shammgod, and Instagram personality @dunk. The contest winner was Marcus Lewis of Illinois BC, with Derek Cooke of Team Fredette as the runner-up; they were awarded prizes of $40,000 and $10,000, respectively.^[4][5]

Venues

The Basketball Tournament 2018 took place in eight locations.^[6][7] Orange dots mark the locations of the two regional pods, red dots mark regional locations, the blue dot marks the Super 16 and quarterfinal location, and the green dot marks the semifinal and finals location.

Spokane Milwaukee Richmond Los Angeles Brooklyn Columbus Atlanta Baltimore

Alumni Teams

Multiple teams in the tournament were comprised mostly or exclusively of alumni of a particular school. These teams are listed below.

Region	Seed	Team	School	Origins of name
Northeast	1	Boeheim's Army	Syracuse Orange	Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim
	3	Golden Eagles	Marquette Golden Eagles
	5	Gaelnation	Iona Gaels
	6	Jack Attack	Georgetown Hoyas	Jack the Bulldog
	7	Team Arkansas	Arkansas Razorbacks
	9	Saints Alive	Siena Saints
	11	Hall In	Seton Hall Pirates
	14	Johnnies	St. John's Red Storm	Common nickname
Midwest	1	Scarlet & Gray	Ohio State Buckeyes	Team colors
	3	Hilton Magic Legends	Iowa State Cyclones	Hilton Coliseum, Iowa State's home arena
	5	Always a Brave	Bradley Braves
	7	Zoo Crew	Pittsburgh Panthers	Pitt's Oakland Zoo student section
	8	Bearcat Jam	Cincinnati Bearcats
	9	Matadors	Texas Tech Red Raiders	School teams originally known as Matadors
South	2	Ram Nation	VCU Rams
	3	Memphis State	Memphis Tigers	Pre-1994 name of the University of Memphis
	5	Wake Nation	Wake Forest Demon Deacons
	7	Blue Zoo	Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
	8	Monarch Nation	Old Dominion Monarchs
	9	Hilltop Dawgs	UMBC Retrievers	Name derived from location
	10	Purple & Black	Kansas State Wildcats	Team colors
West	2	Team Colorado	Colorado Buffaloes
	3	Gael Force	Saint Mary's Gaels
	4	Sons of Westwood	UCLA Bruins	One of UCLA's fight songs, from the campus location in Westwood
	5	Forks Up	Arizona State Sun Devils	Pitchfork in mascot
	6	Few Good Men	Gonzaga Bulldogs	Gonzaga head coach Mark Few
	11	Team Utah	Utah Utes
	14	Air Force Bomb Squad	Air Force Falcons

Additionally, team We Are D3, the 13th seed in the West region, consisted of alumni from NCAA Division III programs.

Schedule

Games televised on ESPN, ESPN2, or ESPNU, with game replays available on ESPN3.

Round	Dates	Region	Location	Comment
Play-in	July 13	West	Los Angeles	Seeds 15–18
		South	Richmond, Virginia
	July 20	Northeast	Brooklyn
		Midwest	Columbus, Ohio
Regional	June 29–30	West	Spokane, Washington	Hoopfest Pod
	July 14–15		Los Angeles, California
		South	Richmond, Virginia
	June 30–July 1	Northeast	Milwaukee	Big East Pod
	July 21–22		Brooklyn, New York
		Midwest	Columbus, Ohio
Super 16	July 26–28		Atlanta
Quarterfinals	July 29
Semifinals	August 2		Baltimore
Finals	August 3

Bracket

All times Eastern. Source:^[8]

Northeast Region – Brooklyn, NY

	Play-in A July 20
	15	Talladega Knights	81
	18	Queens Struggle	69

	Play-in B July 20
	16	Philadelphia Stars	68
	17	South Jamaica Kings	73

	Round 1 July 21 Brooklyn					Round 2 July 22 Brooklyn					Super 16 July 28 Atlanta					Quarterfinals July 29 Atlanta
	1	Boeheim's Army	90
	17	South Jamaica Kings	72
						1	Boeheim's Army	60
						8	Team Fancy	55
	8	Team Fancy	85
	9	Saints Alive	68
											1	Boeheim's Army	73
											4	Armored Athlete	69
	5	Gaelnation	100
	12	Sideline Cancer	88
						5	Gaelnation	73
						4	Armored Athlete	75
	4	Armored Athlete	85
	13	DC on Point	69
																1	Boeheim's Army	86
																3	Golden Eagles	90
	6	Jack Attack	77
	11	Hall In	88
						11	Hall In	76
	Big East Pod – Milwaukee, WI
						3	Golden Eagles	96
	3	Golden Eagles	78
	14	Johnnies	67
											3	Golden Eagles	73
											15	Talladega Knights	66
	7	Team Arkansas	85
	10	Tim Thomas Playaz	62
						7	Team Arkansas	74
						15	Talladega Knights	91
	2	HBC Sicklerville	60
	15	Talladega Knights	80

Northeast Regional Final

ESPN

July 29, 2018 1:00 p.m. EDT

Report

#1 Boeheim's Army 86, #3 Golden Eagles 90
Scoring by quarter: 25–19, 12–29, 29–19, 20–23
Pts: Warrick – 24 Rebs: Triche – 8 Asts: Triche & Devendorf – 5		Pts: Acker – 22 Rebs: McNeal – 8 Asts: McNeal & Diener – 6

GSU Sports Arena Atlanta, Georgia Referees: Antonio Petty, John Heatly, Byron Evans

Midwest Regional – Columbus, OH

	Play-in A July 20
	15	Peoria All Stars	85
	18	West Coast Ronin	62

	Play-in B July 20
	16	West Virginia Wildcats	114
	17	Charlotte Chess Center	87

	Round 1 July 21 Columbus					Round 2 July 22 Columbus					Super 16 July 27 Atlanta					Quarterfinals July 29 Atlanta
	1	Scarlet & Gray	99
	16	West Virginia Wildcats	68
						1	Scarlet & Gray	82
						9	Matadors	73
	8	Bearcat Jam	63
	9	Matadors	80
											1	Scarlet & Gray	72
											12	PrimeTime Players	60
	5	Always a Brave	64
	12	PrimeTime Players	68
						12	PrimeTime Players	70
						4	Big X	67
	4	Big X	81
	13	Chattanooga Trenches	79
																1	Scarlet & Gray	78
																2	Team Fredette	100
	6	Fort Wayne Champs	93
	11	The Region	82
						6	Fort Wayne Champs	84
						14	Illinois BC	66
	3	Hilton Magic Legends	63
	14	Illinois BC	92
											6	Fort Wayne Champs	91
											2	Team Fredette	104
	7	Zoo Crew	77
	10	Jackson TN Underdawgs	86
						10	Jackson TN Underdawgs	89
						2	Team Fredette	99
	2	Team Fredette	88
	15	Peoria All Stars	80

Midwest Regional Final

ESPN

July 29, 2018

Report

#1 Scarlet & Gray 78, #2 Team Fredette 100
Scoring by quarter: 17–21, 23–30, 23–25, 15–24
Pts: Lighty – 16 Rebs: Sullinger – 8 Asts: Craft & Pigram – 3		Pts: Fredette – 28 Rebs: Cooley – 7 Asts: Fredette – 7

GSU Sports Arena Atlanta, Georgia Referees: Derick Stafford, Anthony Jordan, Tommie Morrissey

South Regional – Richmond, VA

	Play-in A July 13
	16	Rock City Scorchers	64
	17	Team ABC2	77

	Play-in B July 13
	15	Tampa 20/20	86
	18	Cancer +1	72

	Round 1 July 14 Richmond					Round 2 July 15 Richmond					Super 16 July 26 Atlanta					Quarterfinals July 29 Atlanta
	1	Overseas Elite	78
	17	Team ABC2	62
						1	Overseas Elite	71
						8	Monarch Nation	61
	8	Monarch Nation	72
	9	Hilltop Dawgs	59
											1	Overseas Elite	87
											4	Louisiana United	86
	5	Wake the Nation	55
	12	Showtime	68
						12	Showtime	61
						4	Louisiana United	88
	4	Louisiana United	86
	13	ATL All Stars	69
																1	Overseas Elite	72
																2	Ram Nation	60
	6	Team DRC	84
	11	NC Prodigal Sons	66
						6	Team DRC	84
						3	Memphis State	80
	3	Memphis State	72
	14	Brooklyn Vultures	63
											6	Team DRC	65
											2	Ram Nation	78
	7	Atlanta Dirty South	76
	10	Purple & Black	74
						7	Atlanta Dirty South	71
						2	Ram Nation	76
	2	Ram Nation	86
	15	Tampa 20/20	72

South Regional Final

ESPN2

July 29, 2018 11:00 a.m. EDT

Report

#1 Overseas Elite 72, #2 Ram Nation 60
Scoring by quarter: 18–13, 20–16, 18–22, 16–9
Pts: Burrell – 15 Rebs: Kennedy & Burrell – 8 Asts: McCollum – 5		Pts: Williams – 13 Rebs: Burgess & Williams – 5 Asts: Maynor – 5

GSU Sports Arena Atlanta, Georgia Referees: Orlandis Poole, Pat Evans, Archie Whaley

West Regional – Los Angeles, CA

	Play-in A July 13
	15	Kimchi Express	104
	18	Dubois Dream	96

	Play-in B July 13
	16	Utah Valor	65
	17	Fort Hood Wounded Warriors	98

	Round 1 July 14 Los Angeles					Round 2 July 15 Los Angeles					Super 16 July 28 Atlanta					Quarterfinals July 29 Atlanta
	1	Team Challenge ALS	83
	17	Fort Hood Wounded Warriors	75
						1	Team Challenge ALS	72
						9	CitiTeam Blazers	59
	8	Team 23	71
	9	CitiTeam Blazers	82
											1	Team Challenge ALS	86
											4	Sons of Westwood	80
	5	Forks Up	75
	12	Albuquerque Hoops	94
						12	Albuquerque Hoops	62
						4	Sons of Westwood	76
	4	Sons of Westwood	90
	13	We Are D3	65
																1	Team Challenge ALS	67
																7	Eberlein Drive	78
	6	Few Good Men	84
	11	Team Utah	83
						6	Few Good Men	48
	Hoopfest Pod – Spokane, WA
						3	Gael Force	95
	3	Gael Force	82
	14	Air Force Bomb Squad	54
											3	Gael Force	59
											7	Eberlein Drive	72
	7	Eberlein Drive	86
	10	Broad Street Brawlers	71
						7	Eberlein Drive	83
						2	Team Colorado	76
	2	Team Colorado	105
	15	Kimchi Express	73

West Regional Final

ESPN2

July 29, 2018 7:00 p.m. EDT

Report

#1 Team Challenge ALS 67, #7 Eberlein Drive 78
Scoring by quarter: 12–17, 15–23, 23–24, 17–14
Pts: Ware – 22 Rebs: Hamilton – 7 Asts: Hamilton & Rowland – 2		Pts: Randle – 29 Rebs: Braun & Evans – 7 Asts: 3 players – 3

GSU Sports Arena Atlanta, Georgia Referees: Tony Greene, Chuck Jones, Sean Goode

Semifinals – Baltimore, MD

	Semifinals August 2 Baltimore					Final August 3 Baltimore
	NE3	Golden Eagles	60
	S1	Overseas Elite	85
						S1	Overseas Elite	70
						W7	Eberlein Drive	58
	MW2	Team Fredette	76
	W7	Eberlein Drive	80

Semifinals

ESPN

August 2, 2018 7:00 p.m. EDT

Report

NE #3 Golden Eagles 60, S #1 Overseas Elite 85
Scoring by quarter: 13–28, 21–15, 22–21, 4–21
Pts: Cook – 19 Rebs: Wilson & Blackledge – 4 Asts: Acker – 4		Pts: Fogg – 38 Rebs: Kennedy – 12 Asts: Kennedy – 5

Talmadge L. Hill Field House Baltimore, Maryland Referees: Brian O'Connell, Jeff Clark, Jamie Luckie

ESPN

August 2, 2018 9:00 p.m. EDT

Report

MW #2 Team Fredette 76, W #7 Eberlein Drive 80
Scoring by quarter: 19–20, 13–21, 22–24, 22–15
Pts: Fredette – 24 Rebs: Davies – 10 Asts: Fredette – 5		Pts: Sloan – 20 Rebs: Evans – 7 Asts: Randle – 5

Talmadge L. Hill Field House Baltimore, Maryland

Championship

ESPN

August 3, 2018 9:00 p.m. EDT

Report

S #1 Overseas Elite 70, W #7 Eberlein Drive 58
Scoring by quarter: 17–12, 18–21, 17–17, 18–8
Pts: Burrell – 15 Rebs: Kennedy – 9 Asts: Kennedy – 4		Pts: Randle & Sloan – 14 Rebs: Evans – 12 Asts: Sloan – 5

Talmadge L. Hill Field House Baltimore, Maryland Referees: Clarence Armstrong, Mike Eades, Jeff Anderson

Awards

All Tournament Team

Pos	Player	Team	PPG
F	D. J. Kennedy (MVP)	Overseas Elite	14.3
G	Errick McCollum	Overseas Elite	12.8
G	Jerome Randle	Eberlein Drive	21.7
G	Jimmer Fredette	Team Fredette	31.0
F	Jamil Wilson	Golden Eagles	18.0
GM	Matt Mitchell & Jacob Hirschmann	Eberlein Drive	—

Source:^[9]