Region Hosted by West Virginia Alumni Team Best Virginia Also Features Alumni Teams from Marshall, Georgetown, Pitt, and VCU
The Basketball Tournament (TBT) – the $1 million, winner-take-all summer basketball event broadcast live on ESPN networks – today announced the bracket for this year’s tournament.
Best Virginia, the West Virginia alumni team, will serve as the featured team for one of TBT’s eight regionals, and compete against seven other teams for the chance to advance closer to TBT’s $1 million prize. The games, which will take place July 25-29, will be played at WesBanco Arena. TBT will also host a quarterfinals game at WesBanco, which will be played July 30.
Best Virginia, the number one seed in the West Virginia Regional, is organized by former West Virginia standouts John Flowers and Kevin Jones. The team will once again be coached by former West Virginia guard James Long. The Best Virginia roster currently includes:
- John Flowers (2007-11)
- Kevin Jones (2008-12)
- Jaysean Paige (2014-16)
- Nathan Adrian (2013-17)
- Teyvon Myers (2015-17)
- Kedrian Johnson (2020-23)
- Jamel Morris (Glenville State/Fairmont State)
The rest of the region includes:
- #2 seed Sideline Cancer: A longtime TBT team looking to create awareness around pancreatic cancer, their roster is loaded with talent like Marcus Keene, Tyrese Rice, and former NBA player Dominique Jones.
- #3 seed Challenge ALS Florida: A merger between TBT teams Challenge ALS and Florida TNT brings together two teams with a rich history of success in TBT. Former NBA point guard Darren Collison serves as the head coach.
- #4 seed Herd That (Marshall alumni):. Former teammates and Marshall’s two all-time leading scorers, Taevion Kinsey and Jon Elmore, reunite on a roster that also includes Jarrod West, Stevie Browning, James Kelly, Ryan Taylor, among others.
- #5 seed Zoo Crew (Pitt alumni): The University of Pittsburgh alumni team includes Nelly Cummings, Nike Sibande, and Greg Elliott, who this past season led the Panthers to their first NCAA Tournament since 2016.
- #6 seed Dawg Town (Georgetown alumni): A first year TBT participant, the Georgetown alumni team includes program legends and former NBA players Chris Wright and Henry Sims.
- #7 seed Ram Nation (VCU Alumni): Returning to TBT for the first time since 2019, VCU’s alumni team features players from different eras, like Juvonte Reddic, Marcus Santos-Silva, and Deriante Jenkins.
- #8 seed Dubois Dream: Dubois Dream secured their spot in the West Virginia Regional via buy-in.
Best Virginia will take on the #8 seed Dubois Dream in the team’s first-round game on Tuesday, July 25 at 7 pm ET. If The Ville advances to the second round, they will face the winner of #4 seed Herd That and #5 seed Zoo Crew on Thursday, July 27 at 7 pm ET CONFIRM GAME TIME. The West Virginia Regional championship game will be Saturday, July 29 at 2 pm ET.
The West Virginia regional winner will take on the Syracuse Regional winner in TBT’s quarterfinals game at WesBanco Arena on Monday, July 30 at 4 pm ET. The winner of that game will advance to TBT’s semifinals in Philadelphia on Wednesday, August 2, and the $1M winner-take-all championship game will also be in Philadelphia on Thursday, August 3.
For more information on the West Virginia Regional or to purchase tickets, visit TheTournament.com/WestVirginia.
