With two victories under its belt, the Basketball Tournament’s Kansas alumni team is halfway to the Final Four in Philadelphia, and the path there just got a lot clearer.
The top-seeded teams in Wichita (the Wichita State alumni AfterShocks) and in Houston (the North Texas alumni Bleed Green) each lost to No. 5 seeds. In theory, that should make things easier for both remaining No. 2 seeds in their portion of the TBT bracket: the KU alumni squad Mass Street and the Houston alumni Forever Coogs.
First, though, Mass Street has to get past one of those No. 5 seeds, and it’s a formidable one.
Team Colorado, a group of former Buffaloes, has already knocked out teams representing both WSU and Kansas State. The CU alumni team will now come for the third Kansas-based team in the Wichita region on Wednesday at 8 p.m. at Charles Koch Arena.
Former Oklahoma City Thunder wing André Roberson was known for his stifling defense in the NBA, but put up 22 points and nine rebounds for Team Colorado in the 65-61 win over the AfterShocks on Monday night. And now he has some sort of revenge on his mind: As Roberson, who lost thrice to KU during his freshman year at Colorado (2010-11), put it in a video posted on TBT’s social media, “This ain’t Lawrence.”
Team Colorado’s Andre Roberson shoots during a game against the AfterShocks on Monday, July 22, 2024, in Wichita.
Mass Street, meanwhile, is coming off a 76-59 victory over Florida TNT that was somewhat closer than the score indicated. Lagerald Vick hit two 3s and Sam Cunliffe another as the KU alumni engineered a very swift Elam Ending. Roberson will likely be tasked with limiting any further production from the likes of Vick, who had a game-high 19 points.
Team Colorado, a longtime TBT squad which has improved its all-time record to 10-6, has a pretty deep 10-man roster. D’Shawn Schwartz scored 21 points in 28 minutes in the opening round and then found space on the left wing for the Elam Ending game-winner on Monday. Many of its primary contributors did not in fact go to CU, including starters Joshua Adams and Michael Holyfield and sixth man Jaizec Lottie, the only player to score in double digits in both Team Colorado games.
Other names to know include former Phoenix Suns 2018 NBA Draft pick George King and TBT veteran guard Shannin Sharpe. Zach Ruebesam, a current assistant on Tad Boyle’s CU staff, is the head coach.
TBT will host its quarterfinals next Monday and Tuesday, with the times and locations yet to be determined. The tournament has previously announced that a “host or local regional team” will get an automatic home-court advantage in quarterfinal play; a TBT spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday that if Mass Street wins, it will host a quarterfinal in Wichita, even if Forever Coogs wins the Houston bracket.
Mass Street’s continued progress also leaves open the possibility that some of its additional players who have not yet participated could potentially join the roster later on, as general manager Tyshawn Taylor had mentioned prior to the start of the competition.
The Basketball Tournament
The Basketball Tournament