The Basketball Tournament 2019


The Basketball Tournament 2019 was the sixth edition of The Basketball Tournament, a 5-on-5, single elimination basketball tournament broadcast by the ESPN family of networks. The tournament, involving 64 teams, started on July 19 and continued through the championship game on August 6 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. The winner of the final, Carmen's Crew, received a $2 million prize.

Format

The tournament began with a field of 64 teams, organized into eight regions of 8 teams, all of which were seeded. In a first for TBT, each regional was hosted by a competing team, with the winner of each regional receiving a prize equal to 25% of that region's ticket proceeds. Host teams were announced on January 29, 2019, ahead of the start of the open entry period on March 1. The full bracket was announced on June 11.

Dunk contest

The Puma Posterize Dunk Contest was held during the quarterfinals, on August 2. The contest "features players attempting to dunk over one another." The contest and $40,000 top prize was won by William Coleman of Bluff City, a team of Memphis Tigers alumni.

Venues

The Basketball Tournament 2019 was staged in nine locations. Red dots mark regional locations and the green dot marks the championship location. The Wichita Regional, held near McConnell Air Force Base, was branded as "The Wichita Regional Presented by Air Force Reserve", through sponsorship by the Air Force Reserve.

Alumni teams

Multiple teams in the tournament were comprised mostly or exclusively of alumni of a particular school, program, or a group of closely related schools. These teams are listed below.
RegionSeedTeamSchool/programOrigins of name
Columbus1Carmen's CrewOhio State BuckeyesSchool song "Carmen Ohio"
Columbus2Kohl BloodedWisconsin BadgersKohl Center, the Badgers' home
Columbus3Red ScareDayton FlyersPrimary school color and student section nickname
Columbus7Mid-American UnityMid-American Conference schools
Greensboro2Team CP3AAUChris Paul's nickname
Greensboro3Power of the PawClemson TigersClemson's athletic logo is a tiger's paw
Lexington2Bluegrass BoysKentucky WildcatsState nickname; also, the Wildcats' home of Lexington is a major city in the state's Bluegrass region
Memphis1Gael ForceSaint Mary's Gaels
Memphis2Bluff CityMemphis TigersCity nickname
Memphis3Team ArkansasArkansas Razorbacks
Richmond2Ram NationVCU Rams
Richmond3Green MachineGeorge Mason PatriotsPrimary school color
Richmond4Best VirginiaWest Virginia Mountaineers
Richmond5Seven City RoyaltyOld Dominion Monarchs"Seven Cities", a nickname sometimes applied to ODU's home of the Hampton Roads area
Richmond6The WebRichmond Spiders
Richmond8Hilltop DawgsUMBC RetrieversSchool's physical location
Salt Lake4Sons of WestwoodUCLA BruinsTitle of one of UCLA's fight songs, derived from the school's location in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Westwood
Salt Lake7Utah StallionsUtah State Aggies
Syracuse1Boeheim's ArmySyracuse OrangeCurrent Orange head coach Jim Boeheim
Syracuse5GaelNationIona Gaels
Syracuse6Rutgers Scarlet KnightsRutgers player and head coach Jim Valvano
Syracuse7Team DraddyManhattan JaspersDraddy Gymnasium, the Jaspers' home
Syracuse8We Are D3NCAA Division III programsCommon abbreviation for NCAA Division III
Wichita1Golden EaglesMarquette Golden Eagles
Wichita2AfterShocksWichita State Shockers
Wichita3Self MadeKansas JayhawksCurrent Jayhawks head coach Bill Self
Wichita4Team ColoradoColorado Buffaloes
Wichita5Purple & BlackKansas State WildcatsSchool colors
Wichita7Iowa UnitedIowa's four Division I schools

Schedule

Regional games were televised on ESPN or ESPN2, or streamed on ESPN3; the quarterfinals were televised on ESPN, ESPN2, or ESPNU; the semifinals and final were televised on ESPN. Each regional winner received 25% of the ticket sales in their region as a prize.
RoundDatesRegionVenue & LocationHost teamWinning teamPrize
RegionalJuly 19–21ColumbusCapital University Performance Arena
Bexley, Ohio		Carmen's CrewCarmen's Crew$21,025
RegionalJuly 19–21GreensboroGreensboro Coliseum Fieldhouse
Greensboro, North Carolina		Team CP3Team Hines$3,732
RegionalJuly 19–21LexingtonFrederick Douglass High School
Lexington, Kentucky		Bluegrass BoysLoyalty Is Love$5,343
RegionalJuly 19–21MemphisElma Roane Fieldhouse
Memphis, Tennessee		Bluff CityJackson TN Underdawgs$6,226
RegionalJuly 25–27Salt LakeMaverik Center
West Valley City, Utah		Team FredetteEberlein Drive$3,584
RegionalJuly 25–28WichitaCharles Koch Arena
Wichita, Kansas		AfterShocksGolden Eagles$96,439
RegionalJuly 26–28RichmondSiegel Center
Richmond, Virginia		Ram NationOverseas Elite$17,349
RegionalJuly 26–28SyracuseSRC Arena, Onondaga Community College
Syracuse, New York		Boeheim's ArmyTeam Brotherly Love$31,871

RoundDatesVenue & Location
QuarterfinalsAugust 1–2Wintrust Arena
Chicago, Illinois
SemifinalsAugust 4Wintrust Arena
Chicago, Illinois
FinalsAugust 6Wintrust Arena
Chicago, Illinois

Bracket

All times Eastern.

Richmond Regional – [Siegel Center], Richmond, VA

Richmond Regional Final

Lexington Regional – [Frederick [Douglass High School (Lexington, Kentucky)|Frederick Douglass HS]], Lexington, KY

Lexington Regional Final

Salt Lake Regional – [Maverik Center], West Valley City, UT

Salt Lake Regional Final

Columbus Regional – [Capital University] Performance Arena, Bexley, OH

Columbus Regional Final

Syracuse Regional – SRC Arena, [Onondaga Community College], Syracuse, NY

Syracuse Regional Final

Greensboro Regional – Greensboro Coliseum Fieldhouse">Greensboro Coliseum Complex">Greensboro Coliseum Fieldhouse, Greensboro, NC

Greensboro Regional Final

Wichita Regional – [Charles Koch Arena], Wichita, KS

Wichita Regional Final

Memphis Regional – [Elma Roane Fieldhouse], Memphis, TN

Memphis Regional Final

Championship – [Wintrust Arena], Chicago, IL

Source:

Semifinals

Championship

Winning roster

Source:

Awards

PosPlayerTeam
GWilliam Buford Carmen's Crew
GAaron CraftCarmen's Crew
FD. J. KennedyOverseas Elite
GJaylen BarfordJackson TN Underdawgs
GDwight BuycksGolden Eagles
GMDaniel FitzgeraldGolden Eagles

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