Oscar J. Barroso / AFP7 / Europa Press Sports via Getty Images
Four teams remain in The Basketball Tournament, and only one will bring home the top prize of $1 million.
The event began two weeks ago with a 64-team field, but that has narrowed to Florida TNT, Boeheim’s Army, Team 23 and Blue Collar U after Saturday’s quarterfinals.
These squads will try to keep the momentum heading into Sunday knowing two more wins will lead to glory.
Semifinal Schedule (Sunday, Aug. 1)
Florida TNT vs. Boeheim’s Army, noon ET
Team 23 vs. Blue Collar U, 2:30 p.m. ET
Quarterfinal Results
No. 5 Florida TNT def. No. 2 AfterShocks, 92-63
No. 3 Boeheim’s Army def. No. 1 Golden Eagles, 73-69
No. 6 Team 23 def. No. 1 Sideline Cancer, 78-71
No. 6 Blue Collar U def. No. 5 The Money Team, 84-81
Saturday Recap
Florida TNT sent a message in the first game of the day, cruising to a 29-point victory over the AfterShocks.
The matchup came down to which side hit its shots as Florida TNT was unstoppable offensively:
Florida TNT had five players in double figures, led by Dominique Jones with 18 points. The team shot 61 percent from the field and 14-of-28 from three-point range to pull away.
The AfterShocks went 12-of-37 from beyond the arc with a 31 percent shooting mark overall. Former Wichita State player Conner Frankamp went 0-of-6 from three after playing a big role in earlier rounds.
The second game was much closer, featuring two of the most experienced squads in the event.
The defending champion Golden Eagles had advanced through the first three rounds with relative ease, but Boeheim’s Army ended the run with an impressive upset over the Marquette alumni.
Boeheim’s Army is filled with former Syracuse players, although Boston College product Tyrese Rice had the best showing Saturday. Rice scored 20 points, including the game-winner in the Elam Ending:
Boeheim’s Army outscored the Golden Eagles 23-11 in the fourth quarter in a come-from-behind effort:
Brent Axe @BrentAxeMedia
It’s over. A Final Four bid in <a href=”https://twitter.com/thetournament?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@thetournament</a> for <a href=”https://twitter.com/BoeheimsArmy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@BoeheimsArmy</a>. Tyrese Rice with the winning score for BA. 21-6 run for the Army to beat the Golden Eagles. BA didn’t even lead until the Elam Ending but gut out the win when it counts. 2nd semifinal appearance for BA in TBT.
With Chris McCullough also playing well, the squad has a chance to win it all in its seventh year competing in TBT.
Sideline Cancer and Team 23 also put on a show with a back-and-forth battle worthy of the quarterfinals.
Wild swings from each changed the outlook of the matchup, but Team 23 held a narrow two-point lead with four minutes remaining for the Elam Ending. The underdogs took over from there by scoring the next six points and eventually sealing a seven-point win.
Eric Washington was a key player down the stretch, but Marcus Hall finished the game:
Sideline Cancer was the No. 1 seed in the West Virginia section of the bracket, but it narrowly survived earlier rounds with two wins decided by a single possession. The close games finally caught up to it as the team fell short of the semifinals despite 19 points from Marcus Keene.
The Money Team’s run came to an end Saturday, but not without some final theatrics before it reached the exit. A 12-5 run by TMT had the team within three points of the target score, and the club even had a chance to win but couldn’t convert on its final offensive possession. Instead, the ball went back to Blue Collar U, which closed out the game with a putback bucket.
Jordon Crawford did his best to keep TMT alive with 16 points, six assists and two steals, but he didn’t get much help from his fellow starters. Crawford was the only TMT starter to reach double figures.
Nick Perkins led BCU with 23 points and 11 rebounds to advance to the semifinals.
After the semifinals Sunday, the championship game is scheduled for Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET.
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