The return of the NBA is right around the corner, which is great news for basketball fans who have been starved for action these past few months. It was a bit of a double whammy for basketball fans, as they lost on out March Madness as well as a chunk of the regular season, but they have at least had some ball to watch this month, with The Basketball Tournament (TBT) showing on ESPN over the past couple of weeks. 24 teams came into this competition, all looking to get their hands on the $1 million winner take all prize. The games are played 5 on 5 and are open to anyone who can get a team together. We are now down to the final two teams, one of whom will walk away with a cool million dollars on Tuesday night. Let’s take a closer look at the teams and how they got to the final so you can make your bets against their The Basketball Tournament odds.
The Basketball Tournament Final
The Golden Eagles (-144)
This team is made up of alumni players from Marquette and came into the TBT as one of the favorites to win it all. They are now just one win away from doing just that as the #4 seed. One of the benefits of playing as one of the top 8 seeds is having to play one games less in the tournament. This event is played quickly and the games come thick and fast, so having one game less to play is always a good thing in a condensed tournament such as this.
The Golden Eagles got the ball rolling with a comfortable win in the Round of 16, taking down Team CP3 by a score of 76-67. In the quarterfinal, the Golden Eagles went up against the #12 seed in Team Brotherly Love, coming away with another good performance, winning that one 83-76. It was a tougher game for the Golden Eagles in the semi-final, but they still made things look relatively easy, taking out the #8 seeded Red Scare by a score of 79-70.
Sideline Cancer (+114)
The road to the final was not quite as smooth for Sideline Cancer, which is not all that surprising when you consider that they came into this event seeded #22 out of the 24 teams that started the TBT. That they have made it this far is sure to be a surprise to everyone, but it also shows that they cannot simply be written off.
Sideline Cancer needed to battle hard to take care of #11 seeded Team Hines in the opening round, outlasting their opponent in a 93-91 thriller. That win seemed to give them a confidence boost ahead of their Round of 16 game with Team Challenge ALS, who they beat 76-66. It was another stunner in the quarterfinal, as they took out #3 seeded Boeheim’s Army in a rather lopsided 65-48 win. They took out the #2 seeded Overseas Elite 67-75 in the semi-final to complete their improbable run.
As good as this run has been by Sideline Cancer, they are now running into a team that has not really been troubled all the way to the final. I think the Golden Eagles win this one going away.
- Pick: Golden Eagles
