The Basketball Tournament 2025
Single elimination basketball tournament
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The Basketball Tournament 2025 was the twelfth edition of The Basketball Tournament (TBT), a 5-on-5, single elimination basketball tournament with a $1 million winner-take-all prize. The tournament, involving 61 teams, began on July 18 and ended on August 3. The tournament format was similar to that of the last edition in 2024 with teams playing in one of eight regionals. Twenty-six games were broadcast live on FOX, FS1, and FS2. Other games were streamed on YouTube.
- Charleston, West Virginia
- Harrisonburg, Virginia
- Indianapolis,Indiana
- Kansas City, Missouri
- Lexington, Kentucky
- Louisville, Kentucky
- Syracuse, New York
- Wichita, Kansas
- Semifinals sites
- Championship site
format
| 2025 | |
2025 championship game logo | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location |
|
| Dates | July 18–August 3, 2025 |
Tournament format | Single elimination |
| Participants | 61 teams |
| Purse | Championship: US$1,000,000 winner-take-all |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | AfterShocks |
| Runner-up | Eberlein Drive |
| Tournament statistics | |
| MVP | Marcus Keene |
| Top scorer | Gabe York (114) |
| Games played | 60 |
Format
For its 2025 edition, TBT modified its traditional 64-team format, with first round byes in the seven-team regions. Each regional will be held at a single host site (similar in format to the NCAA Division II men's and women's tournaments). The first region to sell 4000 tickets (Louisville) earned homecourt advantage throughout the tournament, with other regions receiving similar home court advantages for ticket sales.[1]
The teams and the regional placements for all entrants were revealed on June 24, 2025.[2]
As with previous years, all tournament games operate with the "Elam Ending", a format of ending the game without use of a game clock. Under the Elam Ending, the clock is turned off at the first dead-ball whistle with 4 minutes or less to play in the game. At that time, a target score, equal to the score of the leading team (or tied teams) plus eight, is set, and the first team to reach this target score is declared the winner of the game.[3] Thus, all games end on a made basket (field goal or free throw) and there is no overtime.
Venues
The Basketball Tournament 2025 featured games in eight locations. Official regional names, if different from the location names, are indicated in the listings below the location names.
 Regional sites Regional and quarterfinal sites |
Indianapolis | James Madison (Harrisonburg, VA) |
Kansas City |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hinkle Fieldhouse | Atlantic Union Bank Center | Municipal Arena | |
| Capacity: 12,012 | Capacity: 8,500 | Capacity: 7,300 | |
 |
 |
 | |
| Lexington | Louisville | Wichita | |
| Memorial Coliseum | Freedom Hall | Charles Koch Arena | |
| Capacity: 6,250 | Capacity: 18,865 | Capacity: 10,506 | |
 |
 |
 | |
| Syracuse | West Virginia (Charleston, WV) | ||
| SRC Arena | Charleston Coliseum | ||
| Capacity: 6,500 | Capacity: 11,519 |
Teams
Source:[4]
TBT has a history of teams rostered primarily with alumni from specific NCAA Division I college basketball programs; 23 such teams entered the 2025 tournament. One is drawn from NCAA Division III alumni.
| Name | College or sponsor affiliation | Source of team name | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| AfterShocks | Wichita State alumni | Wichita State Shockers school nickname | Wichita |
| All Good Dawgs | Butler alumni | Butler Bulldogs mascot | Indianapolis |
| Assembly Ball | Indiana alumni | Assembly Hall home arena | Indianapolis |
| Austin's Own | Texas alumni | School location in Austin | Wichita |
| Best Virginia | West Virginia alumni | West Virginia | |
| Boeheim's Army | Syracuse alumni | Former Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim | Syracuse |
| Boston vs Cancer | — | Louisville | |
| Brown Ballers | — | Made up of brown athletes | Syracuse |
| Carmen's Crew | Ohio State alumni | "Carmen Ohio", Ohio State's school song | Indianapolis |
| Challenge ALS | Raising awareness for ALS | Wichita | |
| Court Street Kings[a] | Ohio alumni | Court Street runs through the Ohio University campus | West Virginia |
| DaGuys STL | — | Team YouTube channel, with players mainly from Greater St. Louis | Kansas City |
| Dubois Dream | — | Based out of Dubois, Pennsylvania | West Virginia |
| Dunkin' Dogs | Louisiana Tech alumni | Louisiana Tech Bulldogs mascot | Lexington |
| Eberlein Drive | — | Team owners' home street | Lexington |
| Elite Nation[b] | — | West Virginia | |
| Fail Harder | — | Indianapolis | |
| Fire Family | Sovereign Bank | TBL team Potawatomi Fire | Wichita |
| Florida DRC | Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie | Combined from Florida TNT and Team DRC from previous TBT editions. | Louisville |
| Forever Coogs | Houston alumni | Houston Cougars mascot | Wichita |
| Fort Wayne Champs | — | Players with connections to Fort Wayne, Indiana | Indianapolis |
| Founding Fathers | James Madison alumni | James Madison University named after a Founding Father of the United States | James Madison |
| GoTime Green Machine | TBL team Lebanon Leprechauns | Indianapolis | |
| Green Mountain Men | Vermont alumni | Green Mountains run through Vermont | Syracuse |
| Happy Valley Hoopers | Penn State alumni | Location of the school in Happy Valley | James Madison |
| Heartfire | MedImpact | Arizona nonprofit HeartFire Missions, a provider of Christian medical mission trips | Kansas City |
| Herd That | Marshall alumni | Marshall Thundering Herd school nickname | West Virginia |
| Herkimer Originals | — | ABA team from Herkimer, New York | Syracuse |
| JHX Hoops | Kansas alumni | Variation of the Kansas Jayhawks mascot name | Kansas City |
| La Familia | Kentucky alumni | 2009-24 Kentucky coach John Calipari's Italian heritage; also name of a UK basketball NIL collective | Lexington |
| Layne's Hope | — | A young man with Prader–Willi syndrome | Syracuse |
| Locked In Elite | — | Indianapolis | |
| Los Angeles Ignite | — | TBL team from Los Angeles | Louisville |
| Love Virginia | — | James Madison | |
| Madd Katts | — | Louisville | |
| Magic Show | — | James Madison | |
| No Excuses[c] | — | Wichita | |
| NXT Era Elite[d] | — | James Madison | |
| OffDaHook | — | Kansas City | |
| Purple Reign | Kansas State alumni | Kansas State University school colors | Kansas City |
| Raleigh 919 Legends | — | Raleigh, North Carolina area code 919 | James Madison |
| Red Rose Thunder | — | ECBL team from Lancaster, Pennsylvania | James Madison |
| Richards Elite | — | Ryan Richards | Lexington |
| Rise & Grind | — | Syracuse | |
| Run DFW | — | Based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area | Wichita |
| Sheffield Sharks | B. Braun | Team based in Sheffield, England | Kansas City |
| Shell Shock | Maryland alumni | Associated with the Maryland Terrapins mascot | James Madison |
| Shield 219[e] | Valparaiso alumni | Valparaiso, Indiana area code 219 | Indianapolis |
| Sideline Cancer | — | Pancreatic cancer awareness | Louisville |
| Sikh Warriors | Singh Ahluwalia | West Virginia | |
| Stars of Storrs | UConn alumni | Charles and Augustus Storrs, establishers of the Storrs Agricultural School (now the University of Connecticut) | Syracuse |
| Stroh's Squad | Bowling Green alumni | Stroh Center, Bowling Green home arena | Lexington |
| Tampa Florida Pickup Basketball | — | Players from the Tampa, Florida area | Lexington |
| Team 901 | — | Memphis, Tennessee area code 901 | Louisville |
| Team Diesel | — | Shaquille O'Neal's DJ name | Louisville |
| The Nawf | — | Team representing Gwinnett County, Georgia also known as "Nawf" Atlanta | West Virginia |
| The Shine | — | Kansas City | |
| The Ville | Louisville alumni | City nickname | Louisville |
| War Ready | Auburn alumni | School battle cry "War Eagle" | Lexington |
| We Are D3 | NCAA Division III alumni | Syracuse | |
| X-Rayted | Primetime Radiology, LLC | Lexington |
Note: team names are per the TBT bracket; some names have slight variation on TBT website pages.
Tournament bracket
Seven of the eight no. 1 seeds advanced to the second-round, with no. 8 Raleigh 919 Legends upsetting Happy Valley Hoopers in the James Madison Regional.
Five no. 1 seeds advanced in second-round play; the lowest seeds to advance to the third round was no. 7 LA Ignite from the Louisville Regional and Fail Harder from the Indianapolis Regional.
One no. 1 seed advanced in third-round play: Heartfire from the Kanasas City Regional; the lowest seed to advance to the quarterfinals was again Fail Harder.
The lowest seed to advance to the semifinals was no 4. We Are D3 from the Syracuse Regional.
In the first semifinal game, Best Virginia were eliminated by Eberlein Drive, the no. 2 seed from the Lexington Regional.
In the second semifinal game, We Are D3 were eliminated by AfterShocks, the no. 2 seed from the Wichita Regional.
AfterShocks then defeated Eberlein Drive in the championship game.
Louisville Regional – Freedom Hall
| First Round July 19 | Second Round July 20 | Third Round July 23 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | The Ville | 91 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Boston vs Cancer | 71 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | The Ville | 63 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Sideline Cancer | 73 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Sideline Cancer | 84 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Madd Katts | 82 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Sideline Cancer | 74 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | LA Ignite | 71 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Team 901 | 89 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Florida DRC | 83 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Team 901 | 79 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | LA Ignite | 83 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Team Diesel | 82 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | LA Ignite | 93 | ||||||||||||
Lexington Regional – Memorial Coliseum
| First Round July 18 | Second Round July 20 | Third Round July 22 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | La Familia | 105 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Stroh's Squad | 52 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | La Familia | 80 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | War Ready | 76 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | War Ready | 61 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | X-Rayted | 55 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | La Familia | 70 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Eberlein Drive | 71 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Dunkin' Dogs | 69 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Tampa Florida Pickup Basketball | 70 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Tampa Florida Pickup Basketball | 68 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Eberlein Drive | 86 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Eberlein Drive | 81 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Richards Elite | 63 | ||||||||||||
James Madison Regional – Atlantic Union Bank Center
| First Round July 18 | Second Round July 20 | Third Round July 22 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Happy Valley Hoopers | 75 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Raleigh 919 Legends | 79 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Raleigh 919 Legends | 44 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | NXT Era Elite | 70 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Founding Fathers | 64 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | NXT Era Elite | 82 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | NXT Era Elite | 62 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Shell Shock | 68 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Red Rose Thunder | 70 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Magic Show | 59 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Red Rose Thunder | 78 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Shell Shock | 81 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Shell Shock | 75 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Love Virginia | 74 | ||||||||||||
West Virginia Regional – Charleston Coliseum
| First Round July 18 | Second Round July 20 | Third Round July 22 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Elite Nation | 88 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Court Street Kings | 85 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Court Street Kings | 74 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | The Nawf | 62 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Elite Nation | 68 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Best Virginia | 79 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Best Virginia | 72 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Dubois Dream | 69 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Best Virginia | 82 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Herd That | 75 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Herd That | 84 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Sikh Warriors | 71 | ||||||||||||
Wichita Regional – Charles Koch Arena
| First Round July 18 | Second Round July 20 | Third Round July 22 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Forever Coogs | 82 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Fire Family | 69 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Fire Family | 85 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Run DFW | 65 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Forever Coogs | 63 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | AfterShocks | 66 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Challenge ALS | 75 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Austin's Own | 73 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Challenge ALS | 68 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | AfterShocks | 85 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | AfterShocks | 74 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | No Excuses | 51 | ||||||||||||
Kansas City Regional – Municipal Arena
| First Round July 19 | Second Round July 21 | Third Round July 23 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Heartfire | 89 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Sheffield Sharks | 70 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Sheffield Sharks | 70 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | DaGuys STL | 64 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Heartfire | 71 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | JHX Hoops | 68 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Purple Reign | 85 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | The Shine | 84 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Purple Reign | 77 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | JHX Hoops | 79 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | JHX Hoops | 91 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | OffDaHook | 78 | ||||||||||||
Syracuse Regional – SRC Arena
| First Round July 19 | Second Round July 21 | Third Round July 23 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Boeheim's Army | 97 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Herkimer Originals | 71 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Boeheim's Army | 78 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | We Are D3 | 81 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | We Are D3 | 75 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Layne's Hope | 71 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | We Are D3 | 76 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Stars of Storrs | 68 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Green Mountain Men | 66 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Rise and Grind | 64 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Green Mountain Men | 76 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Stars of Storrs | 78 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Stars of Storrs | 90 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Brown Ballers | 78 | ||||||||||||
Indianapolis Regional – Hinkle Fieldhouse
| First Round July 19 | Second Round July 21 | Third Round July 22 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Carmen's Crew | 78 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Gotime Green Machine | 67 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Carmen's Crew | 73 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Fort Wayne Champs | 69 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Locked In Elite | 56 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Fort Wayne Champs | 103 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Carmen's Crew | 62 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Fail Harder | 68 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | All Good Dawgs | 77 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Shield 219 | 69 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | All Good Dawgs | 77 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Fail Harder | 80 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Assembly Ball | 76 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Fail Harder | 89 | ||||||||||||
Championship Week
All quarterfinal, semifinal and championship games will be played at the venue with the highest ticket sales.[1]
| Quarterfinals July 27–28 | Semifinals July 31 | Championship August 3 | ||||||||||||
| LV 4 | Sideline Cancer | 75 | ||||||||||||
| LX 2 | Eberlein Drive | 88 | ||||||||||||
| LX 2 | Eberlein Drive | 85 | ||||||||||||
| West Virginia | ||||||||||||||
| WV 3 | Best Virginia | 77 | ||||||||||||
| JM 2 | Shell Shock | 61 | ||||||||||||
| WV 3 | Best Virginia | 74 | ||||||||||||
| LX 2 | Eberlein Drive | 67 | ||||||||||||
| WT 2 | AfterShocks | 82 | ||||||||||||
| WT 2 | AfterShocks | 74 | ||||||||||||
| KC 1 | Heartfire | 68 | ||||||||||||
| WT 2 | AfterShocks | 66 | ||||||||||||
| Wichita | ||||||||||||||
| SC 4 | We Are D3 | 54 | ||||||||||||
| SC 4 | We Are D3 | 95 | ||||||||||||
| IN 7 | Fail Harder | 93 | ||||||||||||
Semifinals
July 31, 2025 6:00 p.m. EDT |
| LX 2 Eberlein Drive 85, WV 3 Best Virginia 77 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–18, 16–22, 27–21, 13–14 | ||
| Pts: G. York 25 Rebs: T. Taylor, J. Watson 7 Asts: A. Clemmons 8 |
Pts: J. Reese V 15 Rebs: J. Weatherspoon, J. West 4 Asts: J. West 8 | |
Charleston Coliseum Charleston, West Virginia Attendance: 3,451 Referees: Clarence Armstrong, Bill Covington, Earl Walton |
FS1 |
July 31, 2025 8:00 p.m. EDT |
| SC 4 We Are D3 54, WT 2 AfterShocks 66 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 12–14, 5–21, 21–12, 11–11 | ||
| Pts: T. Nichols 14 Rebs: D. Underwood 8 Asts: T. Nichols 7 |
Pts: J. Woodard 12 Rebs: M. Santos-Silva 6 Asts: C. Frankamp, J. Woodard 3 | |
Championship
August 3, 2025 4:00 p.m. EDT |
| LX 2 Eberlein Drive 67, WT 2 AfterShocks 82 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–21, 17–25, 21–21, 6–7 | ||
| Pts: J. Watson 14 Rebs: T. Taylor 7 Asts: A. Clemmons 2 |
Pts: M. Keene 22 Rebs: N. Sibande 6 Asts: M. Santos-Silva, C. Frankamp 4 | |
Charles Koch Arena Wichita, Kansas Attendance: 9,029 Referees: Clarence Armstrong, Earl Walton, Wes Moore |
Awards
| Pos | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| PG | Nike Sibande | AfterShocks |
| PG | Darius Adams | Fail Harder |
| SG | James Reese V | Best Virginia |
| SG | Gabe York | Eberlein Drive |
| PG | Marcus Keene | AfterShocks |
| Coach | Michael Rejniak | We Are D3 |
| GM | Matt Mitchell / Jacob Hirschman | Eberlein Drive |
Source:[6]