Tbt Basketball Tournament: When Does It Tip Off?

when does the tbt basketball tournament

The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is an annual 5-on-5, single-elimination basketball tournament with a $1 million winner-take-all prize. The tournament, which was founded in 2014, involves 64 teams playing in eight regions. TBT 2024, which was the 11th edition of the tournament, took place from July 19 to August 4, with the championship game held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 12th edition of TBT is scheduled to take place across various regions from July 18 to August 3, 2025.

Characteristics Values
Year 2025
Edition 12th
Number of Teams 64
Prize Money $1 million
Format 5-on-5, single elimination
Number of Regions 8
Regional Hosts Wichita, Kansas City, Syracuse, Lexington, Louisville, Charleston, Charlottesville
Dates July 18 - August 3
Tickets On Sale May 6

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TBT 2025 dates and locations

TBT 2025, or The Basketball Tournament, is set to take place across various locations in the United States from July 18 to August 3, 2025. The tournament will feature 64 teams, each playing in one of eight regionals, with the winner taking home a $1 million prize.

The specific dates and locations for the 2025 TBT tournament are as follows:

  • Virginia Regional: Hosted by the University of Virginia at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia, from July 18 to 23, 2025. The Virginia alumni team, "Embrace The Pace", will serve as the host team.
  • Wichita Regional: Featuring the Wichita State alumni team, "AfterShocks", as the host team. Wichita native Conner Frankamp and Rashard Kelly will join the AfterShocks roster.
  • Kansas City Regional: Featuring "JHX Hoops", the Kansas University alumni team, and "Purple Reign", the Kansas State University alumni team, as the host teams.
  • Syracuse Regional: Featuring "Boeheim's Army", the Syracuse University alumni team, as the host team. Elijah Hughes joins Boeheim's Army as the team's first commitment.
  • Louisville Regional: Louisville, Kentucky, will once again serve as a regional location, with "The Ville", the Louisville alumni team, returning as the host team. The Louisville Regional will be held at Freedom Hall, which has been one of TBT's best-attended venues.
  • Lexington Regional: Hosted by the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky.
  • West Virginia Regional: Hosted in Charleston, West Virginia.

The remaining regional location is yet to be announced, but it is expected that TBT 2025 will feature a total of eight regionals, similar to previous years.

The semifinals will be held on July 31, and the $1 million championship game will take place on Sunday, August 3. For the first time, TBT will allow each host team to have home-court advantage for the quarterfinals, semifinals, and the championship game. Tickets for the tournament went on sale on May 6, and all regional hosts have the right to home-court advantage throughout the tournament, including the championship game.

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TBT 2024 dates and locations

The 11th edition of The Basketball Tournament (TBT) took place from July 19 to August 4, 2024. The tournament followed a similar format to the previous year, with 64 teams playing across eight regions. The nine locations included:

  • Wichita, Kansas
  • Indianapolis, Indiana
  • Lexington, Kentucky
  • Louisville, Kentucky
  • Dayton, Ohio
  • Cincinnati, Ohio
  • Houston, Texas
  • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The tournament began with a championship week, where the regional winners advanced to the quarterfinals in Houston and Louisville. The quarterfinal winners then travelled to Philadelphia for the semifinals and championship game, which took place at the Daskalakis Athletic Center on Sunday, August 4 at 2:00 p.m. ET.

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TBT rules

The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is an annual open-invitation, single-elimination tournament played over the US summer, with a cash prize for the winners. The tournament has been running since 2014, and the most recent tournament in 2024 featured a $1 million purse for the winning team. The number of teams has varied since its establishment, ranging from 24 teams in 2020 to 97 teams in 2015. In recent years, the tournament has typically featured a 64-team field, with eight regions, and each regional winner advancing to the championship venue.

TBT uses a modified version of NCAA men's basketball rules. Games are played in 9-minute quarters instead of 20-minute halves. Replay review is governed by NCAA rules, with one modification—any review allowed only in the last two minutes of a game under NCAA rules is allowed in TBT only if either team is within three points of the Elam Ending target score. All tournament games operate with the "Elam Ending", a format of ending the game without the use of a game clock. Under the Elam Ending, the clock is turned off at the first dead-ball whistle with four 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 wins. Thus, all games end on a made basket and there is no overtime.

Many teams feature professional players reunited under a former college or university name. Teams have received fan support from active NBA players, and the tournament has also had a number of current and former NBA and WNBA players participate. Five alumni teams have won TBT—Buffalo, Marquette, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Syracuse.

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TBT 2025 teams

The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is an annual 5-on-5, single-elimination basketball tournament with a $1 million winner-take-all prize. The 2025 tournament will be the 12th edition of TBT and will take place across various regions in the United States from July 18 to August 3.

While the full list of teams for TBT 2025 is not yet available, some teams and regional placements have been announced. Here is a list of the teams that have been confirmed so far:

  • Embrace The Pace (Virginia Regional): The Virginia alumni team, led by 2019 national champions Kyle Guy and Kihei Clark, will be featured in the eight-team Virginia Regional, hosted by the University of Virginia at John Paul Jones Arena. This will be the first time a UVA alumni team has entered the field.
  • AfterShocks (Wichita Regional): The Wichita State alumni team, featuring Wichita native Conner Frankamp and Rashard Kelly, will return for the sixth year as the featured team in the eight-team Wichita Regional.
  • JHX Hoops (Kansas City Regional): A Kansas University alumni team, JHX Hoops, will be one of the featured teams in the eight-team Kansas City Regional.
  • Purple Reign (Kansas City Regional): Alongside JHX Hoops, Purple Reign, a Kansas State University alumni team, will be the other featured team in the Kansas City Regional.
  • Boeheim's Army (Syracuse Regional): Syracuse University's alumni team, Boeheim's Army, will return as the featured team in the eight-team Syracuse Regional. Elijah Hughes joins the team as its first commitment.
  • Sean McDermott (Butler's alumni team): Sean McDermott returns to Butler's alumni team at Hinkle Fieldhouse for the second consecutive summer.
  • Montrezl Harrell (Louisville's alumni team): Montrezl Harrell returns to Louisville's alumni team for the second year in a row.

Additional teams playing in the Virginia Regional and other regionals will be announced at a later date. The teams and regional placements for TBT 2025 will likely be revealed closer to the tournament start date, as was the case in previous years.

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TBT history

The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is an annual open-invitation, single-elimination basketball tournament played in the United States. The tournament was founded in 2014 by real estate developer and TV producer Jonathan Mugar. The tournament has a $1 million winner-take-all prize, which was previously $500,000 when it was first introduced in 2014. The following year, in 2015, the prize money was increased to $1 million and then to $2 million from 2016 to 2019. Since 2020, the top prize has been $1 million.

TBT is played each summer and has featured as many as 97 teams, as seen in 2015, and as few as 24 teams, which occurred in 2020. In recent years, the tournament has settled into a 64-team field, with each team playing in one of eight regionals. The number of teams in the tournament has varied since its establishment, but since 2016, the tournament has mostly used a 64-team field. The tournament has had several current and former NBA players participate, including Hakim Warrick, Jason Williams, Dahntay Jones, Mike Bibby, and Matt Bonner.

The 2024 tournament was the eleventh edition of TBT, featuring games in nine locations, eight of which hosted a regional. The ninth location hosted the championship weekend, which included two semifinal contests and the championship game. The 2025 tournament will be played across various regions around the country from July 18 to August 3, with tickets going on sale on May 6.

Frequently asked questions

The 2025 TBT basketball tournament will start on July 18.

The 2025 TBT basketball tournament will end on August 3.

The 2024 TBT basketball tournament took place from July 19 to August 4.

The TBT basketball tournament features 64 teams.

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