The Basketball Tournament 2015 was the second edition of The Basketball Tournament, a 5-on-5, single elimination basketball tournament. The tournament involved 97 teams; it started on July 10 and continued through August 2, 2015. The winner of the final, Overseas Elite, received a one million dollar prize. The semifinals and championship game, played at Rose Hill Gymnasium at Fordham University in The Bronx, were broadcast on ESPN. The tournament was branded as "The Basketball Tournament Presented by Jack Link's Jerky".
Format The main tournament field started with 96 teams, organized into four regions of 24 teams each. The 24 teams in each region were 18 teams selected by fans via the tournament's website and six teams selected at-large. Four teams from each region, plus 2014 tournament defending champion Notre Dame Fighting Alumni, qualified to advance to the "Super 17" in Chicago.
The winning team (its players, coaches, general manager, and boosters) received 95% of the $1 million prize, while the remaining 5% was split amongst the team's top 91 fans (based on how many friends they had join the tournament's website).
An online bracket contest awarded $1717 to one fan.
Venues The Basketball Tournament 2015 took place in five locations.
Round Dates Region LocationRegional July 10–12 West Los Angeles, California South Atlanta, GeorgiaJuly 17–19 Northeast Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaMidwest Chicago, IllinoisSuper 17 July 23–24 Quarterfinals July 25 Semifinals August 1 New York CityFinals August 2 2014 champion Notre Dame Fighting Alumni faced the Midwest's lowest remaining seed on July 23; that game's winner, plus the other 15 regional qualifiers, all played on July 24
Bracket +KeyFWForfeit winFLForfeit loss
Eight teams in each region received a first-round bye, based on online fan votes.
Source:
Midwest regional
The 2014 champions, Notre Dame Fighting Alumni, earned an automatic entry in the "Super 17" round, where they faced the lowest remaining seed in the Midwest region, Midwest Dream Squad, on July 23. Notre Dame Fighting Alumni won that game, 79–77, thus advancing in the bracket.
Northeast regional
Three teams withdrew from the tournament—Friar Nation, The Citi Team, and Team Oohway—resulting in forfeit wins for their first-round opponents.
South regional
West regional
Source:
Regional finals + Regional finals Region Winner Score LoserMidwest Ants Alumni 76–72 Armored AthleteWest Team 23 77–56 LA UnifiedNortheast Team City of Gods 80–76 Boeheim's ArmySouth Overseas Elite 77–72 Dirty South Source:
Semifinals & final
Source:
Awards
MVP: D. J. Kennedy of Overseas Elite
References
Further reading
External links TBT Flashback - 2015 Championship Game via YouTube