The Basketball Tournament 2018 Semifinals Tip Off Tonight on ESPN in Baltimore

• No. 1 Overseas Elite vs. No. 3 Golden Eagles (Marquette) – 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
• No. 2 Team Fredette vs. No. 7 Eberlein Drive – 9 p.m., ESPN
• Winners Advance to Friday’s $2 Million Winner-Take-All Championship Game

ESPN will present the semifinals and championship game of The Basketball Tournament 2018 on Thursday and Friday (Aug. 2-3) from The Fieldhouse at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Md. The single-elimination, five-on-five, open-application tournament with a winner-take-all $2 million prize is down to its final four teams, including three-time defending champion and No. 1 seed Overseas Elite.

Play-by-play commentator Bob Rathbun, analyst Fran Fraschilla and reporter Jen Hale will call both semifinals on Thursday night (7 and 9 p.m. ET) and Friday’s Championship game (9 p.m.). All games will be televised on ESPN and streamed live on the ESPN App.

TBT Semifinals & Championship / Baltimore:

Fraschilla previews all four teams entering the TBT semifinals:

“While Overseas Elite has been a juggernaut in the TBT, the other semifinal game between Team Fredette and Eberlein Drive will feature nine players with NBA experience and eight with experience in the G League. This year, the champion of the 2018 TBT will have earned its $2 million winner-take-all prize.”

Overseas Elite: “The three-time defending champions are loaded with high-level European and international professional players, including former Cleveland Cavs’ player, D.J. Kennedy. Former Arizona Wildcat, Kyle Fogg, now playing professionally in China, has been the MVP of the last two TBT tournaments.” 

Golden Eagles: “This team is made up of mostly former Marquette players and are the last of the college alumni teams left in the TBT. They are led by former Golden Eagles’ star and NBA player Travis Diener, who is still playing professionally in Italy at the age of 36. His 40-foot three-point shot sent the Golden Eagles Alumni to the semifinals.”

Team Fredette: “Former 2011 National College Player of the Year and NBA lottery pick Jimmer Fredette is this team’s catalyst, averaging almost 33 points in the TBT. BYU teammate and former NBA player Brandon Davies has been a force inside, as well.” 

Eberlein Drive: “’From worst to first’ is the motto here. After losing its first TBT game in 2014 by over 40 points, this team has made steady progress playing in all five TBTs. Five former NBA players have helped but the key guy is Cal’s all-time leading scorer, Jerome Randle. The 5-10 guard is considered one of the best players in the world not in the NBA.”

In all, ESPN networks are presenting live coverage of 63 games across its networks and the ESPN App, with 15 games airing live on ESPN (up from seven in 2017), six on ESPN2, and one on ESPNU. In addition, TBT games are being streamed live and on-demand via the ESPN Player to more than 120 countries and territories across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and parts of Asia.

TBT features a 72-team bracket of 5-on-5 professional basketball, with college alumni teams, international basketball stars, ex-NBA players, future NBA players and more competing in a single-elimination tournament. Fans win 10%, or $200,000, of the $2 million prize.

TBT has attracted some of the best basketball players in the world. In all, more than 70 players with NBA experience are set to be involved in this year’s tournament, including multiple former lottery picks and All-Stars with 11 NBA championships between them. In addition, 24 players competing in this year’s tournament competed in NCAA basketball this past season.  Sixteen TBT 2017 players signed deals with NBA teams this past season. Overseas Elite, a team of American stars currently playing in top leagues around the world, won for the third consecutive year in 2017. Back to defend their title, they have taken home an astounding $5 million over three years. For more information: www.thetournament.com

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