In the same city where Villanova and Michigan will play for an NCAA championship on Monday, former Ohio State forward Jae’Sean Tate won a championship – and some cold, hard cash – along with three other former Big Ten men’s basketball players on Sunday.
The Big Ten team of Tate, Nate Mason (Minnesota), Vincent Edwards (Purdue) and Robert Johnson (Indiana) won the inaugural 3X3U National Championship on Sunday in San Antonio, defeating the team from the Big West Conference in the final, 21-13, to secure the $50,000 grand prize, presented to them in a briefcase full of cash immediately after their victory.
Tate scored three layups for the Big Ten in the final, which Johnson capped off by hitting a deep, contested shot from beyond the arc.
The Big Ten team won all six of its games in the 3-on-3 tournament, netting $1,000 for each of its first five wins to earn a total of $55,000 to be split among the team’s four players.
With cash in their pockets, Tate and his teammates didn't shy away from sharing their opinions on the NCAA's amauterism policies after the game.
@NCAA happy Easter https://t.co/x170CbKH9l
— Jt#1 (@o_tate_) April 1, 2018
@NCAA this only like a third of what yall make off of us if that! Im just saying. Maybe one day! #PayThemBoys pic.twitter.com/JGftCydjSg
— Vincent M Edwards (@IB4T_12) April 1, 2018
Prior to Sunday’s final, the Big Ten earned a 20-16 semifinal win over the SWAC. Tate had the highlight play of that game, throwing down a posterizing two-handed slam dunk over Jackson State’s Paris Collins, which you can see in the video below.
Defender: "Gotta protect this rim."@o_tate_: "April Fools." pic.twitter.com/YPH21snNMt
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) April 1, 2018
Earlier Sunday, the Big Ten earned a 21-19 win over the SEC in the quarterfinals. The Big Ten also won games in Friday and Saturday's pool play over the Southland Conference, Conference USA and Southern Conference teams en route to going 6-0 in the tournament and stating its conference supremacy in 3-on-3 basketball.
