The dates and matchups are locked in.
The Basketball Tournament revealed this summer's bracket on Monday afternoon, including the Columbus Regional which features top-seeded Carmen's Crew, the Ohio State alumni team that won the championship – and the $2 million prize – two years ago.
The squad of former Buckeyes will meet 16th-seeded Mid American Unity in the first round of the 64-team tournament on July 23. The game will tip off at 9 p.m. the Covelli Center, which will host all of the regional's games between the 23rd and the 27th.
THE TBT 2021 BRACKET
— TBT (@thetournament) June 21, 2021
Games tip-off July 16 live on the @espn family of networks! pic.twitter.com/iKtGLZPk9q
Mid American Unity is built around players from the MAC conference, including JD Weatherspoon, a Columbus native and Northland graduate who played two years at Ohio State before transferring to Toledo. Romeo Travis, a high school teammate of LeBron James, is an assistant coach for them.
If Carmen's Crew gets by Mid American Unity in the first round, it'll meet the winner of the Men of Mackey (Purdue alumni team) and the Ballinteers (Tennessee alumni team) at 4 p.m on July 25. The winner of that game will then play in the third round – or the Sweet 16 – at 7 p.m July 27. Then, the remaining teams will convene in Dayton, which will host the quarterfinals, semifinals and $1 million championship.
This year's version of Carmen's Crew features a mix of returners plus some new faces: David Lighty (2006-11), Jon Diebler (2007-11), William Buford (2008-12), Aaron Craft (2010-14), Lenzelle Smith Jr. (2010-14), Evan Ravenel (2011-13), Shannon Scott (2011-15), Kaleb Wesson (2017-20), Keyshawn Woods (2018-19), Jeff Gibbs (Otterbein) and Julian Mavunga (Miami-Ohio). Jared Sullinger is the head coach and general manager and Dallas Lauderdale is an assistant coach.
