INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Legendary Hoosiers playing ball at the legendary Hinkle Fieldhouse on a Friday night? Sign me up. The TBT (The Basketball Tournament) is officially underway, and Indiana's alumni team "Assembly Ball" kicked things off by surviving a first round scare. Coming in as heavy favorites in the Butler Regional of the Tournament, they defeated No. 8-seed "The Cru" by a final score of 89-79 to advance to the second round.
Did you ever think you would see Yogi Ferrell wearing the candy stripes again? The former Indiana legend dominated this game from start to finish. He connected on 9-of-14 shot attempts and finished with 27 points and six assists. He also made some of the game's biggest plays down the stretch when things were getting a little dicey.
This single-elimination tournament has been running since 2014, but it's the first time an alumni team from Indiana University has entered the contest. It's a great event for fans, and the winning team takes home the 1 million dollar prize. With this first victory, Assembly Ball is two wins away from winning the Butler Regional, and five wins away from winning the whole thing.
In their first game action, Assembly Ball ran out a starting five that included the aforementioned Yogi Ferrell and Juwan Morgan, while Race Thompson and Devonte Green played some minutes off the bench. Jordan Hulls, Miller Kopp, and Noah Vonleh are all expected to play at some point with this team, but were all unavailable on Friday. It's also unclear if Troy Williams will see any game action in the tourney. The Hoosier alums could use some reinforcements as they face tougher competition in the next rounds.
Juwan Morgan had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and connected on the game's biggest shot during "Elam Ending" time. Devonte Green added five points, but was just 1-for-6 on the night.
"It was amazing," said Juwan Morgan after the win. "There's nothing like it, getting ready for a game and seeing the sea of cream and crimson and the fans, it's just amazing."
Morgan likes their chances despite the close call on Friday: "I feel great. A lot of our first time playing together. There's some blending together of generations. Overall I think we have as great a chance of anybody."
The stage is now set for a rivalry alumni game on Sunday night. Assembly Ball will take on "Men of Mackey" at 8 PM in the second round. Purdue's alums have played in this tournament before, and currently own a 5-4 record all-time in the TBT. Men of Mackey were eliminated in round 2 a year ago, and Assembly Ball will try to give them the same fate this season. Will it be special to play Purdue again?
"Maybe for them," Morgan said. "For us, it's just another game. We're trying to go 1-0 six times, and they're just the next ones in the way."
Check out TheTournament.com for tickets, stats, and other details.
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