La Familia and Boeheim’s Army are set for a Sunday afternoon showdown in Lexington, and the prize is bigger than bragging rights. The Kentucky alumni team will host the Syracuse alumni squad at Historic Memorial Coliseum with a place in the TBT Alumni Final on the line and a shot at the $2 million bracket still alive.
The game is scheduled for Sunday, July 26 at 2:00 p.m. ET and will air nationally on FOX. That means fans can catch it with an antenna, no cable needed.
La Familia had to fight through a three-game series just to get here, and the opening round against The Ville had all the edge you’d expect from a Kentucky-Louisville matchup. Darryl Morsell delivered the first jolt with a game-winning dunk under the Elam Ending to give La Familia a 72-68 win in Game 1 at Memorial Coliseum.
Louisville punched back at Freedom Hall behind a 35-point performance from Montrezl Harrell and rolled to an 82-62 victory in Game 2. Back in Lexington for the deciding game, La Familia dug in and came away with a 63-57 win to take the series 2-1.
Boeheim’s Army took a cleaner route. The Syracuse alumni team opened by beating Hall In, the Seton Hall alumni squad, 82-52 at Walsh Gymnasium, with Cole Swider and Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu leading the way. They finished the sweep Thursday night in Syracuse, holding off Hall In 81-76 as Tyson Walker knocked down the Elam Ending free throw to close it out.
That kind of run fits the reputation Boeheim’s Army has built in TBT. The group is 27-10 all-time in the event and won the title in 2021, making it one of the most seasoned teams in the field.
La Familia’s roster brings plenty of familiar Kentucky names to the floor, including Willie Cauley-Stein, Andrew Harrison, Archie Goodwin, Kahlil Whitney, Marcus Lee and DeAndre Liggins. They’re joined by Morsell, Sean McNeil, Chris Coffey and James Mainor-Bell. Jon Hood, part of Kentucky’s 2012 national championship team, is in his first season as head coach, with Twany Beckham handling the front office.
Boeheim’s Army counters with Buddy Boeheim, Jimmy Boeheim, Eric Devendorf, Elijah Hughes, Wes Johnson, Swider, Walker, Akobundu-Ehiogu, Chris McCullough and Jacorey Williams.
The matchup carries an old familiar thread, too. Kentucky and Syracuse met in the 1996 national championship game, when Rick Pitino’s Wildcats beat Jim Boeheim’s Orange 76-67 for the program’s sixth title. Thirty years later, the alumni versions are meeting again with a spot in the next round at stake.
TBT’s format has changed this year, with 14 teams split into alumni and non-alumni brackets and a $2 million winner-take-all setup. The winner Sunday advances to the Alumni Final, and the last alumni team standing will eventually meet the last non-alumni team standing for the money.
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Banged-Up La Familia Faces Syracuse With TBT Semifinal Spot On Line
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Now the group turns to Boeheims Army in a quarterfinal at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, with a semifinal berth on the line and a national Fox audience watching. Tickets start at $15.20, but for La Familia the bigger question is whether it can keep enough bodies available to keep moving through the Alumni Bracket. [Read more 🡒]
La Familia Survived A Tense TBT Test And Kentucky Fans Will Care
La Familia had to sweat through a second-round test in The Basketball Tournament, but it got the job done with a 70-66 win over Boeheim's Army and kept its run alive. Archie Goodwin carried the scoring load with 30 points and five 3-pointers, while Darryl Morsell chipped in 11 points and 12 rebounds to help steady a group of former Kentucky players in a game that stayed tight deep into the finish.
For Kentucky fans, the appeal is obvious: this roster still has enough talent and enough familiarity to make every round feel like a reunion with a purpose. The next hurdle is still to be determined, with La Familia waiting on the winner of JHX Hoops and Aftershocks, and if this one was any indication, the margin for error is going to stay thin. [Read more 🡒]