By: TBT Staff
Former Cardinals star and NBA veteran Montrezl Harrell to join The Ville’s roster
LOUISVILLE, Feb. 20, 2024 – The Basketball Tournament (TBT), the 64-team, $1 million winner-take-all event, today announced that the city of Louisville and Freedom Hall will serve as a host site for one of TBT’s regional events in 2024. The Ville, the Louisville alumni team, will be the host team in the eight-team regional event to take place July 19-24.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The news you’ve been waiting for <a href="https://twitter.com/LouisvilleMBB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LouisvilleMBB</a> fans…<br><br>TBT IS COMING BACK TO LOUISVILLE AND FREEDOM HALL THIS SUMMER (JULY 19-24)‼️<br><br>👀🗣️Huge player announcement for The Ville in 45 minutes!<br><br>TBT’s Ticket Waitlist to see <a href="https://twitter.com/TBT_Louisville?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TBT_Louisville</a>: <a href="https://t.co/qFJbGhryeF">https://t.co/qFJbGhryeF</a> <a href="https://t.co/iPMD9C7Xic">pic.twitter.com/iPMD9C7Xic</a></p>— TBT (@thetournament) <a href="https://twitter.com/thetournament/status/1759940726152888571?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Initial commitments for The Ville’s 2024 roster include former Cardinals star and eight-year NBA veteran Montrezl Harrell, and legendary point guard Peyton Siva.
This will be the second straight summer The Ville and Freedom Hall hosted a TBT regional. The Ville, whose roster in 2023 featured Siva, Russ Smith, and Kyle Kuric, advanced all the way to the Louisville Regional championship in their TBT debut.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">BREAKING NEWS: Montrezl Harrell will PLAY with The Ville this summer at Freedom Hall😱<br><br>An absolute MONSTER addition to the <a href="https://twitter.com/LouisvilleMBB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LouisvilleMBB</a> alumni team! <br><br>“Louisville first, Cardinals forever”<br><br>Ticket Waitlist to see <a href="https://twitter.com/monstatrezz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@monstatrezz</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/TBT_Louisville?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TBT_Louisville</a>: <a href="https://t.co/qFJbGhryeF">https://t.co/qFJbGhryeF</a> <a href="https://t.co/fAo0UO5cIQ">https://t.co/fAo0UO5cIQ</a> <a href="https://t.co/waVnbucl0d">pic.twitter.com/waVnbucl0d</a></p>— TBT (@thetournament) <a href="https://twitter.com/thetournament/status/1759950946056974761?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>5,463 fans showed up to The Ville’s first round game against War Ready, the fourth largest single-game attendance in TBT history.
“We are ecstatic to return to Louisville this summer,” said TBT founder and CEO Jon Mugar. “The energy at Freedom Hall was raucous and reminded me of the Boston Garden in the 1980s. Plus, The Ville’s Round 3 game got a 12.4 share in Louisville, which is a record for us. We are all-in on Louisville!”
“It was evident in 2023 that there’s a special place for Freedom Hall in the hearts of Louisville basketball fans as they filled the arena to watch The Ville compete in TBT,” said David S. Beck, president & CEO of Kentucky Venues. “We’re excited to have the tournament back this summer and see iconic Freedom Hall in all its basketball glory.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Guess who's back 🫣<br><br>Counting down the days until <a href="https://twitter.com/TBT_Louisville?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TBT_Louisville</a> is back in Freedom Hall ‼️<br><br>More info: <a href="https://t.co/xisc1bKYnw">https://t.co/xisc1bKYnw</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoCards?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoCards</a> x <a href="https://twitter.com/thetournament?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@thetournament</a> <a href="https://t.co/e1KYvHuugg">pic.twitter.com/e1KYvHuugg</a></p>— Louisville Men's Basketball (@LouisvilleMBB) <a href="https://twitter.com/LouisvilleMBB/status/1759940981619663176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Former Louisville guard Peyton Siva is The Ville’s first committed player for 2024.
“Playing at Freedom Hall last year was incredibly special,” said Siva. “The atmosphere really felt like a true Louisville home game. I’m very excited TBT will be returning to Louisville and I can’t wait for Cardinals fans to experience another great ride with us this summer.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="art" dir="ltr">👀👀👀 <a href="https://t.co/6dHOX9yaQt">https://t.co/6dHOX9yaQt</a></p>— Peyton Siva Jr (@PeypeySiva3) <a href="https://twitter.com/PeypeySiva3/status/1759940982286491801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Additional roster and staff announcements will be made in the coming months through the team’s X page, @TBT_Louisville.
Louisville is among one of eight locations to hold a TBT regional in 2024. On Wednesday, TBT announced that Lexington and Rupp Arena will also be home to a 204 TBT regional, hosted by the Kentucky alumni team La Familia.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🔵BACK IN BIG BLUE🔵<br><br>A <a href="https://twitter.com/KentuckyMBB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KentuckyMBB</a> alumni team (<a href="https://twitter.com/LaFamiliaTBT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LaFamiliaTBT</a>) led by Eric Bledsoe, will not only play in TBT this summer but WE ARE BRINGING TBT TO RUPP ARENA‼️<br><br>We’ll see how crazy BBN truly is, July 19-24 in Lexington! <br><br>🎟️Waitlist for La Familia - <a href="https://t.co/bddggDbxtL">https://t.co/bddggDbxtL</a> <a href="https://t.co/94wwDU622I">pic.twitter.com/94wwDU622I</a></p>— TBT (@thetournament) <a href="https://twitter.com/thetournament/status/1757781192487625157?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>The winners of the Lexington Regional and Louisville Regional will play against each other in TBT’s quarterfinals July 30.
Since TBT began in 2014, it has awarded more than $13M in prize money, and has been viewed in more than 180 countries around the world. Alumni teams have won TBT’s championship the four of the past five summers, with teams representing Ohio State, Marquette, Syracuse, and the University of Buffalo taking home the $1M prize between 2019-2022. TBT is also the home of the Elam Ending, the alternate ending to games where teams play to a target score. The Elam Ending was adopted by the NBA for its All-Star Game from 2020-23, and is now being used in G League games as part of their overtime format.
Tickets for the 2024 Louisville Regional will go on sale at a later date. To be the first to secure tickets for the event, fans can sign up for TBT’s waitlist at thetournament.com/tbt/tickets/.
For more information on this year’s TBT or The Ville, visit TheTournament.com.