The Basketball Tournament Picks (TBT) & Predictions: Thursday (7/23)
The Basketball Tournament (TBT) continues Thursday. The lines for the games on FanDuel came out a bit late, but they’re now available for the two alumni games, and two non-alumni games from Las Vegas. For DraftKings, hang tight, as they should be available shortly. However, at time of publishing, they were not yet there.
At 7:00 p.m. ET, Hall In, the Seton Hall alumni team, tangles with Boeheim’s Army, the Syracuse alumni team, in Game 2 of the best-of-three series. The Enchantment, New Mexico’s alumni team, takes on the defending champion AfterShocks, Wichita State’s alumni team, in Game 2 at 9:00 p.m. ET. Both games are available on FOX Sports 1 (FS1).
At 8:00 p.m. ET, Red Rose War Ready and The Mecca meet in a non-alumni game at the M Resort in Las Vegas, while Gotham City Bockers and Knueppel Krew battle at 10:00 p.m. ET. You’ll find our top The Basketball Tournament picks below.
As a reminder, the bracket and rules are different this season. We have eight alumni teams facing each other in four best-of-three series. It’s a winner-take-all prize of $2 million this season, double last season’s amount.
There are eight non-alumni teams, and they’ll meet in a separate bracket in Las Vegas. The winner of the non-alumni bracket will travel to the winner of the alumni bracket’s home court for a championship game on Sunday, August 2nd. Let’s build our bankroll with our best TBT picks and predictions for Thursday, July 23rd.
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Thursday’s Best The Basketball Tournament Picks & Predictions
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
Hall In (+470) at Boeheim’s Army (-700) | O/U 148.5 (-112/-112)
In Game 1 on Tuesday night at Upstate Medical Arena at The Oncenter War Memorial at 7:00 p.m. ET on FS1.
Boeheim’s Army embarrassed Hall In down in New Jersey, winning 82-52 in the opening game. Syracuse shot a blistering 50.8% (32-of-63) from the field, while hitting just 28.6% (8-of-28) from behind the 3-point line. The damage was done in the interior, and inside the arc, with Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu surprising with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and a block. Cole Swider was a very efficient 10-of-15 from the field, too, going for a game-best 28 points with eight rebounds and two steals, while dropping in four of the team’s triples. Elijah Hughes also chipped in with 12 points, hitting a pair of treys.
For Syracuse, Wes Johnson did not play, and it’s uncertain if he’ll be in for Game 2. The former lottery pick and NBA player would make this army even stronger. Veteran Eric Devendorf had seven points off the bench, while Ty Nichols came off the pine for nine, showing off tremendous depth. Buddy Boeheim was just 2-of-10 from the field, and 1-of-6 from downtown, finishing with five points. If he can get on track, watch out.
Hall In shot a dismal 32.8% (19-of-58) from the field, and just 20.7% (6-of-29) from downtown. Terry Roberts was a bright spot with 19 points off the bench, hitting five 3-pointers. Meanwhile, Ant Nelson was the only starter in double digits with 11 points, while Romaro Gill couldn’t get going. He was scoreless in eight minutes, missing all four of his attempts. Al-Amir Dawes was 4-of-15, including an atrocious 0-for-10 from behind the arc, finishing with eight points and five turnovers.
While the first game was a mismatch, Hall In has its backs to the wall, and it is catching a lot of points. Expect a better result, and for Boeheim’s Army to regress slightly. We’ll also back the Over, as the Army looked very good, and Hall should be much better.
Picks: Hall In +11.5 (-105) & Over 148.5 Points (-112)
The Enchantment (+520) at Aftershocks (-800) | O/U 148.5 (-112/-112)
On Monday night at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, the defending champion AfterShocks humbled The Enchantment 98-77. Now, those two meet in the same venue for Game 2 in the second end of the FS1 doubleheader.
The UNM alumni stumbled out of the chute, as the AfterShocks outscored them 26-10 in the first quarter and 22-12 in the second quarter, leading 48-22 at halftime. That’s not how you want to come out trying to dethrone the champs.
The Enchantment hit 40.9% (27-of-66) from the field, and 35.1% (13-of-37) from downtown, but a lot of that perimeter damage came in the second half while playing catch-up, and the game was out of hand. Still, it’s something. KJ Jenkins had 22 points and six triples, while Vance Jackson had 16 points with four treys. Jemel Jones went for 21 points, too. Meanwhile, Troy Simons forgot how to shoot, missing all 10 attempts, going for just a single point. That can’t happen again.
For the AfterShocks, Marcus Keone led the starters with 16 points, including four 3-pointers. It was the reserves that made the noise, however, as Corey Washington came off the bench for 23 points, and QJ Peterson went for 18 points. Marcus Santos-Silva had 10 rebounds in just 17 minutes to lead the way. The home side hit 49.3% (36-of-73) from the field, and 38.1% (16-of-42) from behind the arc. The AfterShocks were plus-14 in rebounding margin, while turnovers were even with 14 apiece. The AfterShocks distributed the ball much better, posting 25 assists, to just 17 for the visitors.
With their backs to the wall, however, we’ll take The Enchantment catching more than a dozen points, and we’ll again take the Over based on the big offense we saw from both sides in Game 1.
Picks: The Enchantment +12.5 (-110) & Over 148.5 Points (-112)