The path to defending the title is now set.
Carmen's Crew, last year's champion, has the top overall seed in this summer's edition of The Basketball Tournament, which features 24 teams and will be played in Columbus' Nationwide Arena without any fans in attendance. It will get a bye then take on either No. 16 House of 'Paign or No. 17 War Tampa in the second round.
Big X, another team that includes multiple former Buckeyes, was awarded the No. 9 overall seed. It'll take on No. 24 Jackson TN UnderDawgs to open the tournament in the first round.
Carmen's Crew and Big X could potentially meet in the quarterfinals.
This year's tournament will be played between July 4-14. The winner will receive $1 million. All 23 games will be played on ESPN's family of networks.
These 24 teams will compete for $1 MILLION in Columbus July 4-14! pic.twitter.com/ihcG7y9wkY
— TBT (@thetournament) June 16, 2020
Carmen's Crew brings back a slew of former Buckeyes who helped capture the 2019 TBT title and who starred a decade ago in college. Its roster includes William Buford, Aaron Craft, Jon Diebler, David Lighty, Lenzelle Smith Jr., Evan Ravenel, and Dallas Lauderdale. Evan Turner is the general manager, and Jared Sullinger will be the coach. Big X's roster will feature Kaleb Wesson, Keyshawn Woods, CJ Jackson, Andrew Dakich and Andre Wesson.
Last year, Carmen's Crew topped Golden Eagles in the title game. The Golden Eagles were awarded the No. 4 seed, and Overseas Elite – which had won the four prior championships – was handed the No. 2 seed.
Great Lakes Elite, which was founded by former Ohio State walk-on Jake Lorbach and had Marc Loving and Kam Williams on the roster, was not picked as one of the 24 teams.
