Carmen's Crew's title defense is over.
The 2024 TBT champions failed to repeat in 2025, losing to Fail Harder 68-62 in the event’s Indianapolis regional final.
BREAKING: FAIL HARDER WINS THE INDIANAPOLIS REGIONAL FINAL!@FailHarderTBT has advanced to TBTs Quarterfinals and will play the winner of the Syracuse Regional!!!! pic.twitter.com/420bcbE2eG
— TBT (@thetournament) July 23, 2025
Without William Buford, a former Ohio State standout and TBT MVP, Carmen’s Crew never found a rhythm at Butler’s Hinkle Fieldhouse on Tuesday. After claiming a 2-0 lead seconds after tip-off, Carmen’s Crew trailed the remainder of the game, with Fail Harder leading by 19 points at halftime and 14 points when the Elam Ending began.
As it has several times in this year’s TBT, the Elam Ending added some intrigue to the game’s final moments. Fail Harder, who had been lights out for most of the contest, had five straight possessions without a point, as Carmen’s Crew had both their best offensive and defensive stretch of the contest and cut their opponent’s lead to 66-62. Still, Carmen’s Crew’s efforts were too little, too late, as a baseline jumper from Darius Adams sealed the Ohio State alumni team’s fate.
With its loss on Tuesday, Carmen's Crew becomes the latest No. 1 seed to be eliminated in this year's TBT. Their path to the regional final involved victories over GoTime Green Machine, 78-67, and Fort Wayne Champs, 73-69, in the first two rounds.
This year's Carmen's Crew had the fewest Ohio State alumni of any team since TBT’s inception in 2014. To make matters worse, three of those Buckeyes — Buford, Trevor Thompson and Kaleb Wesson — missed games during the tournament, leaving Keyshawn Woods as the only consistent contributing alumni.
