The Ville Starts Slow, Upset by Sideline Cancer in TBT's Second Round

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - As quickly as it started, the Louisville men's basketball alumni team's third run in The Basketball Tournament is already in the books.

Facing Sideline Cancer in the second round of The Basketball Tournament, The Ville could not pull off a highly improbable comeback after falling into a massive early hole, getting dealt a stunning 73-63 upset loss on Sunday night at Freedom Hall.

It's the earliest that The Ville has been bounced from the TBT, who are the No. 1 seed in the Louisville Regional. They made it to the Round of 16 in 2023 in what was their TBT debut, then advanced to the quarterfinals last summer. Sideline Cancer, the fourth-seed in the regional, got revenge after getting eliminated by The Ville in last year's TBT.

For a large part of the night, especially in the first half, The Ville struggled mightily to find the bottom of the basket. They shot just 37.0 percent overall and were just 5-of-27 on three-point tries, on top of just 18-of-28 at the free throw line.

Conversely, Sideline Cancer was primed to pull off the upset from the jump. Thanks to a 53.7 percent shooting mark, including a blazing 12-of-21 on threes, they were able to lead by as much as 25 points at the 3:17 mark of the third quarter.

Fresh off of an appearance in the Big3 earlier in the day, Montrezl Harrell led The Ville with 21 points and eight rebounds. Malik Williams and David Johnson were the only other players to crack double figures, scoring 12 and 11 points, respectively. Over on the other sideline, Jermaine Marrow led Sideline Cancer with 20 points.

Like in their opener against Boston vs. Cancer the day before, The Ville had a very slow start against Sideline Cancer on both ends of the floor. They dug themselves into a nine-point hole just over four minutes into the game, and did not make their first field goal until the 4:13 mark of the first quarter.

Already trailing 23-12 after the first quarter, the shooting discrepancies between the two teams carried into the second period, and blew the game wide open. The Ville finished the first half shooting just 8-of-24 from the field and 8-of-15 at the free throw line, while Sideline Cancer shot 18-of-30 from the floor and a blazing 8-of-12 on threes. Put it all together, and The Ville went into halftime down 47-26, and had trailed by as much as 25.

While cold shooting from The Ville persisted into the third quarter, as they shot just 6-of-19 in this period, they were able to turn up the defensive pressure some. Sideline Cancer still went 6-of-13 in the period, but committed six turnovers. This helped fuel a 10-0 run by the team of former Cards towards the end of the period, trimming their deficit to just 60-44 entering the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter and Elam Ending, The Ville put themselves in position to potential complete the comeback, going 6-of-9 from the field during this span. Not only did they make it a seven-point game when the Elam Ending was triggered, they got within four point after Johnson drained a three.

However, Sideline Cancer also found their stroke in the final stage. They went 5-of-11 during the fourth quarter and Elam Ending - including back-to-back threes to end the game.

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