TBT 2020: Big X Team Preview
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Top seed Carmen’s Crew isn’t the only team that will be representing The Ohio State University during The Basketball Tournament (TBT) this year, as returning squad Big X is also back ready to try and create momentum inside Nationwide Arena.
Assembled by former Buckeye point guard Andrew Dakich, the group features players from across the Big Ten and other institutions who spent their college careers battling against one another. Dakich, the general manager, played for Big X in 2018 before spending last year on the sidelines as head coach. He plans to lace the sneakers back up this year.
His club earned the No. 9 overall seed and will be the very first game on July 4, opening against the alternate D2 squad (more details below). Game time is set for 3 p.m.
“We are grateful to be in this tournament and I think the ratings are going to go off the chart because basketball is somewhat back,” Dakich said during a Wednesday media session. “If you’re not in the NBA, there’s no reason not to play other than the health and safety aspect. It’s the perfect year to participate.”
Big X is making its third TBT appearance and was supposed to consist of multiple other Buckeyes as well. Point guard C.J. Jackson is back, but four other OSU alums will be missing for different reasons. Keyshawn Woods pulled out after exposure to the coronavirus, Jae’Sean Tate recently tested positive and will miss at least the team’s opener, while brothers Andre and Kaleb Wesson were originally involved but will instead focus on pro opportunities.
Tate hopes to deliver a negative test Thursday and be cleared to potentially join the team should it advance.
Nevertheless, Big X will roll out an 11-man roster that also features the likes of Khalil Iverson, Vitto Brown and Trevon Hughes from Wisconsin, Nick Ward and Javon Bess from Michigan State, Kellen Dunham from Butler, Jehyve Floyd from Holy Cross, L.D. Williams from Wake Forest and Jamel Morris from Fairmont State.
Ward, Bess and Morris (Gahanna Lincoln) and Iverson (Delaware Hayes) are Central Ohio products, while Brown is from Bowling Green. Hughes, a 3x all-conference performer for the Badgers from 2006-10, started 100-straight games up in Madison during his career. Iverson finished second in the 2019 TBT Slam Dunk Contest.
Big X has gone 1-1 each of the last two summers as the No. 4 seed in the Columbus Regional. They began with a pair of one-possession results in 2018 and then regathered last year, winning the opener again before a double-digit loss to Carmen’s Crew.
Big X was scheduled to take on the No. 24 seed and returning Cinderella group Jackson (TN) Underdawgs until Wednesday night, when a player on that team tested positive for COVID-19 and, per TBT rules, the entire team was removed.
D2, a squad of former Division II all-stars, was one of three standby teams and now slips into the bracket.
"We take the health of our participants very seriously," said Jon Mugar, founder and CEO. "We are more confident than ever in our health and safety plan. The Underdawgs have been a personal and fan favorite for many years and we look forward to welcoming them back in 2021. We wish the team member a speedy recovery in the meantime."
A win for Big X would set up a contest with Dayton alumni squad Red Scare, which just added former Ohio State big man Trevor Thompson. That winner could then likely be pitted against Carmen’s Crew, with all kinds of possible storylines evolving.
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