TBT Preview: Men of Mackey vs. Boeheim's Army
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Men of Mackey team gets another shot to keep its run alive in The Basketball Tournament Tuesday, looking to move on and continue chasing that $1 million prize that goes to the winner.
Here are the game details:
- Who: No. 19 seed Men of Mackey vs. No. 3 seed Boeheim's Army
- What: TBT Tournament, a winner-take-all single elimination tournament with a $ 1 million prize.
- When: Tuesday, 4 p.m. ET
- Where: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio (no fans)
- TV: ESPN
Here are three things to watch out for:
1. Can Justin Dentmon stay hot?
Justin Dentmon was huge for Men of Mackey on Sunday, exploding for 32 points according to the official box score. (There was some confusion on his total.) He had 26 second-half points to lead the comeback in a 85-79 win.
He scored from all over. He was 6-of-11 from the three-point line, and had some good open looks. The 6-foot guard also got to the basket too, and picked up the Men of Mackey squad when it was in a scoring rut.
Dentmon is 34 years old and a former University of Washington point guard who has spent much of the past decade playing basketball overseas.
2. Isaac Hass a size mismatch
The Boeheim's Army team doesn't have a true center, so 7-foot-3 Isaac Haas, a Purdue mainstay from 2014 to 2018 could be a real problem for them.
“It’s not going to be easy,” said former Syracuse power forward Donte Greene, who is 6-foot-10, “For me, I take on challenges. In my Syracuse days, I used to get bashed a lot for my defense. So I took pride in that when I became a professional. I looked to be that lockdown defender and that’s what got me playing time in the NBA and I continued that in my professional career.
“(Tuesday) is going to be different. I never played anybody 7-3 that I can remember. But for me, playing the 4-5 is easier than playing the 2-3 and having to be out there chasing all those little guards on the perimeter. I've just got to keep him out of the paint and try to keep a body on him.”
3. Pressure of win or go home scenario
The format of this tournament is a simple single-elimination bracket, so it's survive and advance, plus a little extra. Because of COVID-19 restrictions and the quarantine requirements, the players all have their bags packed BEFORE the game and the loser goes straight home.
At least the Mackey guys have a game under their belt to get some of the tournament jitters out of the way. Bohemia's Army had a first-round bye, so this is their first game and they'll have to knock some rust off. The flip side, of course, is that this group has been together for years and had success in this tournament. Whoever can handle that pressure the best will come out on top and advance.
