LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- This is how it will go down in The Basketball Tournament, which crackles into the sports conversation in Lexington and Louisville this weekend:
Kentucky fans vs. Louisville fans, with followers of the programs legitimately competing to determine which alumni team will host a potential Cats/Cards TBT quarterfinals game July 29.
"Kentucky vs. Louisville would have to be the greatest game in TBT history, right?" said Jordan Sucher, The Ville's general manager.
Absolutely right.
It would also be the most attended, with whispers it would be the first TBT crowd of at least 10,000. This is the 11th season for the TBT, a 64-team, single-elimination tournament of former college players that features a $1 million winner-take-all prize.
If LaFamilia, the team of former Kentucky players, and The Ville, the team of former Louisville guys, win their first three games, the Cards and Cats are bracketed to play in the TBT quarterfinals July 29.
The location of that game will be determined by which site draws the largest crowds at the day one sessions at its regional this weekend.
As of Wednesday, advance sales in Louisville were around 4,500, putting this site solidly ahead of Lexington.
TBT spokesman Jake Pavorsky said more than 3,000 tickets have been sold for Friday's two sessions in Rupp Arena, where LaFamilia will play at 8 p.m.
The Louisville squad has been enhanced by the additions of former Cards Montrezl Harrell, Chris Jones and David Johnson, as well as the return of Peyton Siva, Russ Smith, Chinanu Onuaku and Dillon Avare.
The Cards will play UKnighted, a team featuring former Bellarmine stars, at 1 p.m. Saturday in Freedom Hall. It's not unreasonable to project a crowd of more than 6,000. That would easily exceed the first-round gathering of 5,469 that The Ville attracted in 2023.
A check of ticket availability at the official TBT website Wednesday showed that no lower bowl tickets remain for the Louisville-Bellarmine game. There are plenty of $28 seats in the upper arena.
With LaFamilia playing Friday and The Ville playing Saturday, Cards' fans will know what attendance number they need to exceed to secure a quarter-final game in Freedom Hall (assuming The Ville wins three times, of course).
No wonder former UK star Eric Bledsoe challenged Kentucky fans to purchase more tickets.
Louisville has one significant edge in this scrap. The TBT was played here last season. Fans saw Smith drill a game-winner. They marveled at the intensity of the competition. They saw that former local stars like Darrell Griffith and Rajon Rondo invested in the games from courtside.
"The first year, it can take a little time for people to become familiar with the event," Pavorsky said. "But in Louisville, (the presale) we're nearly double where we were last year."
"People saw that it was a great event last year and the word has grown," Sucher said. "Fans here love Louisville basketball and they gravitate even more to players from the 2012 and 2013 Final Four teams."
Add Harrell, a former NBA Sixth Man of the Year, to the discussion. And Jones, who scored 25 points while trying to beat The Ville last season. He did not beat them. So he joined them.
And get this: Sucher said guard David Johnson, who played for Louisville in 2020 and 2021, has excelled in practice.
"David has been fantastic," Sucher said. "People are really going to be impressed by what they see from David."
And TBT organizers will be impressed by what they see from Louisville fans. In year one, The Ville generated three of the 11 largest crowds in the first 10 seasons of the event: 5,469 for the opener (No. 5 TBT all-time); 4,785 for the second game (No. 8) and 4,442 for the third game (No. 11).
Wichita, a four-time host, has the top four crowds of all time, as well as seven of the top nine. Wichita set the record of 7,202 in the quarterfinals last year.
That's a record that should fall if Kentucky and Louisville play in the quarterfinals this year.
Related Stories:
- BOZICH | Harrell, Johnson, Jones primed to lead The Ville's deeper TBT run
- The Ville participants eager for another chance at the TBT
- Former UofL players preparing for TBT basketball tournament
- Louisville and Bellarmine alums will play in TBT opener July 20 at Freedom Hall
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