Times Set for Illinois Regional Featured Teams

Single-session tickets on sale for The Basketball Tournament Illinois Regional

Bobby Parker, Associate AD for Communications General 6/8/2021 11:28:00 AM

PEORIA, IL – With the launch of single-session ticket sales over the weekend, national television exposure and prime-time slots have been determined for the featured teams in the 2021 The Basketball Tournament Illinois Regional, which tips off July 24 at the Peoria Civic Center's Carver Arena.

House of 'Paign will be featured on ESPN when the University of Illinois alumni team plays in the second game, 1:00 pm CT, of the opening session of the TBT Illinois Regional Saturday, July 24 at Carver Arena. The players of Bradley University alumni team, Always A Brave, will return to their collegiate home court for the Saturday finale, a 6:00 p.m. tip to complete Session 2.

The opponents for both of the featured teams in the TBT Illinois Regional will be announced via TBT's bracket reveal show, which will air live on TBT's social media channels June 21. If they each are able to through the first two rounds, House of 'Paign and Always A Brave would meet during the final round of the TBT Illinois Regional July 28. Showcasing the home of Bradley Basketball at Carver Arena, the two games in Session 1 of the TBT Illinois Regional will be televised nationally on ESPN, the next 10 games will be streamed on ESPN3 and the two third-round games July 28 will air on ESPN2.

2021 TBT Illinois Regional Tickets
July 24-28 | Peoria Civic Center Carver Arena
Single-session (two games per session) tickets for the 2021 TBT Illinois Regional currently are on sale by visiting thetournament.com/tickets with ticket prices starting at $20 per session.

Saturday, July 24 | First Round
Session 1, featuring House of 'Paign | 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM | ESPN | Buy Online
Session 2, featuring Always A Brave | 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM | ESPN3 | Buy Online

Sunday, July 25 | First Round
Session 3 | 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM | Teams TBD | ESPN3 | Buy Online
Session 4 | 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM | Teams TBD | ESPN3 | Buy Online

Monday, July 26 | Second Round
Session 5 | 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM | Winners from Sessions 3 and 4 | ESPN3 | Buy Online
Session 6 | 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM | Winners from Sessions 1 and 2 | ESPN3 | Buy Online

Wednesday, July 28 | Third Round
Session 7 | 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM | Winners from Sessions 5 and 6| ESPN2 | Buy Online

About TBT
Preparing for its eighth running, The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is a 64-team, open-application, $1 million, winner-take-all event televised live on the ESPN family of networks. Peoria is serving as a regional site city for the second time after Always A Brave hosted the 2017 Midwest Regional at Bradley University's Renaissance Coliseum. House of 'Paign joins the Bradley alumni squad as the two featured teams in the 2021 TBT Illinois Regional, which will see 16 teams compete July 24-28 at Carver Arena with the two unbeaten squads advancing to the TBT finals July 31-August 3 in Dayton, Ohio.

Always A Brave is making its fourth appearance in TBT, highlighted by a run to the national semifinals during its tournament debut in 2016, followed by a Super 16 appearance in 2017 after winning its two games at Renaissance Coliseum. House of 'Paign, who made its TBT debut last summer in the event's 24-team "bubble" in Columbus, Ohio, was one of the event's most popular entrants. The Illini alumni team knocked off defending champion Carmen's Crew, the Ohio State alumni team, en route to an appearance in TBT's quarterfinals.

Always A Brave Roster
The roster for the fourth Always A Brave entry into TBT continues to evolve and currently includes nine former Bradley players: Tony Bennett, Darrell Brown, Jimmy Gavin, Nate Kennell, Luqman Lundy, Patrick O'Bryant, Marcellus Sommerville, Donte Thomas and Andrew Warren. Always A Brave also includes former Peoria Notre Dame High School star Max Bielfeldt, who helped Michigan to the 2013 national championship game and was the 2016 Big Ten Conference Sixth Man of the Year as a graduate player at Indiana. Former Bradley point guard Daniel Ruffin will serve as Always A Brave head coach and he will be assisted by Chuck Buescher and Lou Griffith.

House of 'Paign Roster
Playing in TBT for a second consecutive year, House of 'Paign continues to add to its roster. General manager Mike LaTulip will serve as House of 'Paign head coach, and, to date, the Illinois alumni team has announced seven commitments: Leron Black, Nnanna Egwu, Andres Feliz, Demetri McCamey, Kipper Nichols, Rayvonte Rice and former South Dakota State star Mike Daum.

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