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Jeff Goodman, ESPN Insider 8y

What to watch in TBT's Super 16

Men's College Basketball, Ole Miss Rebels, Pittsburgh Panthers, Bradley Braves, VCU Rams, Colorado Buffaloes, Gonzaga Bulldogs, Utah Utes, Marquette Golden Eagles, Syracuse Orange

The Super 16 for The Basketball Tournament, a $2 million winner-take-all nationwide competition, will be Thursday and Friday at Philadelphia University, with four quarterfinal matchups on Saturday.

There are eight teams composed of college basketball alumni remaining and three teams that were in last year's semifinals, including defending champions Overseas Elite.

The semifinals will be played at Fordham University, and the championship game, with $2 million on the line, will be Aug. 2 at 9 p.m. Both the semifinals and final will be on ESPN.

Here's a look at each Super 16 matchups.

Northeast

No. 1 City of Gods vs. No. 5 Team FOE, Thursday (4 p.m. on ESPN3)

City of Gods features more former NBA players on the roster than just about anyone else in the event, with DerMarr Johnson and Michael Sweetney joining James White and Pops Mensah-Bonsu. They made it to the semifinals a year ago and added the high-flying White. There's also former Drexel point guard Phil Goss, ex-Georgetown guard Chris Wright and former Maryland big man James Gist. Johnson, the sixth overall pick in the 2000 draft, has averaged 28 points and eight boards in their two wins.

There's a heavy Kansas connection with FOE, beginning at the top with booster Thomas Robinson, general manager Markieff Morris and coach Marcus Morris. There's also a pair of former Jayhawks in the backcourt with Tyshawn Taylor and Elijah Johnson. Ex-Villanova guard Maalik Wayns has been stellar thus far, as has former St. John's power forward Sean Evans.

No. 2 Boeheim's Army vs. No. 3 The Untouchables, Thursday (7 p.m. on ESPN2)

Boeheim's Army is littered with former Syracuse players from the past 15 years, starting with Hakim Warrick, Darryl Watkins and Terrence Roberts. It continues with Eric Devendorf and Rick Jackson and culminates with guys like Brandon Triche, C.J. Fair and Baye Moussa Keita.

It will be like an old Big East battle with the Syracuse-laden group going up against The Untouchables, a team filled with former Pittsburgh Panthers. There's Gilbert Brown, Gary McGhee, Levance Fields, Brad Wanamaker and Antonio Graves along with former UMass guard Ricky Harris and ex-Oklahoma wing Cameron Clark. Thus far, Wanamaker has been the team's top scorer at 20 points per game.

Midwest

No. 5 Pedro's Posse vs. No. 9 Always a Brave, Friday (9 p.m. on ESPN2)

Mike Bibby and Jason Williams have led the way for Pedro's Posse for the first two victories. Bibby -- who won a national title with Arizona, was the second overall pick in 1998 and spent more than a decade in the NBA -- almost had a triple-double in the opener while Williams, who is 40 years old, had 17 points and 10 assists in the win. Bibby and Williams have a supporting cast that includes former Florida State guards Deividas Dulkys and Luke Loucks and ex-Chattanooga guard Bryan Richardson, who is 11-of-17 from beyond the arc in the two wins.

Always a Brave is full of former Bradley players on the 2006 team that knocked off Kansas and Pittsburgh to reach the Sweet 16. Big man Patrick O'Bryant was selected ninth overall in the 2006 draft, but it's been Marcellus Sommerville who has led the way thus far, averaging 22.5 points and seven boards in the two wins. Other 2006 Braves on the squad include Will Franklin, Daniel Ruffin, Tony Bennett and Jeremy Crouch. There's also Sam Maniscalco, Matt Salley and Phillip Gilbert.

No. 6 Golden Eagles Alumni vs. No. 7 Armored Athlete, Friday (7 p.m. on ESPN2)

The Golden Eagles Alumni team has Marquette written all over it, from the booster (Steve Novak) to the coaches (Wesley Matthews and Travis Diener) to the general manager (Dan Fitzgerald) and the players: Darius Johnson-Odom, Dwight Buycks, Jerel McNeal, Joe Chapman, Mo Acker, Dwight Burke, Jamil Wilson, Derrick Wilson and Marcus Jackson make up the roster. Buycks had 27 points in each of the team's two wins while Chapman averaged 18. Jamil Wilson finished with 22 points in a blowout over a Michigan State-filled Spartans Heroes squad.

Armored Athlete is best known for its trio of former Indiana Hoosiers: Christian Watford, Jordan Hulls and Will Sheehey. However, it's been a pair of ex-Holy Cross standouts, David Dudzinski and Malcolm Miller, who have been just as valuable to their early success. Former Florida State scoring guard Isaiah Swann had 22 points in the last game. This team also features former Butler star Roosevelt Jones.

South

No. 2 Overseas Elite vs. No. 3 Ram Nation, Thursday (9 p.m. on ESPN3)

The core of the defending champion and $1 million winners Overseas Elite is back, a group that includes C.J. McCollum's brother, Errick, a pair of ex-St. John's players in D.J. Kennedy and Paris Horne, former Arizona guard Kyle Fogg as well as Johndre Jefferson and Todd O'Brien up front. The big change thus far has been that DeAndre Kane, who played at Marshall and Iowa State, has moved into the spot that was held by Myck Kabongo a year ago. Fogg averaged 22.5 points with Kennedy adding 18.5 in the two victories thus far.

Five players on VCU's team that shocked the country and went from the First Four to the Final Four back in 2011 are on this Ram Nation squad. There's Bradford Burgess, who has averaged 19.5 points in the two wins; point guard Joey Rodriguez; forward Jamie Skeen, who had 26 in the Elite Eight win over Kansas back in 2011; Darius Theus and Brandon Rozzell. Former first-round pick Larry Sanders is on the roster, but his status is uncertain because of an injury.

No. 5 TMD vs. No. 8 Trained to Go, Thursday (2 p.m. on ESPN2)

Former Ole Miss guard Marshall Henderson is the star attraction of TMD because of his personality, but this team has been led by a pair of other guards, Christopher Warren and B.J. Young. Warren also played at Ole Miss while Young starred at Arkansas. The frontcourt also features a couple of guys who played at prominent programs: Mike Bruesewitz (Wisconsin) and Calvin Godfrey (Memphis).

Trained to Go pulled off the upset over the region's No. 1 seed, Bluff City Blues, a team that was loaded with Memphis alumni. Former Clayton State guard Brandon Robinson led the way with 21 points in the win and another less-heralded player, Brent Jennings, scored 32 points in the first-round win over the Primetime Players. The most recognizable name on the team is former Georgia guard Damien Wilkins, the nephew of former NBA star Dominique Wilkins.

West

No. 1 Team 23 vs. No. 5 Team Colorado, Friday (2 p.m. on ESPN3)

Team 23 lost in the title game a year ago, and it brings back the core of that team, led by guard Davin White. It was former IPFW guard Frank Gaines, a new addition this year, who erupted for 30 points in the victory to reach the Super 16, while former UConn big man Gavin Edwards had a double-double with 17 points and 12 boards.

Team Colorado is full of ex-Colorado Buffaloes, most of whom have spent their professional career overseas. The team's star thus far has been guard Marcus Hall, who averaged 29 points in the two wins. Richard Roby, who played in Boulder from 2004 to 2008, is one of the team's top players. The group also features Marcus Relphorde, Dominique Coleman and Levi Knutson.

No. 3 Few Good Men vs. No. 7 Team Utah, Friday (4 p.m. on ESPN3)

With Zags coach Mark Few as the booster, Few Good Men is a well-known group full of former Bulldogs. Micah Downs averaged 18.5 points in the two victories, but the former Zags have done it with depth and balance. Jeremy Pargo, Austin Daye, Dan Dickau, Mike Hart, Casey Cavalry and Drew Barham are on the roster. A couple of key pick-ups are former St. John's big man Justin Burrell and ex-Missouri big man Leo Lyons. Dickau and Blake Stepp have handled the coaching duties thus far, but there's a chance former Bulldog John Stockton might take the reigns at some point.

Team Utah is a Utes alumni team led by Tim Drisdom, Shaun Green, Lawrence Borha, Bryant Markson and Dakarai Tucker. There are also a couple of players in Justin Hawkins and Richard Chaney who began their careers in Salt Lake City before finishing elsewhere.

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