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Just four teams remain in The Basketball Tournament 2018: Three-time defending champions Overseas Elite, Jimmer Fredette’s Team Fredette, the Marquette University alumni based Golden Eagles, and the upset-minded Eberlein Drive. With just two more wins, one of those teams will take home the $2 million grand prize.
On Thursday, the first semifinal between Overseas Elite and Golden Eagles will start at 7 p.m. ET, the second semifinal between Team Fredette and Eberlein Drive will start at 9 p.m. ET, and both games will be broadcast on ESPN. Friday’s championship is at 9 p.m. ET and will also be on ESPN.
If you don’t have cable or can’t get to a TV, you can still watch a live stream of all the remaining TBT games (or DVR them) on your computer, phone or streaming device by signing up for one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu now also offers a bundle of live TV channels, including ESPN.
You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the games on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Hulu app.
Additionally, if you aren’t able to watch any of the games live, “Hulu with Live TV” also comes with 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
ESPN is included in the “Sling Orange” channel package. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the games on your computer via the Sling TV website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Sling TV app.
Additionally, if you can’t watch live, you can get 50 hours of cloud DVR storage as an additional add-on when signing up for your free trial.
ESPN Platforms
The games can also be watched on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. You’ll need to log-in to a cable provider to watch this way, but if you don’t have that, you can still sign up for one of the above options and then use your Hulu or Sling TV credentials to sign in and watch on the ESPN digital platforms.
Preview
Overseas Elite have won the South regional in all four years that the TBT has existed. They’ve won the overall title three years running. They’ve won 23 TBT games in a row. It’s an unreal level of dominance.
And yet they may not be the biggest attraction during the 2018 semifinals this week in Baltimore.
That honor goes to Jimmer Fredette. The former BYU superstar, NBA lottery pick, subsequent NBA bust, and now member of the Chinese Basketball Association’s Shanghai Sharks has been lighting up this tournament. 32 points on 9-of-17 shooting against the Peoria All-Stars. Another 30 points despite struggling with his shot against the Jackson TN UnderDawgs. 41 points with six threes against the Fort Wayne Champs. And most recently, 28 in the quarterfinals to beat Aaron Craft, Jared Sullinger and the Scarlet & Grey squad.
In four games, Jimmer has poured in 32.8 points per contest on a ruthlessly efficient 53.2 percent shooting from the field. He’s undeniably entertaining when he’s playing like this, and with a strong supporting cast that includes Brandon Davies, Jack Cooley, Jordon Crawford and Ra’Shad James, Team Fredette pose a major threat to Overseas Elite’s supremacy.
“Jimmer is a natural scorer and people love watching him play,” said former teammate Jackson Emery. “He’s done that wherever he’s been given an opportunity. Watching him, Brandon (Davies) and Charles (Abouo) brings back some great memories. I’m glad that people can see that Jimmer still has it.”
But let’s not pencil in Fredette and Overseas Elite in the championship quite yet.
Eberlein Drive will be looking to put an end to Jimmer Mania. Ranked just seventh in the West regional, they knocked off the No. 2 seed (Team Colorado), No. 3 seed (Gael Force) and No. 1 seed (Team Challenge ALS) en route to the Final Four, so they certainly don’t mind being an underdog. Former Cal star point guard Jerome Randle is averaging 25 points per game this tournament, so his matchup against Fredette will be a fascinating one.
And in the first semifinal, the Golden Eagles have the unenviable task of trying to stop Overseas Elite’s run of dominance. Made up of mostly Marquette alumni, they’ve been led by Maurice Acker and Jamil Wilson, while Elgin Cook, Jerel McNeal and Travis Diener have all chipped in with big efforts as well. They can shoot the absolute lights out–Wilson hit nine threes in a game at the start of the tournament, and they went a ridiculous 20-of-37 from deep as a team in the quarterfinals–and they’ll need to be hitting from the outside to take down the defending champs.
No matter how it plays out, it’s certainly going to be a fun Final Four.
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