Survive and advance: Kansas basketball alumni team bests Mizzou in TBT thriller

Mass Street defeated the Show Me Squad 69-65, sending the Kansas basketball alumni team in The Basketball Tournament (TBT) to the Sweet 16.

The long-awaited summer basketball tournament has not disappointed for Kansas Jayhawks fans thus far. Mass Street has slipped by in two thrilling contests in the Round of 64 and 32.

Kansas basketball found itself competing against the Show Me Squad, which is the Mizzou alumni team. Former Tigers such as Phil Pressey and Tony Criswell appeared on the floor, two players that played against KU while Mizzou was still in the Big 12. Although they are in the SEC now, it was yet another accolade that Jayhawks fanatics could add to their bragging rights.

Thomas Robinson’s heroics led the way for the KU alumni team once again. The former All-American scored a team-high 15 points and grabbed six rebounds. For the second game in a row, “T-Rob” drilled the Elam Ender to reach the target score of 69.

Against We Are D3 — Mass Street’s round one opponent — Robinson followed Mario Little’s missed free throw with a game-ending putback layup. This time around, it came in the version of him hitting one at the charity stripe himself.

It was the complete opposite of the KU alumni team’s debut game in TBT. They trailed by nine points heading into halftime before pulling off a seemingly insurmountable comeback late in the fourth. However, Mass Street was the group that squandered its lead in this one. Despite leading by double digits for most of the first half, they were tied with just six minutes to go.

Keith Langford extended his professional basketball playing career for at least one more day, pouring in 13 points. LaGerald Vick bounced back from a lousy performance last time out, scoring 11 and leading the team with seven boards.

READ: Ranking each of KU’s one and done players

Mass Street is four wins away from winning the highly coveted $1 million prize. Next stop — the Sweet 16 against Heartfire.

Heartfire’s head coach is LaPhonso Ellis, a former college basketball star and current television analyst. His team has defeated JUCO Products and the LA Cheaters and will now face its biggest challenge yet in Mass Street.

The regional final will begin at 2:00 p.m. CT. It can be streamed on ESPN+.

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