The Big Blue Nation showed out for La Familia's second run in The Basketball Tournament

La Familia’s second run in The Basketball Tournament was cut short, but the Big Blue Nation made every game feel like we were in the middle of March Madness.

Kentucky fans made sure their presence was felt during La Familia’s three TBT games inside Memorial Coliseum this summer. Friday’s blowout win over Stroh’s Squad was a party from start to finish. Even when that game was clearly out of hand, the UK alums turned the second half into a dunk contest to keep the crowd’s energy alive. Sunday’s close win over War Ready was even more electric, La Familia narrowly escaping with the victory in the Elam Ending. Archie Goodwin‘s game-winning shot had the fans roaring as a dog pile formed at mid-court.

And even in Tuesday night’s heartbreaking loss to Eberlein Drive, the BBN was nothing short of excellent. La Familia trailed for nearly the entire game before a 16-0 run in the fourth quarter put them ahead going into the Elam Ending. Kahlil Whitney and Willie Cauley-Stein were making momentum-swinging plays down the stretch. Fans, including the current Kentucky men’s basketball team, were standing on their toes for the final minutes.

We can’t forget to mention DJ Burns, either, who went from an unknown addition to the roster a few weeks ago to a forever fan-favorite by tournament’s end. If there was ever a lull in the crowd, Burns made sure to bring the energy back up to a 10. On and off the floor, there wasn’t anyone more excited to be part of his experience than him.

La Familia just couldn’t get it done though. Goodwin missed what would have been the game-winning free throw before Eberlein Drive finally hit a three on the other end to stay alive and advance to the quarterfinals. A once rowdy crowd filled with nothing but blue was suddenly stunned.

“That’s what hurts, more than anything,” La Familia head coach Sean Woods said postgame. “Yeah, we’re playing for a million dollars, but to play in front of these fans and to have these fans show up like they do, man, it’s a surreal experience, and these guys really appreciate it. They’re in there right now acting like they lost a game in the NCAA Tournament. It hurts them. Just like they did when they played.”

You can’t say that Archie Goodwin didn’t give it his all for La Familia…

Tough way to go out, but he wanted this win as badly as anyone else. pic.twitter.com/eSNK3y0ULM

— Zack Geoghegan (@ZGeogheganKSR) July 23, 2025

La Familia’s loss probably hurt the people running TBT just as much as it hurt Kentucky fans. The UK alums were the main draw of this event. Last summer’s matchup between La Familia and The Ville (Louisville alums) set a record for the most-attended game in TBT history. It created all the drama they could have asked for, to the point where they tried to set it up again in the quarterfinals this year.

But The Ville lost in the second round, La Familia only advancing one round further.

“I’ll tell you who’s hurting even more, it’s TBT,” Woods added. “Because they’re not gonna get another crowd like this. They’re not going to get this type of action, they’re not gonna get this type of coverage. But it was a great experience. Unfortunately, it ended like this.”

La Familia is the perfect example of just how crazy — in a beautiful way — the Kentucky fan base is. It’s the middle of July, and thousands upon thousands of members of the BBN were tuned in to watch a mostly meaningless game featuring a team made up of their former players from the last decade-plus. Had La Familia pulled off the win, the quarterfinals next Monday back in Lexington would have been even rowdier.

“This place is special, man. It’s special,” Woods said. “That’s what makes this place special, more than any other place in the world.“

We’ll just have to wait until next summer to do it all over again.

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