Heart-breaking: Louisville's TBT team loses on a game-winner

Of all the things you love to see, this is certainly one of them.

On Saturday afternoon at Freedom Hall in front of a packed house of Cardinal faithful, Louisville’s The Basketball Tournament alumni team, The Ville, lost on a game-winner to the Gutter Cats in the Regional Final. With the Elam Ending target score set at 64, The Ville led 62-61 and needed to force one more defensive stop to potentially win the game on the other end.

But fortunately for us haters, Gutter Cats’ 31-year-old small forward Jarell Eddie hit a “how-the-hell-did-that-go-in?” bank shot from near the corner as he was fading away to his right. Ball game. The Gutter Cats stunned the Louisville-dominant crowd, knocking The Ville out of The Basketball Tournament and ending their chance at taking home the winner-takes-all grand prize of $1 million.

What a shame…

OMG JARELL EDDIE!!!!😱

THE SHOW IS OVER IN FREEDOM HALL!!!

HE JUST HIT A DAGGER AND LOUISVILLE IS STUNNED!!

GUTTER CATS WIN!!!🤯 pic.twitter.com/N0vqM3IvMP

— TBT (@thetournament) July 29, 2023

Admittedly, The Ville had a pretty stacked squad. Among the noteworthy players on the roster were former Cardinals such as Russ Smith, Peyton Siva, Kyle Kuric, Chance Behanan, and Chinanu Onuaku. Former Eastern Kentucky star Nick Mayo was also part of the team that many expected to make the Elite 8 and possibly win the entire tournament. But they never made it out of their own region. Oh well.

With the win, the Gutter Cats — the top seed in the Louisville Region — advance to TBT’s quarterfinals, which is set for Monday, July 31 at 9:00 p.m. EST in Louisville. They will take on Bleed Green, a team made up mostly of former North Texas players.