TBT 2025: The Ville’s Montrezl Harrell on Louisville’s principle of family
The Ville’s Montrezl Harrell discusses the Louisville Cardinals TBT team’s principle of family after winning the opening round of the tournament.
- The Ville lost to Sideline Cancer 73-63 in the second round of The Basketball Tournament.
- Montrezl Harrell played for The Ville after participating in a BIG3 game earlier in the day.
Up next for The Ville on its quest for The Basketball Tournament‘s $1 million grand prize: a familiar foe.
The top-seeded group of mostly former Cardinals faces No. 4 Sideline Cancer today at Freedom Hall. These teams met in the second round last summer, when The Ville eked out a 71-69 win.
The Ville advanced to Round 2 thanks in large part to a dominant performance from Montrezl Harrell, who scored 16 of his game-high 25 points during the second half of Saturday’s 91-71 win over No. 8 Boston vs. Cancer. Sideline Cancer survived No. 5 Madd Katts, 84-82, in the subsequent game of the Louisville Regional.
This is Sideline Cancer’s 12th appearance in TBT. Its roster features three Louisville natives: Chris Coffey, Trey Moses and Tay Weaver.
Follow along below with live updates from Freedom Hall:
Montrezl Harrell arrived at Freedom Hall with roughly 15 minutes to spare before tipoff between The Ville and Sideline Cancer after taking the court with the Chicago Triplets at 3 p.m. today in Detroit as part of the BIG3 league.
Here are The Ville’s starters for today’s game:
This will be Harrell’s second game today. His first was at 3 p.m. in Detroit, as part of the BIG 3 league; after which he chartered a private jet to get him back to Louisville for TBT. If he doesn’t make it in time for tipoff, Malik Williams will take his spot in the starting lineup.
Earl Clark won’t be with The Ville for today’s game against Sideline Cancer, a team spokesperson told The Courier Journal. Clark, like Harrell, plays in BIG3. His game in Detroit tipped off at 5 p.m., so he couldn’t make it back in time for TBT.
The Ville and Sideline Cancer are scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. today inside Freedom Hall.
You can tune into The Ville against Sideline Cancer on FS1.
Qualified subscribers can livestream The Ville against Sideline Cancer via foxsports.com.
You also can stream FS1 on Fubo, which offers a free trial here.
You can catch The Ville against Sideline Cancer on WLCL 93.9 FM.
(Note: All game times are Eastern)
Saturday, July 19
- Game 1: The Ville 91, Boston vs. Cancer 71
- Game 2: Sideline Cancer 84, Madd Katts 82
- Game 3: LA Ignite 93, Team Diesel 82
- Game 4: Team 901 89, Florida DRC 83
Today, July 20
- Game 5: The Ville vs. Sideline Cancer, 7 p.m. on FS1 (Fubo; free trial)
- Game 6: LA Ignite vs. Team 901, 9 p.m. on FS2 (Fubo; free trial)
Wednesday, July 23
- Championship: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 9 p.m. on FS1 (Fubo; free trial)
If The Ville wins back-to-back regional titles, it’ll host the winner of the Lexington Regional at 6 p.m. July 28 on FS1 (Fubo; free trial) with a spot in the semifinal round on the line.
The semifinals will be held at 6 and 8 p.m. on July 31 on FS1 (Fubo; free trial), and a champion will be crowned at 4 p.m. on Aug. 3 on Fox (Fubo; free trial).
- Chane Behanan, who made the Final Four All-Tournament team during Louisville’s run to a national championship in 2013. He was second on The Ville in scoring and rebounding during its inaugural TBT in 2023 but averaged only 7.3 minutes per game last summer.
- Earl Clark, an NBA lottery pick who helped lead the Cards to the program’s first No. 1 ranking in the AP Top 25 in 2009. He’s making his TBT debut after spending the 2024-25 season hooping in Taiwan with the Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers — and is a co-captain of the DMV Trilogy in the BIG3 league.
- Chris Dowe, a Louisville native who starred at Eastern High School before playing at Bellarmine from 2009-13. The 6-foot-2 guard is entering his third summer with The Ville after another stint in Italy.
- Montrezl Harrell, who in three seasons at U of L won a national title and broke its record for most dunks in a career. The former NBA Sixth Man of the Year returns to The Ville for a second go-around after a strong season with the Adelaide 36ers in Australia’s National Basketball League, where he averaged 20.5 points and 9.3 rebounds across 32.2 minutes per game.
- David Johnson, a Louisville native who went No. 47 overall in the 2021 NBA Draft after two seasons playing for Chris Mack. The Trinity High School grad has spent the past two seasons with the Grizzlies’ G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle. He was second on The Ville in scoring with 14.3 points per game last summer.
- Chris Jones, who played for the Cards from 2013-15 and hit two of The Ville’s three game-winning baskets on its road to the 2024 quarterfinals. Since then, he’s suited up for the London Lightning in Ontario and the Tauranga Whai in New Zealand.
- Jay Scrubb, a Louisville native who in 2020 bypassed an offer to play at U of L to become the first player drafted from the junior college ranks since 2004. In 31 games for Maine Celtics in the G League this season, the former Trinity standout averaged 16 points on 43.1% shooting (33.5% from 3).
- Peyton Siva, the floor general of the Cards’ 2013 national championship team, a member of Pat Kelsey’s staff and one of only three players on The Ville’s 2025 roster who have been here since its inception. He’s transitioning into a player-coach role this summer after averaging 2.5 points and as many assists across 17.5 minutes per game last summer.
- Quinn Slazinski, who logged 36 games at U of L from 2019-21, averaging 6.2 points and 3.5 rebounds as a sophomore, before transferring to play for Rick Pitino at Iona and ending his collegiate career at West Virginia. He made five appearances for two G League teams during the 2024-25 season.
- David Sloan, a Louisville native who starred at Taylor County High School and went on to play for John A. Logan College (2017-19), Kansas State (2019-20) and East Tennessee State (2020-22). He played in last year’s TBT, at the Louisville Regional, for Team Fredette and spent the 2024-25 season with Pinheiros Basquete in Brazil.
- Russ Smith, whose No. 2 is hanging in the KFC Yum! Center rafters. The former All-American — a star of the 2013 team — has been The Ville’s top scorer in its first two TBT appearances. He averaged 23.4 points in 28.4 minutes during a 16-game stint in Italy’s Serie A2 this year.
- Malik Williams, who played for U of L from 2017–22 and has made a home for himself with the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the G League after going undrafted. The 6-11 center averaged 16.1 points and 10.2 rebounds across 31 appearances in 2024-25.
Click here to see Sideline Cancer’s complete roster.
Reach Louisville men’s basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.