Memorial Coliseum could host this year’s TBT championship game. Here’s how.
The TBT championship could be heading to Lexington.
La Familia reached 4,000 ticket sales for this year’s Lexington Regional on Tuesday, becoming the second squad to earn home-court advantage for The Basketball Tournament — better known as TBT. Determining home court by ticket sales is a new rule this year, ranking regional-hosting teams 1-8 by how quickly they reach 4,000 ticket sales.
“We could potentially have an opportunity to host all the way through to the championship game, so it was very important for us to get that second place in the ticket race,” La Familia general manager and former UK guard Twany Beckham said. “I just want to thank our community and fan base for helping us out.”
La Familia, a team comprised mostly of former UK athletes, will play its home games at the much more intimate Memorial Coliseum this year. The current home of UK women’s basketball and volleyball houses 6,250, compared to last year’s tournament site, Rupp Arena, which holds 20,500.
“Our games are gonna be packed, it’s going to be loud, and should be a great home-court advantage,” Beckham said.
He said having home-court advantage will give a boost from “one of the best fan bases in the world.”
“Every game is going to be a dogfight,” Beckham said. “Having home-court energy behind you will only serve us. I think it’ll help us get over the hump in some games that we need the energy.”
Who reached 4,000 ticket sales before La Familia? The Ville, the Louisville-affiliated TBT team. The Ville earned the first home-court advantage on May 8, two days after tickets went on sale.
If both teams make it through their regionals, La Familia will have to play at Freedom Hall in Louisville in the quarterfinal round. La Familia went to Louisville in last year’s TBT, surviving Freedom Hall with a 70-61 win.
Beckham said last year’s atmosphere against The Ville rivaled the environments of games he played against Louisville at UK.
“I welcome that challenge again. I know our guys will welcome that challenge again if it gets to that point,” Beckham said.
La Familia is set to start its championship run July 18 against Stroh’s Squad, the Bowling Green State-affiliated team.
In its first year together in 2024, La Familia fell two wins short of winning the TBT and taking home the $1 million prize.