For the first time since 2017, the Ohio State alumni team, better known as “Carmen’s Crew,” will not be taking place in The Basketball Tournament. The team first joined the annual $2 million winner-take-all tournament as “Team Scarlet and Gray.”
The name was changed because of trademark concerns, but Ohio State fans filled a void in the summer by watching mostly former Thad Matta players make an annual run in the summer through the tournament for five years. The team went 15-4 all-time in the tournament, even winning the whole thing in 2019.
Team manager and former OSU player Jared Sullinger broke the news on his Twitter account Tuesday.
“Carmen’s Crew fans, we’re disappointed to share that we will be unable to compete in TBT this summer,” Sullinger wrote on Twitter. “Since 2017, we’ve greatly enjoyed the opportunity to get back together and represent The Ohio State University, and we look forward to doing it again in 2023. We hope that all of our fans will continue to support TBT at their events in Cincinnati, Dayton, and around the country this summer.”
@CarmensCrew @thetournament pic.twitter.com/5J0fKZpAGC
— Jared Sullinger Sr. (@Jared_Sully0) June 7, 2022
I don’t know about you, but it sure was fun to watch some of the players that made OSU basketball so fun under the Thad Matta era get together and run it back each year. We’ll just have to see how things play out for next season.
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