WOAY – After plans to host in 2020 were derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, The Basketball Tournament will indeed hold a regional in Charleston.
The Charleston Coliseum will host games during the first weekend of regionals, from July 17-21, with Best Virginia and Herd That serving as host teams. The city was scheduled to host regionals in the 2020 tournament, before the pandemic ultimately led to all games being hosted in one location, which turned out to be Columbus, Ohio.
Started in 2014, The Basketball Tournament is a winner-take-all event that has gained popularity for its use of the “Elam Ending,” where games end when one team reaches a set point total, instead of the clock running out in the fourth quarter.
Best Virginia, which mostly features WVU men’s basketball alumni, reached the second round in 2019 but had to withdraw from the 2020 tournament because of COVID-19 issues. Their head coach this year will be WVU Tech men’s head coach James Long. Herd That, which mostly features former Marshall players, made a run to the quarterfinals in 2020.
TBT will hold additional regional games in Wichita, Kansas (July 16-20), Columbus, Ohio (July 23-27), and Peoria, Illinois (July 24-28). The championship week is scheduled for July 31-August 3 in Dayton, Ohio.
