Despite game high 27 points from Cal alum Jerome Randle, Eberlein Drive falls in ‘19 TBT Elite 8

Thursday Night Update:

Eberlein Drive 71, Carmen’s Crew 79

The 2019 Drive for The Basketball Tournament Championship is over for Eberlein Drive, led by Cal Men’s Basketball alum Jerome Randle. Carmen’s Crew, The Ohio State Alumni team, jumped out to a big first half lead. Despite the heroics of Randle and his team to cut the lead to a manageable 6 going into the Elam Ending, it just wasn’t enough.

Randle was not able to get his outside shot going in this one (only 2 for 5 from beyond the arc), but was still a force in scoring buckets or getting to the line. Cal’s all-time leading score finished the game with a game high 27 points. As a Cal fan, it was fun to see Randle’s competitive spirit in bringing Eberlein Drive back in the 3rd quarter and beyond.

According to Wikipedia, Jerome Randle joined the Russian Team Locomotiv Kuban this past March. No matter the location (or even continent), there is little doubt that Jerome Randle will be balling somewhere between now and playing in prime-time ESPN again next summer in the next edition of The Basketball Tournament.

It took 3 close games, where both teams can win the game on the next bucket in the TBT revolutionary Elam Ending (a target score is set as the leading score + 8 when there is a stoppage with under 4 minutes left in regulation), but Eberlein Drive is still alive in the 2019 The Basketball Tournament and be in the running for the $2 million, winner-take-all prize. Cal alum Jerome Randle hit the game winners in game 1 and game 2. In the Salt Lake Regional final, Randle’s teammate Taylor Braun was able to grab Randle’s miss and score the game winning bucket.

As the starting point guard, Jerome Randle is leading the Eberlein Drive in points (20.7 PPG) and assists (3.3 APG) for the second consecutive TBT tournament. With the Elam Ending format requiring the winning team to win by scoring points, Jerome Randle is the perfect “closer” for the Eberlein Drive as the primary ball handler. ESPN ranks Randle as the 4th best player remaining in the TBT 2019, who is still putting up big numbers for the 3rd straight TBT seasons despite the oppositions concentrating their defensive plans on stopping Randle.

Back in the Elite 8 for the second straight season, Eberlein Drive will open play in Chicago tonight against The Ohio State alumni team named Carmen’s Crew. The Buckeyes alumni are coached by Jared Sullinger and have great perimeter defenders in Aaron Craft and David Lighty. Carmen’s Crew won their first three games with a margin of victory of around 15 points per game; they did also enjoy a strong home court advantage by playing those games in Columbus, Ohio.

Below is the bracket for the final 8 of this tournament.

There will be more breaks between games in this single elimination tournament for the winners of these last few games. Semifinals will take place on August 4th while the Final will take place on Tuesday, August 6th.

For Cal fans, it should be a treat just to see Jerome Randle in action on ESPN.

TBT 2019 Quarterfinals: Eberlein Drive vs. Carmen’s Crew (Ohio State alumni team)

Where: Wintrust Arena (Chicago, IL)

When: 4pm PT on August 1st, 2019

TV: ESPN (and online on WatchESPN)

BEST OF LUCK TO JEROME AND GO BEARS!