Nasty Nati is set to take on Fort Wayne Champs in The Basketball Tournament on Monday night at the Cintas Center. Troy Caupain, Jarron Cumberland, Jacob Evans and Isaiah Miller headline the Bearcats alumni team that will compete in TBT Xavier Regional and look to advance to the second round on Wednesday.
Prior to the first round matchup, Nasty Nati split a pair of exhibition games against Xavier’s Zip ‘Em Up on Saturday in Cincinnati. Nasty Nati won the initial scrimmage 41-29 before Zip ‘Em Up secured a 31-26 win to close the night. Both teams will play on Monday with the former Bearcats scheduled to tip off at 6 PM on ESPN3.
My brothers and I will be active for @thetournament and can’t wait to bring the physical toughness and electrifying energy back to the city !! @NastyNati_TBT pic.twitter.com/ZJCWo4a4Ci
— Troy Caupain Jr (@caupain10) June 28, 2022
Previewing Nasty Nati’s TBT matchup with Fort Wayne Champs
In addition to the previously mentioned players, Nasty Nati consists of Coreontae DeBerry, Octavius Ellis, Ty Johnson, Marquez Letcher-Ellis, Tre Scott and Shaq Thomas. The 10 players are led by head coach Corie Blount and assistant Cane Broome. Caupain, Cumberland, Ellis, Evans and Scott earned All-AAC honors during their Bearcats career.
Fort Wayne has participated in the $1 million tournament multiple times with a 10-6 record. The current roster includes recent G-League standouts Skyler Flatten and Stephan Hicks, former Oklahoma guard Rashard Odomes and Iowa State center Solomon Young, plus a couple of former All-MAC members in Taylor Persons and Demajeo Wiggins.
🏀TOP PLAYERS AT THE XAVIER REGIONAL OF @thetournament🏀
— Inside TBT (@InsideTbt) July 12, 2022
Who did we miss?😬
- Be sure to visit @Danagardens pic.twitter.com/AbObTXHoV1
If Nasty Nati can eliminate Fort Wayne on Monday, they will take on top seeded Florida TNT or Team AboutBillions on Wednesday at 6 PM. A potential rematch with Zip ‘Em Up could take place in the Xavier Regional championship on Thursday at 7 PM as the 64-team event narrows down to eight by the end of this week.
"“It’s just good to be back and do something for the city. It’s been a while since I’ve been back. Just to know that we can gather the people around and support us,” Caupain explained per Joe Danneman. “It’s big for both universities, the community and city. It stands for something and people show that so it’s good to do that for them as well.”"