If you are a fan of the Kansas Jayhawks or Pittsburgh Panthers, you probably remember the 2006 Bradley Braves. The Braves were the No. 13 seed in the Oakland Region of the NCAA tournament. In the field of 64, they knocked off Bill Self's fourth-seeded Jayhawks in the Palace of Auburn Hills. Two days later, they advanced past Jamie Dixon's fifth-seeded Panthers in the same building. The Braves' road in the 2006 Big Dance ended against John Calipari's top-seeded Memphis Tigers in the Sweet 16.
More than 10 years later, many of the same players on Bradley's 2006 Sweet 16 squad are suiting up together again in The Basketball Tournament. The Braves' alumni, playing under the moniker Always A Brave, are one of four teams left in the 64-team field competing for $2 million. The squad is highlighted by Patrick O'Bryant, the No. 9 overall pick in the 2006 NBA draft, and Marcellus Sommerville, the leading contributor in this summer's games. Other 2006 Braves on the team include Will Franklin, Daniel Ruffin, Tony Bennett and Jeremy Crouch, noted Jeff Goodman in his preview of the Super 16 round.
Just like in March 2006, the Braves have completed a couple of big-time upsets along the way. The No. 9-seed Always A Brave squad was placed in a Midwest region stacked with alumni squads from Kentucky, Michigan State, Kansas State and a team featuring a backcourt of former NBA stars Mike Bibby and Jason Williams. On Friday night, the Bradley alums embarrassed Bibby and Williams' team 92-65. Sommerville led the way with 28 points, and Ruffin added 14 in the Super 16 rout. On Saturday night, Always A Brave faced more of a challenge from a team of Marquette alumni. But 25 points from Sommerville and 14 from Ruffin paced the former Braves to an 89-81 victory.
Now just two wins away from winning the $2 million prize, the Braves alumni march onward to the semifinals in New York City. Always A Brave will face Team Colorado on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. The championship game will take place Tuesday, Aug. 2 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.