NCAA Basketball: Ranking all 24 teams in 2020 “The Basketball Tournament”
By Max Marmitt
17. The Basketball Tournament power rankings – War Tampa
Actual Ranking: #17 – Round of 24 matchup: #16 House of ‘Paign (Illinois Alumni) on July 4th
Formerly known as Tampa 20/20, this is definitely one of the most intriguing teams in the field this year. The team last year didn’t have an easy first-round matchup against Team CP3 but looked fantastic until they blew an 18 point third-quarter lead, losing 79-76 on a game-winning step-back three. Having said that, War Tampa brought in plenty of really talented college stars that could give this team a high ceiling in TBT 2020.
The Auburn fanbase has already embraced this team, and with four Auburn alums, the roster is built upon “Auburn guys and Florida boys,” according to the TBT website. This team has a great mix of veterans and young talent, in addition to several players with TBT experience. Walter Hodges is one of those veterans, a former Florida star who won two NCAA championships alongside guys like Joakim Noah, Al Horford, and Corey Brewer.
Bryce Brown is certainly one of the most dynamic guards in the tournament, as he was during the 2019 NCAA Tournament, 1.5 seconds away to leading Auburn to a national championship appearance before Kyle Guy made three free throws to give Virginia a 1-point win. It’s not unlikely that the 2-time All-SEC Auburn star could make another heroic run. Horace Spencer is another addition who played a key role on that same team.
Another big addition is former Wofford star Fletcher Magee. A 2-time Southern Conference player of the year, Magee is the NCAA’s all-time leader in career three-pointers made, and he hit seven three-pointers in the first round of the 2019 NCAA tournament in a win against Seton Hall. There’s no doubt that this is a dangerous team, and I believe this is a sleeper team that isn’t being talked about enough.