Tag: Andrew Dakich

Big X advances to second round of The Basketball Tournament

Big X, a team with a couple of former Ohio State players, squeezed past D2 78-74 to advance to the 2nd round of The Basketball Tournament.

Most of you are likely following the Ohio State alumni team Carmen’s Crew during The Basketball Tournament, but there’s another team that has some former Buckeyes playing in the winner-take-all summer basketball tourney that has captured the fancy of many OSU fans over the last couple of years.

Team Big X did have more Buckeyes slated to play on the team, but the Wesson brothers decided not to play for personal reasons, and  Keyshawn Woods could not join the team because of exposure to COVID-19.

But that’s okay. Former Ohio State players C.J. Jackson and Andrew Dakich are still on the team and looking to make a deep run. So far so good, as the team advanced to the second round, but not without some struggles. Despite being the No. 9 seed and favored against No. 24 seed D2, Big X trailed for most of the game before finally wrestling the lead away late in the game with a little bit of a run.

Former Michigan State big man Nick Ward was huge down the stretch, providing two back-to-back dunks to give Big X the lead 70-69 when the Elam Ending was put into place. From there, C.J. Jackson hit a deep jumper as a part of a mini-run, then ended it with a tear-drop in the lane to reach the go past the targeted score of 78 to D2’s score of 74.

The next game should be fun for Big X as it faces an Ohio based team out of Dayton, the No. 8 seed Red Scare, at 2PM on Wednesday.

 

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C.J. Jackson, Andre Wesson, and Andrew Dakich join Big X, could face Carmen’s Crew

C.J. Jackson, Andre Wesson, and Andrew Dakich join Big X, a team of former Big Ten alum in The Basketball Tournament.

There’s another team in The Basketball Tournament that will have some serious Ohio State ties for the second year in a row. Big X announced three former Buckeyes to its roster Thursday.

Former point guard C.J. Jackson returns to Big X, with recently graduated Andre Wesson joining him. The heady Andrew Dakich will step off the sidelines as a coach and join Big X on the court this time. And there’s a good chance the team could match up with defending TBT champion Carmen’s Crew. Last year, Carmen’s Crew disposed of Big X 89-75 in the second round of the tournament.

If you’ve followed the original Ohio State alumni team Carmen’s Crew, there’s you’re familiar with the story. It has six former Buckeyes on the squad. Household names like Aaron Craft, William Burford, and David Lighty helped that team run through the tourney last year to win the championship and take home a $2 Million prize.

As for the Buckeyes being added to the Big X, they were given their own shoutout with a highlight reel also added in. Here’s a graphic just reminding everyone what they bring to the table.

If these two teams end up against each other, it’ll be like a dream come true for Buckeyes fans that used to watch those mid-2010s teams. Now starting a new decade, it’d be a nice blast to the past. Especially since the Columbus Regional is planned to take place on the campus of Ohio State at the new Covelli Center.

For now, we’ll just be thankful that we get to see these players on the court again as long as it all goes down as expected. The Basketball Tournament is set to kick off the Columbus Regional from July 23-26.