La Familia cruises past Herd That 95-66, advances to Elite 8 of TBT
Three wins down, three more to go…
On Tuesday night in Rupp Arena, La Familia put together its best performance of The Basketball Tournament yet. The group of former Kentucky Wildcats dominated Herd That from the second quarter on, coming away with an easy 95-66 victory in the Sweet 16. James Young hit the Elam Ender to lock up La Familia’s spot in the quarterfinals.
With the win, La Familia will play the winner of The Ville (Louisville’s alumni team) vs. Team DRC in the Elite 8. A date and tip time for the Elite 8 have yet to be announced, but the game will be held in Freedom Hall in Louisville, likely on Monday. If The Ville can beat Team DRC on Wednesday night, we’ll have a classic rivalry showdown between the Cats and Cards with a spot in the semifinals on the line.
La Familia had little trouble advancing past the first two rounds of TBT’s Lexington Regional, but game three was easily the most impressive of the bunch. Herd That entered as the top seed in the regional and was coming off a semifinal appearance in 2023. But the former Wildcats came out hot out of the gate and didn’t slow down.
As they did through the first two games, Eric Bledsoe and Kerem Kanter carried La Familia to victory. Bledsoe finished with 24 points, five rebounds, and three assists while Kanter (the lone non-Wildcat on the roster) added 20 points and eight rebounds. A trio of Wildcats scored 11 points, as well: Andrew Harrison, Aaron Harrison, and Nate Sestina. Young finished with nine points and an extra $1,000 in his pocket for hitting the Elam Ender.
As a team, La Familia shot 53.8 percent from the floor, 50 percent (14-28) from long range, and 83.3 percent (25-30) from the free-throw line. They held Herd That to 43.1 percent shooting and just a 6-20 (30 percent) mark from deep. La Familia is now one step closer to taking home the $1 million grand prize.
Just keep winning…
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