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WVU Alumni Squad Best Virginia Advances to The Basketball Tournament Semifinals

ByTroy Van Camp|
Nov 18, 2022; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers forward Tre Mitchell (3) celebrates with fans after defeating the Pennsylvania Quakers at WVU Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images
Nov 18, 2022; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers forward Tre Mitchell (3) celebrates with fans after defeating the Pennsylvania Quakers at WVU Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

WVU basketball alumni Team Best Virginia has advanced to The Basketball Tournament (TBT) Semifinals. Best Virginia has made the most of its homecourt advantage as they improved to 4-0 in the Charleston Coliseum with a win over Maryland alum squad Shell Shock.

In 2022, Best Virginia went on a run to the quarterfinals before being bounced from the tournament. The 2025 version of Best Virginia is on its longest run since it began participating in the tournament in 2019. 

Best Virginia’s roster includes six former Mountaineers, though that includes General Manager John Flowers -- who dresses for games but has yet to enter the game.

How Did They Get Here?

Round of 64

In the Round of 64, Best Virginia survived a late run from Dubois Dream that made the game interesting in the Elam Ending. Best Virginia won by a final score of 72-69. 

Round of 32

3-seed Best Virginia was able to knock off 2-seed Herd That, a Marshall alumni team backed by a strong showing from Tre Mitchell and James Reese V. The final score was 82-75 on July 20th as they punched their ticket to the Charleston Regional Final. 

Round of 16

Last Monday night, Best Virginia squared off with Elite Nation and prevailed by a final score of 79-68. Best Virginia trailed by double digits at a couple of points throughout this game as Elite Nation showed an ability to knock down outside shots at a high percentage. Once again, it was James Reese leading the way for Best Virginia. Toby Okani had a strong showing in his minutes as well. 

Round of 8

Against the Maryland alumni team, Shell Shock, Best Virginia led from start to finish. James Reese V extended his streak of consecutive 20+ point performances to 4 games. The game’s final score was 74-61. Kedrian Johnson got the revenge that he was hoping for with the win over the Maryland alumni. Johnson’s Mountaineer career came to an end at the hands of Maryland in a tightly-contested NCAA Tournament matchup in 2023. Johnson scored 27 points in the 2023 loss but helped engineer a Best Virginia victory in 2025.

Up Next

Best Virginia will have the luxury of yet again playing in Charleston on Thursday, July 31st at 6pm on FS1. Best Virginia is now just two wins away from the $1 million grand prize. They await the winner of Sideline Cancer and Eberlein Drive.

Head Coach Ross Hodge and the current WVU Men's Basketball Team made the trip down from Morgantown to support Best Virginia on Monday night.

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