The Basketball Tournament

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

They'll be taking on Aftershocks who beat Heartfire 74-68. It's going to be a massive road game for D3. Far bigger crowd rooting for Wichita St tonight than Syracuse had a couple rounds ago.

[CNU85]

I don't drink, but I might need to after that.

I gotcha covered!
 

[ziggy]

We Are D3 will be back in action in the TBT semifinals Thursday at 8 pm ET on FS1.
You are invited to come hang out with The D3 Datacast as we host a pregame livestream starting at 7 pm ET. The link for that stream is already active here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-kNiELx7V0

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

If you're the type that look for patterns...
First round We Are D3 led comfortably into the elam ending, blew the lead but pulled it out. Next round they beat a home team.
Last game they had a comfortable lead going into elam ending, blew the lead but pulled it out. Tonight they play a home team.

We're an hour or so from tip.

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

Early 6-0 lead but Aftershocks went on a 13-2 run. After the 1st quarter We Are D3 is down 14-12. Neither team shooting particularly well, a combined 10 of 30 from the field, 0 for 10 behind the arc. D3 is -5 in offensive rebounds.

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

After D3 took a 15-14 lead early in the 2nd, they gave up a 21-2 run and trail 35-17 at halftime. D3 has 12 turnovers, shooting just 7 of 24 from the field, and 2 of 6 on free throws. So many missed shots inside of 4 feet. Aftershocks are shooting under 38% and just 3 of 16 from deep so it could have been even worse.

Need to take care of the ball, chip away at the lead and get it to single digits by the end of the 3rd. Let's quiet this crowd down.

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

There we go, just as I said they needed to do. Only 2 turnovers that quarter and they've cut the lead in half. Only down 47-38 headed to the 4th. Need to keep the tempo up and push when they can. They're better in the open court than in the half court.

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

Headed to the elam ending down 58-49. Target score is 66. They've been on the wrong side of some comebacks so a 9 point deficit is certainly doable.

Nichols completely lost his head there and We Are D3 fall to the Aftershocks 66-54.

Great run D3 and let's come back stronger next year and win it.

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

If you told me before the game that Ty Nichols would have 14 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, they'd hold the Aftershocks to 66 points, and be +6 rebounds... I'd have been excited for the final.
But -9 turnovers and so many misses from a couple feet away and the dream is over... for 2025. As a Pacers fan I see the resemblance between this and game 7 of the NBA finals. One bad quarter made the difference (Pacers were -14 in the 3rd, +2 the rest). Tonight D3 was -16 in the 2nd, +4 the rest

Maybe next year they'll get some respect and be a 2 seed.

[OUVan59]

Fun run by We Are D3. Aftershocks very physical and it took a bit for D3 to adjust to it. Still team should be very proud of their run.  Looking forward to next year.

[FCGrizzliesGrad]

In case anyone is curious, Aftershocks beat Eberlein Drive 82-67 in the final. They were up 74-64 headed to the elam ending. Aftershocks again pulled away in the 2nd quarter but only by 8 to hold a 9 point halftime lead.
We Are D3 was closer headed to the ending, and in final score compared to Eberlein.

[Pat Coleman]

I posted my thoughts on the team and its run on Saturday:
https://d3hoops.com/notables/2025/08/we-are-d3-whats-right-what-needs

If I had a post-tournament Top 25 ballot for TBT, I'd rank We Are D3 at No. 2.

[KnightSlappy]

I agree that they've played themselves into a 1 or 2 seed. No underdog Cinderella next year, they are a favorite to advance the early rounds.