An All-Indian Team Pulls an Upset for the Books

A basketball team comprised of all Indian-origin players pulled an incredible upset in this summer’s The Basketball Tournament. The Basketball Tournament, otherwise known as TBT, is a single-elimination tournament played during the summer that features 64 teams competing for a prize of a million dollars. It is hosted by ESPN and is open application.

This year’s team India Rising came in as the 8th seed and dominated the 1st seed the Red Scare with a score of 77-67. With this being their second year in the tournament, many did not have high hopes for their success, but the determined team proved them wrong as they made their way to the second round.

The team has a mix of college basketball professionals and other players who have second jobs like doctors and engineers. Traditionally, it has been rare to see Indian-origin players on ESPN playing basketball, so to have this team come out and represent the South Asian community is amazing.

Even though they lost 56-82 in the next round against the Carmen Crew, this team has been still managed to pull an upset against the number one seed with the odds stacked against them and have served as a true inspiration. Fans are hoping to see them back in the tournament next summer.