The Basketball Tournament 2015: Super 17 Bracket, Dates, Schedule and More

The 2015 edition of The Basketball Tournament has seen regional play come and go, meaning the competition is down to 17 teams vying for the tournament's $1 million grand prize.

Play is slated to resume Friday, with eight contests in Chicago. Then, the final eight teams will proceed to do battle on Saturday. 

Squads will then be afforded a six-day break before the final four squads square off and vie for spots in the title game, which is set to take place on Aug. 2 in New York.  

But before all that action unfolds, here's a rundown of the games on tap for the start of Super 17 play on Friday. The official bracket can be viewed here.  

Matchup	Time	Date	Location
(19) Primetime Players vs. (21) Dirty South	10 a.m. ET	July 24	Chicago, IL
(9) Sean Bell All-Stars vs. (3) Overseas Elite	11:45 a.m. ET	July 24	Chicago, IL
(15) Sideline Cancer vs. (3) Team City of Gods	5 p.m. ET	July 24	Chicago, IL
(1) Boeheim's Army vs. (5) Liberty Ballers	6:45 p.m. ET	July 24	Chicago, IL
(8) Illinois Hoopsville Warriors vs. (3) Armored Athlete	10:15 p.m. ET	July 24	Chicago, IL
(2) Ants Alumni vs. Notre Dame Fighting Alumni/(14) Midwest Dream Squad	8:30 p.m. ET	July 24	Chicago, IL
(9) 7outz vs. (13) Team23	1:30 p.m. ET	July 24	Chicago, IL
(2) LAUNFD vs. (6) Team Utah	3:15 p.m. ET	July 24	Chicago, IL

As you may have noticed, an odd number of teams in the Super 17 means there will be a play-in game on Thursday.

The showdown will take place at 8 p.m. ET, with the Notre Dame Fighting Alumni and Midwest Dream Squad competing for the right to square off against Ants Alumni Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET.    

Based on historical precedent and roster composition, the Fighting Alumni should be favored to advance when they square off against the Dream Squad.  

Not only are the Fighting Alumni defending champions of The Basketball Tournament, but their roster boasts esteemed Irish alums like Ben Hansbrough, Tim Abromaitis and Luke Harangody.

"Although they’ve lost former All-American point guard Chris Thomas, they’ve replaced him with the younger, more athletic Eric Atkins, who will be a handful for opposing 1’s on both sides of the ball," TheTournament.com wrote. "Expect the home-crowd atmosphere in Chicago to provide the Fighting Alumni with a big boost as they look to advance through the Super 17."  

And that's just an appetizer. 

Friday's main event will be a clash between two teams hailing from the Northeast region. 

Boeheim's Army and Liberty Ballers will take the hardwood at 6:45 p.m. ET, with the latter looking to avenge last year's demons and crack the tournament's final eight. 

Liberty Ballers got to this point by downing DMV's Finest, 85-73, thanks to its collection of local Philadelphia products.

"We didn't want nobody coming to Philly and beating Philly guys, you know what I mean?" Liberty Ballers' Reggie Redding said following the win, according to Andrew Albert of the Philadelphia Daily News. "From over the years we started to lose that pride and Philly toughness. We had to find a way to get it back. If a team isn't from Philly, we weren't going to let them come in here and win. That's the way we played."

With Liberty Ballers safely into the Super 17, Redding and fellow Villanova alum Antonio Pena have earned a shot at a throwback Big East rematch as they get set to battle the Syracuse-bred Boeheim's Army.

A trio of household names—including Hakim Warrick, Donte Greene and Eric Devendorf—leads the way for Boeheim's Army, which was the top-ranked squad in the Northeast. 

"They've got a nice team," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said, according to Syracuse.com's Donna Ditota. "It's a tough tournament, but they've got a chance."

While Boeheim's bunch may have one of the most polished rosters in the field, it didn't get to this point without a little drama. It required an overtime period to secure a 92-91 win over La Salle's 20th & Olney last Sunday, and now a tougher opponent from the City of Brotherly Love awaits.

If old allegiances are any indication, there could be some bad blood. 

Looks like it's time for another intense showdown with some serious cash hovering on the horizon.