The Basketball Tournament 2020 Championship Odds, TV Schedule, Live Stream

Golden Eagles and Sideline Cancer will meet for the second year in a row in The Basketball Tournament Tuesday, but this year's clash carries higher stakes. 

The winner of the TBT championship at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio will come away with a $1 million prize. 

The Marquette alumni of Golden Eagles came close to winning TBT in the last two years, as it reached the semifinals in 2018 and final in 2019.

Sideline Cancer enters with a 6-1 record in the last two TBTs. It knocked out two of the top three seeds to reach the final and was competitive in its eight-point third-round loss to Golden Eagles in 2019.

The Basketball Tournament Championship Information

Date: Tuesday, July 14

Start Time: 7 p.m. ET 

TV: ESPN 

Live Stream: Watch ESPN or ESPN app.

Preview

Tuesday's victor will become the fourth-ever team to win The Basketball Tournament in seven years.

It will also be the most unique championship run in the competition's history after being played through a 10-day span in a quarantined location. 

Golden Eagles had an easier path to the final than expected after top seed and defending champion Carmen's Crew fell in the round of 16. 

The former Marquette players were favored in each of their three victories, all of which were won by at least seven points. At the start of the tournament, Golden Eagles had 9-2 odds to win TBT, while Sideline Cancer was posted at 125-1, per William Hill.

Golden Eagles head coach Joe Chapman admitted the quarantined environment brought the group closer, according to Ben Steele of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

"I know we're dealing with this pandemic, but it's actually helped this group," Chapman said. "Because all 11 players hang out and the two coaches. We're just getting to know each other more off the court. And the more you know each other off the court, it helps you on the court."

Jamil Wilson and Darius Johnson-Odom have been the team's top scorers with 17.3 points per game each. The former led the squad with 23 points in the semifinal win over Red Scare. 

In 2019, Wilson put up six three-pointers in the third-round victory over Sideline Cancer, and if he remains hot from downtown, Golden Eagles could have the edge from the start.

They also have a deeper bench than Sideline Cancer, as they received 29 more points from non-starters. 

Travis Diener could be the most important player off the bench Tuesday for the Marquette alumni. The former college teammate of Dwayne Wade is a three-point ace and may be vital down the stretch.

The guards of Golden Eagles will also have a ton of defensive responsibilities, as they try to limit the production of Marcus Keene, Remy Abell and Maurice Creek. In the upsets over No. 3 Boeheim's Army and No. 2 Overseas Elite, the trio combined for 93 of Sideline Cancer's 132 points. 

Keene has been the most electric scorer of TBT, a run that started with his 30-point performance in the opening round upset of No. 11 Team Hines. If he remains hot and receives the same level of support from Abell and Creek, it will be hard for Golden Eagles to pull away, as they have in their past three games. 

If Sideline Cancer comes away with the win, $100,000 of its $1 million prize will go to pancreatic cancer research.

Given how well both teams can score, we could witness a high-scoring affair with plenty of drama during the Elam Ending. 

The Elam Ending comes into play at the first timeout of the fourth quarter. At that point, a target score is set by adding eight points to the winning team's total. The winner is the first team to reach the target score. 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from TheTournament.com.