DEKALB, Ill. -- Former NIU men’s basketball standout Xavier Silas will compete in “The Basketball Tournament” on Friday and Saturday, July 24-25, at McGrath-Phillips Arena on the campus of DePaul University in Chicago.

“The Basketball Tournament” is a single-elimination, winner-take-all, open-application tournament that began with four regional sites last weekend. The “Super 17” and quarterfinals take place this weekend in Chicago and the semifinals and finals will take place on August 1-2 in New York City, with the winning team claiming the $1 million prize.

“I’m excited to play in Chicago again,” said Silas. “It seems like basketball always brings me back to Illinois. With the Sixers in the playoffs in 2012 we played the Bulls, in 2013 with the Wizards I had the opportunity to play the Bulls in Brazil and last preseason with the Wizards we opened in Chicago. Chicago is my second basketball home for sure.”

Silas and his team, “Team City of Gods,” won three games last weekend in Philadelphia to advance to Chicago. In their second game of the tournament, Silas scored 31 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 19 minutes, going 11-of-14 from the field, including 6-of-8 from behind the three-point arc, in a 115-50 win. The former Huskie standout added 18 more points in a 96-84 victory in the final game in Philadelphia to advance to this weekend’s play in Chicago.

Silas and “Team City of Gods,” return to action on Friday, July 24, at 4 p.m., at McGrath-Phillips Arena. Saturday’s quarterfinals of “The Basketball Tournament” will be televised on ESPNU while the semifinals and finals will be broadcast live on ESPN.

A two-year letterwinner at NIU (2010-11), Silas scored 1,072 as a Huskie, becoming just the third player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau in two seasons (joining Jim Bradley and Kenny Battle). As a senior in 2010-11, Silas averaged 22.3 points per game, best in the MAC and seventh-best in the nation, while earning First Team All-MAC and First Team NABC District 14 honors.

Since graduating from NIU, Silas has played in France, Israel, Argentina and Greece, as well as the NBDL and part of the 2011-12 season with the Philadelphia 76ers, including appearing in two playoff games. This past season Silas averaged 11.9 points per game while playing for Nea Kifisia in Greece.

For more information on “The Basketball Tournament” visit TheTournament.com.