College Basketball Crown
Don’t fret, college basketball fans. The NCAA Tournament may be winding down, but a new postseason tournament gets underway on Monday March 31 with the tip-off of the College Basketball Crown.
This 16-team tournament held in Las Vegas is said to maybe be the beginning of the end for the NIT, as there are a lot of power-conference programs involved and others from some of the more prominent mid-majors. The tourney, spearheaded by Fox Sports and the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), features $500,000 in NIL (name, image, likeness) brand ambassador deals, so there is incentive for the universities and colleges to accept a bid.
The champion will get $300,000 in NIL earnings, while the runner-up will get $100,000 and the third and fourth-place teams get $50,000 each.
Let’s look at how the field was selected and then dig more into the odds.
College Basketball Crown Teams
Teams who did not make the NCAA Tournament or accept a bid to another postseason tournament had the opportunity to punch a ticket to the College Basketball Crown.
Automatic bids were given to the top two teams from the Big Ten, Big 12, and Big East. A Selection Committee selected the others, obviously with ratings and interest in mind.
The participating College Basketball Crown teams are:
- Arizona State
- Boise State
- Butler
- Cincinnati
- Colorado
- DePaul
- George Washington
- Georgetown
- Nebraska
- Oregon State
- Tulane
- UCF
- USC
- Utah
- Villanova
- Washington State
College Basketball Crown Odds
- Cincinnati +430
- Nebraska +470
- Boise State +480
- USC +650
- Villanova +700
- UCF +900
- Utah +1600
- Butler +1600
- Colorado +1600
- Georgetown +2400
- Arizona State +5000
- Oregon State +8000
- Washington State +8000
- George Washington +9500
- DePaul +11000
- Tulane +11000
Odds courtesy of Fanduel Sportsbook as of Mar. 29
How to Watch the College Basketball Crown
When: March 31-April 6
Where: First-round/quarterfinals at MGM Grand Garden Arena, semifinals/championship at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, NV (Las Vegas Strip)
How: Semifinals/championship game on Fox; all other games on FS1
College Basketball Crown Schedule
First Round
Monday March 31
Utah vs. Butler (Noon PT)
George Washington vs. Boise State (2:30 p.m. PT)
Nebraska vs. Arizona State (5:30 p.m. PT)
Georgetown vs. Washington State (8 p.m. PT)
Tuesday April 1
DePaul vs. Cincinnati (Noon PT)
Oregon State vs. UCF (2:30 p.m. PT)
Colorado vs. Villanova (5:30 p.m. PT)
Tulane vs. USC (8 p.m. PT)
Quarterfinals April 2-3
Semifinals April 5
Championship Game April 6
College Basketball Crown Analysis
Obviously there are a lot of things happening in college basketball these days. Some of these teams don’t have a head coach. Villanova fired Kyle Neptune. Utah fired Craig Smith before the end of the year. Tulane’s Ron Hunter has been the subject of some rumors for taking one of the open jobs.
The transfer portal is also already open. Three Oregon State starters have left via the portal, as Michael Rataj, Nate Kingz, and Parsa Fallah are all gone. Rataj, Fallah, and Kingz were their top three scorers in that order. Rataj also led the team in rebounds, steals, and blocks. Tulane lost a starter in Kam Williams. Arizona State guard Joson Sanon hit the portal. UCF lost seven players to the portal, including leading scorer and rebounder Keyshawn Hall, so their depth is basically non-existent in the tournament and they’re missing a top player. Washington State has Isaiah Watts, Nate Calmese, and Marcus Wilson all in the portal. Calmese was their second-leading scorer and tied for the team lead in assists.
Those are not all of them, but those are some of them. And keep in mind, a lot of these teams won’t have played a game in 17+ days when they take the floor in Las Vegas. Some players may want to be there and some may not. It is a player-friendly and player-first tournament with a lot of social media engagement and visibility expected, but we’ll have to see how it all goes in Year 1.
College Basketball Crown Picks
Boise State +480: The Broncos bypassed a NIT invite to have a little bit more time to get geared up for this tournament. The bracket seems rather favorable, as they’re one of the biggest first-round favorites against George Washington out of the A-10. Assuming Butler beats Utah, the Bulldogs are awful on the defensive end. That should help Boise State in a big way.
The Broncos are also very familiar with Las Vegas, playing the Mountain West Tournament there and a game against UNLV every year. They won’t be as distracted by the setting in all likelihood and they’re probably the best overall team in the field.
Villanova +700: We’ll see if the Wildcats are motivated to play in this tournament, but there are expected to be some NBA scouts on hand and there are several seniors on the Villanova roster thinking about their next stops. They’ve got a pretty good draw with Colorado first, followed by a USC team led by head coach Eric Musselman, who is way more interested in the transfer portal than this event. His school doesn’t need $500k or more visibility.
A program like Villanova does and the top half of the bottom bracket is thinned out with Oregon State and UCF’s transfers, plus a subpar DePaul team. The Wildcats can shoot over old Big East rival Cincinnati. I’m not sure Villanova will completely come to play, but if they do, the path is there.
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