NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
The College Basketball Crown returns to Las Vegas on Wednesday for the second iteration of the postseason tournament, which features a $500,000 NIL prize pool.
In addition to the NIL money up for grabs, this year’s tournament will feature some big names in men’s college hoops. Oklahoma, Colorado, Baylor, Minnesota, Stanford, West Virginia, Rutgers and Creighton will all contend for the championship.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON Pakinomist
The Nebraska Cornhuskers won the Crown College Basketball Championship against the UCF Knights at T-Mobile Arena on April 6, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
LaPhonso Ellis, a former Notre Dame Fighting Irish star and FOX Sports broadcaster, told Pakinomist Digital that the Sooners are one of the teams he expects to break out.
“Part of it is when you’re going to win a tournament like this, you have to have commitment first,” Ellis explained. “I think these guys, having won six of their last seven and missing (the NCAA Tournament), have that sour taste in their mouths, and you want to go out on a high note.”
Ellis said he expected West Virginia to be with Oklahoma in the final game.
“I have them to face West Virginia in the finals, but I had them a little bit ahead of West Virginia because West Virginia is really good defensively, one of the top 25 defenses in the country, but I think at the end of the day when you have a defense that’s improved as much as the senior defense has improved over the last few weeks, it comes down to your ability to be able to post the basket at a high level,” he said.
The NIL prize pool is one of the bigger aspects of the tournament.
Sports analyst LaPhonso Ellis during the pregame broadcast between the Maryland Terrapins and Michigan State Spartans at XFINITY Center on February 29, 2020. (Tommy Gilligan/USA TODAY Sports)
UCONN’S BRAYLON MULLINS HITS GAME-WINNING 3-POINTER TO SHOCK DUKE, ADVANCE TO MEN’S FINAL FOUR
Ellis said it’s a real incentive for players since they’ve been off the course for a few weeks since missing the field of 68 that would have put them in contention for a national championship.
“I think it’s very important because when you get to this stage, remember that these teams going into our tournament, it’s been almost two weeks, that they’ve been off the competition, and I think you have to have a level of buy-in, and some of that buy-in today has been created. You obviously have NIL in the shadows, and you’ve got to come up with some real incentives in your brand.”
Last year, the Nebraska Cornhuskers were tournament champions.
The Fred Hoiberg-led program then parlayed that success into a 28-7 season in 2025-26. The Cornhuskers made the big dance and lost in the Sweet 16 to Iowa.
The College Basketball Crown begins Wednesday and runs through Sunday. The games will be televised on FS1 and FOX.
The matches in the opening round are as follows:
- Oklahoma vs. Colorado (April 1, 8 p.m. ET)
- Baylor vs. Minnesota (April 1, 10:30 p.m. ET)
- Stanford vs. West Virginia (April 2, 8 p.m. ET)
- Rutgers vs. Creighton (April 2, 10:30 p.m. ET)
A Nebraska Cornhuskers player places the College Basketball Crown Championship Trophy on Juwan Gary #4 after their team’s 77-66 victory over the UCF Knights in the championship game of the College Basketball Crown Tournament at T-Mobile Arena on April 6, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ian Maule/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE Pakinomist APP
The first round matches will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The remainder of the tournament will take place at T-Mobile Arena.
