College Basketball Crown: Who are the players, coaches and teams to watch in Las Vegas? | #VegasMadness | Sports – CONVEN.ORG

The College Basketball Crown returns to Las Vegas this week, with the second edition of the men’s basketball postseason tournament including some lucrative changes.

While the number of participating teams was cut in half to eight, the NIL prize pool ballooned to $500,000.

Even though they didn’t qualify for the NCAA Tournament, there’s something to play for with the teams coming from the Big 12 (Baylor, Colorado, West Virginia), Big Ten (Minnesota, Rutgers), ACC (Stanford), SEC (Oklahoma) and Big East (Creighton).

“I know there’s prize money, so guys are excited about that,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “But in 20 years, I don’t know if they’ll know what they spent that money on. … They’ll know where that championship net is.”

Hot-and-cold Oklahoma

Oklahoma coach Porter Moser, who succeeded former UNLV coach Lon Kruger there, has had a roller-coaster season. At one point, the Sooners lost nine straight conference games. They later reeled off six straight wins before falling in the SEC tournament. It all added up to Oklahoma (19-15) being the first team out of the NCAA Tournament.

The Sooners are getting to play in the postseason after declining an NIT bid in order to play in the College Basketball Crown. There has been heat on Moser, but athletic director Roger Denny gave out a vote of confidence and expressed how the program needs to improve its resources.

“Men’s basketball has felt a huge industry disruption, and to have someone come out and say the resources haven’t met the expectations, I appreciate that so much,” Moser told reporters.

“Our guys are excited just the format of the whole if you win it, what it entails — let’s just say it — prize money.”

NBA prospects

Despite its 16-16 record, Baylor has seen guards Cameron Carr and Tounde Yessoufou lead the team in scoring and show their potential as future pros.

Carr, a projected first-round NBA draft pick, averaged 19.2 points and shot 39.4 percent from 3-point range as a sophomore. Yessoufou as a freshman after finishing his high school career as the leading all-time scorer in the state of California, averaged 17.8 points.

“It’s all a process, and right now, the No. 1 process is finish the season and hopefully win a championship, play well and improve everybody’s stock,” Drew said.

Never mind that Baylor has had an actual NBA draft pick on its roster playing since January. Center James Nnaji gained notoriety as the NCAA granted him eligibility as a freshman since the 7-footer hadn’t signed an NBA contract after having been the No. 31 overall pick in 2023.

Another freshman NBA prospect to watch in the tournament is Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie, whose 22.8 points per game ranks eighth in the country.

Swan song

Creighton coach Greg McDermott’s career comes to an end in Las Vegas, as he announced his retirement last week. He led the Bluejays to 10 NCAA Tournament appearances and 12 NCAA Tournament wins in 16 seasons while guiding them through a transition from the Missouri Valley Conference to the Big East.

Sending McDermott out on a high note would mean a second straight College Basketball Crown run from a team from the state of Nebraska. As many coaches noted, after the Cornhuskers won the College Basketball Crown championship last year, they made it to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 this season.

“Obviously it was a good springboard for Nebraska last year for some of the guys that Fred (Hoiberg) was able to play,” McDermott said of his Cornhuskers counterpart. “That carried over to this year.

“It’s good for the young guys, and I think it’s fun for the seniors to go play one more time…to just go and have a good time and let the chips fall where they may and end their college career in Vegas.”

Rutgers freshman forward Chris Nwuli, who once played for Bishop Gorman, already came back to Las Vegas in November and came away with an 80-65 win against UNLV in the Players Era Festival at Michelob Ultra Arena. He had six points, four rebounds and two blocks in 18 minutes.

Nwuli missed the Big Ten tournament with an ankle injury, but is expected to return.

Creighton also has a sophomore guard Shane Thomas, a former walk-on, on the roster. The Las Vegas native played for Centennial and Durango in high school before doing a post-grad year at Red Rock Academy.

He comes from an athletic family as his grandfather is Pro Football Hall of Fame player Emmitt Thomas and his three sisters played college basketball, including Bailey and Jade Thomas at UNLV.

College basketball Crown

Quarterfinals at MGM Grand Garden Arena

Wednesday

Thursday

Semifinals at T-Mobile Arena

Saturday

Finals at T-Mobile Arena

Sunday