DePaul 4/1 3:00 FS1

[Lobot]

First game in the Crown Tourney in Vegas is here.

I have no idea what the lineup will look like because we have graduating seniors plus a few potential transfers outbound. As someone mentioned in transfer portal thread, there is an incentive for the seniors or transfers to stick around for this because this tourney pays out NIL money.

[GoBearcats31]

DePaul finished 14-19 with 4 Big East wins after going 0-20 the year before. Former OSU coach Chris Holtmann is in year one. DePaul had losses to Texas Tech, St. John's and Northwestern in non-league play. Their Big East wins were Seton Hall, Providence, Georgetown 2x (plus once more in Big East Tournament).

DePaul's leading scorer is C.J. Gunn, an Indiana transfer who was very underwhelming his first two years at IU. Might as well call him the Gunnslinger because the guy just hunts for his own shot. Fourth-leading scorer Jacob Meyer is from Covington, KY and recently entered the portal.

The Blue Demons are 118 in Ken Pom.


Utah vs. Butler — Monday, March 31, 3 p.m. ET at MGM Grand Garden Arena (TV: FS1 and FOX Sports app)
George Washington vs. Boise State — Monday, March 31, 5:30 p.m. ET at MGM Grand Garden Arena (TV: FS1 and FOX Sports app)
Nebraska vs. Arizona State — Monday, March 31, 8:30 p.m. ET at MGM Grand Garden Arena (TV: FS1 and FOX Sports app)
Georgetown vs. Washington State — Monday, March 31, 11 p.m. ET at MGM Grand Garden Arena (TV: FS1 and FOX Sports app)
DePaul vs. Cincinnati — Tuesday, April 1, 3 p.m. ET at MGM Grand Garden Arena (TV: FS1 and FOX Sports app)
Oregon State vs. UCF — Tuesday, April 1, 5:30 p.m. ET at MGM Grand Garden Arena (TV: FS1 and FOX Sports app)
Colorado vs. Villanova — Tuesday, April 1, 8:30 p.m. ET at MGM Grand Garden Arena (TV: FS1 and FOX Sports app)
Tulane vs. USC — Tuesday, April 1, 11 p.m. ET at MGM Grand Garden Arena (TV: FS1 and FOX Sports app)

DePaul/Cincinnati vs. Oregon State/UCF — Thursday, April 3, 7 p.m. ET at MGM Grand Garden Arena (TV: FS1 and FOX Sports app)

DePaul/Cincinnati/Oregon State/UCF vs. Colorado/Villanova/Tulane/USC — Saturday, April 5, 4 p.m. ET at T-Mobile Arena (TV: FOX and FOX Sports app)

Winner of left side of the bracket vs. winner of right side of the bracket — Sunday, April 6, 5:30 p.m. ET at T-Mobile Arena (TV: FOX and FOX Sports app)

[leo from jersey]

First game in the Crown Tourney in Vegas is here.

I have no idea what the lineup will look like because we have graduating seniors plus a few potential transfers outbound. As someone mentioned in transfer portal thread, there is an incentive for the seniors or transfers to stick around for this because this tourney pays out NIL money.

I can see some grads or transfers wanting to do well to impress future opportunities, but also they didn't seem to care during the season. Thus, they may just show up for a check. I hope otherwise as the uniforms still have Cincinnati on them.

[GoBearcats31]

Supposedly you only need 7 players. Would be interesting, hypothetically, to see someone like Rayvon Griffith getting big time minutes.

[Carthage World]

Here are the NET rankings of the participating teams:

#44 Boise State (Mountain West)
#50 Cincinnati (Big 12)
#55 Villanova (Big East)
#59 Nebraska (Big Ten)
#70 USC (Big Ten)
#71 UCF (Big 12)
#73 Utah (Big 12)
#74 Arizona St (Big 12)
#83 Butler (Big East)
#85 Oregon State (WCC)
#86 Colorado (Big 12)
#88 Georgetown (Big East)
#112 Washington St (WCC)
#119 DePaul (Big East)
#124 George Washington (A-10)
#145 Tulane (AAC)

Teams by Conference:

Big 12 - 5
Big East - 4
Big Ten - 2
WCC - 2
A-10 - 1
AAC - 1
MW - 1

Notable non-participants:

Ohio State - NET #41
West Virginia - NET #51
Northwestern - NET #53
Indiana - NET #54
Pittsburgh - NET #61
Iowa - NET #63
Penn St - NET #66
Wake Forest - NET #69
Kansas St - NET #75
Rutgers - NET #77
TCU - NET #78

[westside bearcat]

For those of who don't know, is the Crown Tournament the old NIT?

[bearcatbret]

The Crown is a new tournament sponsored by Fox Sports. The crown also pays players. It was set up to guarantee teams from the Big 12, Big 10 and Big East conferences.
College Basketball Crown 2025: Schedule, bracket, what to know
2025 College Basketball Crown Schedule, Bracket, Teams | Fox News

[Lobot]

For those of who don't know, is the Crown Tournament the old NIT?

Nope. the NIT is still there and a separate tournament. The CBC is a made for TV event full of FOX media property schools. It's basically gutted the NIT of big Power conference schools from the look of it. To be honest it looks like a better deal for schools and the players. Everyone's getting paid here as opposed to the NIT or CBI which requires a dept. to spend money hosting

https://collegebasketballcrown.com/

[leeraymond]

Two questions: 1) Why was West Virginia left out of the NCAAs and the NIT (Also, did WV decide not to accept an offer to play in the Crown? WV has about 5 Q1 wins (more than UNC and Xavier combined and these schools made the NCAA Tourney)); 2) Because the Crown Tournament starting time frame is between the Elite 8 and the Final 4, will anyone other than the fans of the schools involved really care enough to watch the Crown games? Also, the NIT will be going on as well at the same time.

I do not know about you, but I am going to watch every game that I can regardless of the tournament. I love this time of the year.

[Lobot]

Two questions: 1) Why was West Virginia left out of the NCAAs and the NIT (Also, did WV decide not to accept an offer to play in the Crown? WV has about 5 Q1 wins (more than UNC and Xavier combined and these schools made the NCAA Tourney)); 2) Because the Crown Tournament starting time frame is between the Elite 8 and the Final 4, will anyone other than the fans of the schools involved really care enough to watch the Crown games? Also, the NIT will be going on as well at the same time.

I do not know about you, but I am going to watch every game that I can regardless of the tournament. I love this time of the year.

I think your question is legit one but it's probably better off in the Bracketology thread.

[bearcatbret]

Just UC's announcement:
Men's Basketball Set for DePaul in Inaugural College Basketball Crown - University of Cincinnati Athletics

[Cliftonite]

Who would watch this? You gotta be really bored/have nothing going on. Good lord greed is taking over everything.

[John P]

I'm going to watch.

[Carthage World]

I think it's important to remember that Jizzle's big performances in the NIT against Bradley and Indiana State last season (with Day Day out hurt) helped lay the foundation for him to take on a bigger role from the onset this season.

Maybe somebody like Reed, Betsey, or Rayvon decides to re-commit to the team over the coming weeks and performs to a higher standard in Vegas.

[GoBearcats31]

Only 13 days left until the game