An eight-team field. Loaded with talent. Half-a-million in NIL money on the line.
The College Basketball Crown returns to Las Vegas this week with some must-see stars and matchups.
Several all-conference performances will take the court in the single-elimination tournament, which tips off with first-round games scheduled for April 1-2, followed by the semifinals on April 4 and the championship game on April 5. The tournament will be played at MGM Grand Garden Arena and T-Mobile Arena with a $500,000 NIL prize pool.
The complete bracket features Oklahoma, Colorado, Baylor, Minnesota, Stanford, West Virginia, Rutgers and Creighton.
Baylor, Minnesota and Creighton highlight the 2026 College Basketball Crown Tournament Bracket
Who are the top names in this year’s College Basketball Crown, and what should fans expect to see this weekend in the desert?
Here is a breakdown of the top-10 players to watch in this year’s event.
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This 6-foot-2, 182-pound guard from New Hampshire is an elite-level scorer with the potential to be the star of this event. He averaged 22.8 factors per sport, which ranked eighth amongst Division I gamers, becoming a member of BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr. and Duke’s Cameron Boozer as the one first-year gamers to common greater than 22 factors per contest this season. Okorie scored at the least 30 factors on seven events this season, together with a memorable 40-point outing in Stanford’s 95-72 win over ACC foe Georgia Tech again on Feb. 7. He’s one of the best pure scorer within the subject and has the flexibility to steer the Cardinal on a run to the College Basketball Crown title.
(Photograph by David Buono/Icon Sportswire through Getty Pictures)
After spending the previous two seasons at Tennessee, Carr transferred to Baylor and made a right away influence in Waco. The 6-foot-5 redshirt sophomore leads the Bears in scoring at 19.2 factors per sport whereas additionally contributing 5.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 blocks per contest. He shoots 51% from the sphere and sports activities a 39% clip from 3-point vary. Carr has put up 21 or extra factors in 4 of Baylor’s final 5 video games heading into the Faculty Basketball Crown, together with a 25-point outing in opposition to Arizona State within the opening spherical of the Massive 12 Match.
A five-star recruit out of Benin, Yessoufou has lived as much as his billing throughout his first 12 months on campus. The 6-foot-5 guard is averaging 17.8 factors and 5.8 rebounds per sport en path to being named All-Massive 12 honorable point out this season. He has elite bodily power for a guard, however he has proven to be inconsistent at instances on the defensive finish of the court docket. His greatest sport of the season got here in a mid-February matchup in opposition to BYU when he put up 37 factors and 6 rebounds on 12-of-19 taking pictures from the ground and 5-of-8 from 3-point vary.
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With Colorado freshman guard Isaiah Johnson reportedly set to enter the switch portal, an enormous alternative awaits for Hargress, who was the staff’s second-leading scorer behind Johnson this season. Hargress, a 6-foot-1 junior guard from Inglewood, California, put up 14.2 factors and a team-best 4.5 assists this season for the Buffaloes. He’s coming off among the best video games of his profession, an 18-point, nine-rebound, four-assist exhibiting in opposition to Oklahoma State within the Massive 12 Match. Search for Hargress to step into a number one function for the Buffs in Las Vegas this week.
(Photograph by Joe Buglewicz/Getty Pictures)
Dix spent the primary three seasons of his faculty profession at Iowa and made the choice to switch to Creighton final offseason. He has made an instantaneous influence, averaging a team-high 13 factors per sport on the season. Dix has topped the 20-point mark in three of his final six video games heading into the Crown, together with a memorable 21-point, eight-rebound efficiency in Creighton’s 91-84 upset win over UConn again on Feb. 18.
Tyson is on his third cease in 4 years after spending the primary two seasons of his collegiate profession at Belmont with a 12 months at North Carolina in between. He has developed because the Gophers’ most constant offensive risk in his senior season, averaging a team-high 19.6 factors per sport, the sixth-highest common within the Big Ten. He’s additionally an above-average 3-point shooter, hitting at a 42% clip from past the arc.
Francis, a junior guard out of Pittsburgh, is without doubt one of the high bucket-getters on this event. He’s a artful scorer who averaged 16.9 factors per sport this season, which led the Scarlet Knights. He had 30 or extra factors on three separate events this season, in addition to a 29-point exhibiting on 5-of-7 taking pictures from downtown in a Massive Ten Match win over fellow Crown participant, Minnesota.
8. Honor Huff, G, West Virginia
(Photograph by WJ/Icon Sportswire through Getty Pictures)
Huff will not be solely one of many high 3-point shooters on this 12 months’s Faculty Basketball Crown, however the 5-foot-10 senior guard can also be probably the most profitable shooters from downtown in West Virginia program historical past. Huff knocked down 109 3s this season, which ranked third amongst Massive 12 gamers this season. He led the Mountaineers in scoring at 15.8 factors per sport and has scored in double-figures in eight straight video games.
Pack is a sixth-year senior who started his profession at Kansas State, the place he performed for 2 years earlier than transferring to Miami. He spent three years at Miami and is now in his ultimate 12 months at Oklahoma. The 5-foot-10 senior guard has been a scoring risk all through his collegiate profession, totaling greater than 2,300 factors. He led the Sooners in scoring this season, averaging 16.5 factors per sport whereas taking pictures 47% from the sphere and 45% from 3-point vary.
After enjoying his freshman and sophomore 12 months at S. Joe’s, Brown transferred to Oklahoma this offseason and have become a full-time starter within the Sooners’ backcourt, averaging 15.3 factors per sport, which ranked second on the staff. He led the Sooners in each assists (3.2) and steals (1.3), whereas taking pictures 46% from the sphere.
