This time last year, Nebraska took home the inaugural College Basketball Crown trophy. The winner of Sunday’s championship game in Las Vegas between Oklahoma and West Virginia will hope to carry similar momentum into next season.
Oklahoma (21-15) endured a nine-game losing streak in the heart of Southeastern Conference play, ultimately dooming its NCAA Tournament chances before finishing as the first team left out of the 68-team field.
The Sooners face former Big 12 rival West Virginia on Sunday in the program’s first championship game since their 1991 NIT final loss to Stanford. For Oklahoma coach Porter Moser, the decision to accept the bid wasn’t a tough one, and so far, it’s paid off.
“I’m not going to lie, it was a very hard Selection Sunday,” Moser said. “The emotions were very raw, because of how much these guys battled through when no one else believed. We felt we should have been in (the tournament), but that’s for a later discussion. We could either talk about that, or we could show them why they made a mistake.”
After beating Colorado 90-86 in overtime on Wednesday in the quarterfinals, Oklahoma got 21 points from Xzayvier Brown in its 82-69 victory over Baylor on Saturday. Nijel Pack’s 16.6 points per game pace the Sooners, while Brown adds 15.5.
West Virginia (20-14) beat Creighton 87-70 in the semifinals on Saturday to earn its first 20-win season since the 2019-20 campaign. One more victory would give the Mountaineers their first postseason tournament title since winning the 2007 NIT.
First-year head coach Ross Hodge’s team flirted with the NCAA Tournament bubble all season. When that dream fell short, there were no doubts about heading to Las Vegas.
“There was no conversation that needed to be had about playing,” Hodge said. “These guys love each other. They love the university. They love the state of West Virginia. It’s their heart and their gratitude that is directly responsible for us to be in the position that we’re going to be in (Sunday).”
Freshman DJ Thomas scored 20 points in the Mountaineers’ win over Creighton — his second most this season. Honor Huff leads West Virginia with 15.9 points per game, followed by Brenen Lorient’s 11.8.
Nebraska followed up its CBC title last season by winning a school-record 28 games this season, including the first two NCAA Tournament victories in program history.
