The Boise State men’s basketball team has accepted a bid to play in the new College Basketball Crown postseason tournament in Las Vegas and will play George Washington in the first round.
The full 16-team field was revealed Monday morning on FOX Sports 1 and includes name programs such as USC, Villanova, Georgetown, Arizona State, Nebraska, Cincinnati, Colorado, UCF, Utah, Oregon State, Washington State, Butler and DePaul.
Boise State and George Washington will meet on March 31st at 3:30 p.m. MT on FS1., The Broncos would play either Utah or Butler in the second round should they advance.
Nebraska, Arizona State, Georgetown or Washington State would be the Broncos’ opponent in the semifinals.
The Broncos passed on hosting games in the NIT to participate in the Crown after not being picked for the NCAA Tournament on Sunday evening. The Broncos were the “fourth team out” of the Big Dance, according to the committee.
The College Basketball Crown is a new tournament expected to quickly grow in popularity and interest amongst teams due to two main factors – all expenses for teams are paid and the players receive NIL money should they reach the semifinals and finals.
The tournament runs March 31st to April 6th and is sandwiched between the Elite Eight and National Championship for the NCAA Tournament. The 16-team tournament features a minimum of two teams each from the Big 12, Big 10 and Big East and 10 at-large selections.
The first two rounds are at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, with the semifinals and finals at T-Mobile Arena. FS1 will televise the first two rounds, while FOX will air the semifinals and finals nationally.
Boise State (24-10) reached the Mountain West title game with wins over San Diego State and New Mexico before falling to Colorado State on Saturday and coming up one win short of earning the automatic bid.
George Washington went 21-12 in the regular season and advanced to the second round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament.
