Dec 22, 2025; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Ross Hodge along the sideline during the second half against the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils at Hope Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images Ben Queen-Imagn Images

WVU Accepts Invite to College Basketball Crown, Learns First Round Opponent

Originally posted on West Virginia Mountaineers on SI
By Schuyler Callihan | Last updated Mar 16, 2026 5:33 PM ET

For the third straight March, the West Virginia Mountaineers will not be dancing in the NCAA Tournament. Unlike the past two seasons, however, they will be participating in another event after accepting an invitation to play in this year’s College Basketball Crown.

Moments ago, the bracket was revealed for this year’s 8-team field, with West Virginia squaring off with Stanford in the opening round. They will square off on April 2nd at MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, tipping off at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.

Of course, it’s not where West Virginia ultimately wanted to be, but it does give them the opportunity to finish off the year strong as opposed to it ending with a 20-point loss to BYU in the Big 12 Conference tournament and having lost five of their final seven games.

The College Basketball Crown is a unique event that rewards some teams with NIL prizes, depending on their finish. In its inaugural tournament a year ago, which was a 16-team field, the winner received $300,000, the runner-up cashed in with $100,000, and the semifinalists each took home $50,000. This year‘s rewards have not been announced at this time.

Nebraska won the Crown last year, and Villanova and UCF, who were in the field, all made the NCAA Tournament this season.

Quick look at the Stanford Cardinal

Stanford finished the season with a 20-12 (9-9) record. They were hoping to sneak into the NCAA Tournament with a strong showing in the ACC Tournament in Charlotte, but had an unexpected loss in their first game to the Pitt Panthers. Prior to that, the Cardinal won four straight games to close out the regular season and won six of their final eight. Stanford had a couple of impressive victories this season as well, taking down No. 14 North Carolina (with Caleb Wilson) and a four-point victory over No. 16 Louisville. Their losses to Seattle, UNLV, Notre Dame, and Pitt really put a huge dent into their NCAA Tournament chances, much like West Virginia's losses to Utah and Kansas State did to theirs.