2026 Crown Tournament: Schedule, Teams & Preview

As a warm up to the Final Four the Crown Basketball Tournament will take place before the national championship game giving teams a chance to win additional money for their school’s NIL collective. The field for the second installment of the tournament has been trimmed in half with 8 teams vying for the title, led by top seed Oklahoma.

First round games will be played on April 1 and 2 with semifinal contests on April 4 and the championship on Sunday, April 5. The entirety of the tournament will be played in Las Vegas giving fans another reason to visit

What Is the Crown Tournament in College Basketball?

The second season of the College Basketball Crown has been reduced in size from 16 in 2025 to 8 this year. The postseason men’s basketball tournament is a single elimination event rewarding high performing teams mainly from major conferences like the Big Ten, Big 12 and Big East that didn’t qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

There is a large prize pool of more than $500,000 given to winning teams in each round that is to be used for a school’s NIL collective. This year’s field includes three clubs from the Big 12, two from the Big Ten and one each from the SEC, SEC and Big East.

How the Crown Basketball Tournament Works

Similar to the NCAA Tournament just in a smaller capacity with only 8 teams competing. The Crown Basketball Tournament is a single elimination event featuring teams that were denied a chance at the Big Dance. In order to get a high quality field of teams with brand recognition automatic spots are awarded to the Big Ten, Big East and Big 12 conferences that are widely considered the best leagues in college basketball.

The tournament offers a large NIL prize pool for players with payouts increasing for each win. Quarterfinal wins are worth $50k, semifinal victories pay out $100k and the winning squad is awarded $300,000, according to sources. All games are played in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena and MGM Grand Garden Arena. Launched last year with the assistance of Fox Sports, all games can be seen on FOX and FS1.

Format and Game Structure

First round games take place on April 1 and 2 and will be played at MGM Grand Garden Arena. The four winners will compete in the semifinals on Saturday, April 4 with the two winners going head to head for the Crown Basketball Tournament title on Sunday, April 5. The weekend games will be played at T-Mobile Arena.

Key Dates and Host Details for the 2026 Crown Tournament

The field for the Crown Tournament 2026 was selected the day after the NCAA Tournament field was revealed and features four intriguing matchups. First round games on April 1 have No. 1 seed Oklahoma against Colorado and Baylor vs. Minnesota. Check out the latest college basketball odds and make your wagers on the Crown Tournament.

The remaining first round games will be played on April 2 with Stanford battling West Virginia and Rutgers taking on Creighton. The semifinals are scheduled for Saturday, April 4 at 1:30 and 4 p.m. ET. The last two teams standing will play for the Crown Tournament 2026 title at 5:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 5.

Timing Factors That Impact Matchups

Every team in the field hasn’t played since conference tournament time nearly three weeks ago. While that may seem like a long time since every team typically plays several times a week during the season, it’s an inconvenience every team has had to endure so there won’t be an advantage for one team over another.

Teams and Profiles to Watch in the Crown Tournament 2026

It’s hard to imagine a team that endured a 9-game losing streak during the regular season being “snubbed” from the Dance. Despite that Oklahoma had a legitimate claim for an at-large berth given their overall metrics. The Sooners had quality wins over five teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament and lost four games by a total of 12 points to another four clubs that went dancing.

Some may question the inclusion of teams with a losing record in a postseason tournament. However, analytics play such a large role in the selection of teams that even certain losses are viewed as good. Minnesota, Rutgers and Creighton all finished their seasons below .500 but have characteristics that make them competitive in any scenario. They all play in difficult conferences and at times played quite well.

The Gophers finished in the middle of the pack in the Big Ten with wins over Iowa, Michigan State and UCLA. Creighton was 15-17 overall and had a stunning win over Final Four participant UConn in mid-February. Every team in the field showed they can compete with the best in the sport.

Playing Styles That Create Betting Value

The old saying in sports is that defense wins championships. That’s becoming less of a thing in college basketball where teams that prioritize offense over defense and that like to push the pace have thrived in a tournament-style environment.

Rutgers is one of the least experienced teams in college basketball with under classmen delivering a high percentage of the team’s production. Looking to keep players on board is harder to do in the portal and NIL eras where players bounce from school to school. Keeping the young talent intact is a major issue and winning is something that will keep players in place. The NIL money awarded in the Crown Tournament will also help.

Let’s face it, the goal of every college basketball team is to win the NCAA Tournament. Once that is no longer an option there tends to be a more relaxed atmosphere around the clubs and the “nothing to lose” mentality can lead to some high scoring affairs. Bookmakers rely on stats and analytics to determine totals and can get caught off guard with a more relaxed tempo compared to the high-stakes NCAA Tournament games.

Crown Tournament 2026 Betting Odds and Market Insights

Oklahoma is the betting favorite to win the 2026 Crown Tournament with a 32 percent chance. Playing in the tough ACC the Stanford Cardinal are near the top of the NCAA basketball odds board as the second favorite with odds suggesting a 16 percent chance of winning the title.

The Sooners were 19-15 overall but played some of their best ball near the end of the campaign. They had won six games in a row before losing to Arkansas in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament. They were just 1-5 against ranked teams but had impressive metrics as the only team with a NET rating inside the top 40 nationally. And they enter on a major heater having covered the spread on the college basketball line in their last 7 games.

Stanford enters with the best winning percentage (.625) among the 8 participants sporting a 20-12 record. ACC scoring leader Ebuka Okorie averages 22.8 points. However, the Cardinal beefed up their resume with a soft non-conference schedule and finished tied for 9th in the conference standings.

OU opened as the biggest favorite in the first round games, laying 7 points to Colorado. Stanford opened as a 1-point favorite in their matchup with West Virginia. The other first round games had similar odds with Baylor a 4-point favorite to beat Minnesota and Creighton giving 3.5 points to Rutgers.

Betting Angles for the Crown Tournament

We talked about a lower stress environment in a tournament like this and that allows star players to do what they do best. That makes player props a market worth targeting. Okorie is a prolific scorer for Stanford tallying 30 or more points in 7 games, including a 40-point outing against Georgia Tech.

Creighton’s Josh Dix shot nearly 50 percent from 3-point range this season and leads the top 3-point shooting team in the Big East. Baylor’s Cameron Carr is a Crown Tournament top scoring threat. He averages 19.2 points and reached double figures in 30 of the Bears’ 32 games.