The first edition of the College Basketball Crown kicks off on Monday with opening-round action. The 16-team, single-elimination postseason tournament will take place from March 31 to April 6 and will air on FOX and FS1.
All four games on Monday can be seen on FS1. Utah and Butler came down to the wire, with the Bulldogs emerging with an 86-84 win on a late bucket. After that, Boise State showed why the Broncos are the favorites to win the entire tournament with their 89-59 win over George Washington.
[Related: 10 names to know in the College Basketball Crown]
Next, Nebraska will take on Arizona State at 8:30 p.m. ET. The Cornhuskers boast one of the best players in the tournament, senior Brice Williams. The Sun Devils also have a senior, guard Alston Mason, leading the way.
The nightcap pits Georgetown against Washington State at 11 p.m. ET. Head coach Ed Cooley led the Hoyas to a winning record this season after they went 9-23 the year before. The Cougars finished in sixth place in their first season in the West Coast Conference.
Here are Monday’s highlights!
Boise State was left out of the NCAA Tournament. On Monday, the Broncos had a message to send to the selection committee with a dominating 89-59 win over George Washington.
The Revolutionaries entered the game at 21-12, their best record since 2016, and for most of the first half, they hung around with the Broncos. George Washington jumped out to a quick 9-3 lead, and only trailed by six points at the half (32-26). But its defense couldn’t slow down Boise State.
The Broncos got help from everyone in the first half, with 17 of their points coming from the bench and eight of those courtesy of Javan Buchanan.
Boise State’s Javan Buchanan throws down a dunk in the first half vs. George Washington
But the star of the matchup was Tyson Degenhart, who led all scorers with 19 points. He helped blow the game wide open as Boise State went on a 25-7 run halfway through the second half.
Butler comes away with 86-84 nail-biting win over Utah
It was a back-and-forth game all afternoon, one that came down to the final minutes. Pierre Brooks II took it right to the hole with 3.2 seconds left, giving Butler an 86-84 lead.
Utah had one more chance but couldn’t connect on the running attempt that would have sent the game to overtime.
The Bulldogs are advancing to the quarterfinals, thanks in large part to Brooks’ effort. The senior forward, highlighted as one of FOX Sports’ players to watch in The Crown, totaled 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including a 4-of-8 day from behind the arc. Brooks had 17 of those points after in the second half. He also led his team with nine rebounds and three assists.
Utah held a 46-42 lead at halftime and got an assist throughout the game from super fan Corey, who made sure he made his voice was heard whenever Butler went to the free-throw line.
Corey’s screaming must have had an effect on the Bulldogs, who went just 13-of-20 from the charity stripe. But unfortunately for the Utes, it wasn’t enough to get the win.
Keanu Dawes finished with 19 points for Utah, while sharp-shooting Gabe Madsen had 17 points, 15 of which came from the 3-point line.
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