Cincinnati Bearcats slated for 'The Crown' tournament in Las Vegas vs. DePaul

Not hearing your college basketball team's name called on NCAA Selection Sunday can be disheartening, but there's always time for "rejection redemption." In the past that came in the form of the National Invitation Tournament, which still exists, but now there's a new option being marketed: The College Basketball Crown.

Monday morning, it was announced that Cincinnati Bearcats basketball will play April 1 at 3 p.m. (Eastern) against DePaul in the first-round of the Crown tournament. A win would put them against the Oregon State/UCF winner April 3 at 7 p.m. Both games will be at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

More bracket details will be published shortly.

As confirmed by Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark last week at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Championships, the Big 12, along with the Big East and Big Ten, are obligated to provide two teams each to the new tournament in Las Vegas that will be televised on FS1 and Fox.

"It is the top two (Big 12 teams) that don't get into the tournament," Big 12 Commissioner Yormark confirmed Tuesday in his press conference. "We're excited to be part of The Crown. We think it's going to be a first-class opportunity for our student-athletes to showcase their talents. Fox is a wonderful partner of ours. They've been doing football with us for quite some time and next year they distribute basketball games for the first time in years. We're excited to be in the Fox family and I think their tournament's going to be off the charts. I will be in Vegas to kick things off."

Cincinnati Bearcats forward Josh Reed was among the UC players interested in playing more this season after their Big 12 second-round loss to Iowa State in Kansas City.

Of the Cincinnati Bearcats interviewed after their Big 12 second-round loss to Iowa State, junior forward Josh Reed was the most optimistic about having a postseason.

"Playing more? Like this year?" Reed said when asked about more games. "Of course I do. I feel like any chance we have to step on the court and compete is a good opportunity for us."

College Basketball Crown bracket

First-round games begin March 31 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena with game times at 3 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. EST. More first-round games are scheduled April 1 at the same times. Again, UC plays DePaul on April Fool's Day at 3 p.m. (no fooling).

Second-round action begins Wednesday, April 2 with games at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. (Eastern) along with two more games April 3 at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. First and second-round games are televised by FS1.

The semifinals begin April 5 at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. (Eastern) on Fox Sports at T-Mobile Arena. The championship is then April 6 at 5:30 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena, also on Fox.

The College Basketball Crown game times will compete with the NIT semifinals and finals April 1 and April 3. The Crown semifinals are roughly an hour behind the NCAA Final Four games in San Antonio on April 5. The Crown title game is the night before Monday's NCAA national championship game.

Cincinnati Bearcats have added Quadrant 1 wins

Though their regular season has been over for more than a week, UC added a pair of Quadrant 1 wins over the weekend to give them three for the year. With Baylor returning to the NCAA.NET Top 30 and UCF back in the Top 75, UC's home win over the Bears and road win vs. the Knights now return as Quad 1 wins making them 3-12 in that category. UC was No. 49 in Sunday's NCAA.NET with a Quad 2 mark of 7-3, 2-0 in Quad 3 and 6-0 in Quad 4. for their overall 18-15 record.

Cincinnati Bearcats non-NCAA history

UC has not been to the NCAA tournament since 2019 under Mick Cronin. They have made 12 NIT appearances including the last two seasons under Wes Miller. Despite a losing record, they did play one game in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) in 2008, losing to Bradley.

Possible Crown tournament curveball

The college basketball transfer portal window opens March 24. There is a Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) revenue component to the Crown, but conceivably a player could be in the portal and play or be in the portal and not play. Teams are required to have seven scholarship players. The earnings of the players increase with each win. Fox Sports is a future Big 12 TV partner, so any team in that league that did not compete would run the risk of hurting that relationship.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Bearcats miss NCAA Tournament in The Crown in Las Vegas

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