DePaul men’s basketball has accepted a bid to the new postseason tournament — the College Basketball Crown — in Las Vegas, per the bracket revealed on FS1 morning show “Breakfast Ball.”
DePaul will take on University of Cincinnati on April 1 at 2 p.m. in the first round.
“We are really looking forward to continuing our season in the Postseason,” said head coach Chris Holtmann in a statement. “Our team really grew and evolved throughout the season and weathered some tough injuries. We truly felt like we were playing our best basketball in the past month, so continuing to play is exciting.”
After Thursday night’s double-overtime loss versus Creighton in the Big East tournament, Chris Holtmann hinted that there could be more basketball coming for DePaul.
“It’s tough because there’s a possibility that there could be still more basketball in our future here,” Holtmann said. “So the finality of the season is real because our guys obviously played well enough to advance, wanting to advance, but that’s a conversation as well.”
The College Basketball Crown is a new postseason tournament in addition to the NCAA, NIT, CBI and CIT tournaments.
The Crown is a 16 team, single-elimination format tournament that will run from March 31 to April 6 in Las Vegas, with the first and second round games being hosted at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, and the semifinals and finals being hosted at T-Mobile Arena.
The Crown was announced in April 2024, and all the games will be televised on Fox and FS1. Fox is the main broadcast partner of the Big East conference.
As an incentive, teams that reach The Crown’s final four will receive NIL money for their programs.
The 16 teams are decided as follows: two automatic qualifiers from the Big East, two automatic qualifiers from the Big Ten and two automatic qualifiers from the Big 12. Then the rest of the field is determined by 10 at-large bids by a select committee.
“We’re incredibly proud of the hard work and dedication our student-athletes and coaching staff have shown this season,” said Vice President and Director of Athletics DeWayne Peevy in a statement. “Earning a spot in the inaugural College Basketball Crown postseason tournament is a testament to their commitment and growth… The Blue Demons are ready to represent DePaul, and the City of Chicago, on a national stage and continue building a successful future for our program.”
Teams that are selected for the NCAA postseason tournament are not eligible for the tournament.
The tournament gives DePaul senior forward Troy D’Amico and graduate guard Isaiah Rivera one last opportunity to wear the Blue Demon logo.
Related stories:
- Despite heartbreaking loss, DePaul says this is only the beginning – The DePaulia
- DePaul women’s basketball reflects on shocking Xavier defeat
- DePaul addresses constantly changing NIL policies – The DePaulia
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