Oklahoma Faces Portal-Depleted Colorado in Crown Tournament Opener

Sooners look to prove NCAA Tournament snub wrong in Las Vegas event.

Mar. 31, 2026 at 10:55pm

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After being left out of the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three seasons, the Oklahoma Sooners will open play in the College Basketball Crown tournament against a Colorado Buffaloes squad that has lost several key players to the transfer portal. Oklahoma coach Porter Moser has challenged his team to use the snub as motivation, while Colorado's Tad Boyle must quickly rebuild his rotation ahead of the matchup in Las Vegas.

Why it matters

The Crown tournament provides Oklahoma a chance to prove the NCAA Tournament selection committee made a mistake in excluding them, while Colorado looks to bounce back from a disappointing season and the loss of several top players.

The details

Oklahoma appeared to be on the NCAA Tournament bubble after winning 8 of their final 10 games, but a narrow loss to Arkansas in the SEC tournament left them on the outside looking in. Colorado, meanwhile, stumbled through the second half of the season to finish 17-15 overall. The Buffaloes will be without leading scorer Isaiah Johnson, as well as Sebastian Rancik and Bangot Dak, all of whom have entered the transfer portal.

  • The Oklahoma-Colorado matchup will take place on Wednesday in Las Vegas.
  • The Crown tournament semifinals are scheduled for Saturday, with the championship game on Sunday.

The players

Porter Moser

The head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners, who wrote his team a note challenging them to prove the NCAA Tournament selection committee wrong after they were left out of the field.

Tad Boyle

The head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes, who must quickly rebuild his rotation after losing several key players to the transfer portal.

Nijel Pack

The productive starting guard for the Oklahoma Sooners, who averaged 16.5 points and 3.0 assists per game this season.

Barrington Hargress

The lone returning double-figure scorer for the Colorado Buffaloes, averaging 14.2 points and 4.5 assists per game.

Keith Gill

The NCAA Tournament committee chair, who confirmed that Oklahoma was the first team left out of the field on Selection Sunday.

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What they’re saying

“Obviously you can be upset and point the finger at reasons why we got left out. We can do that all day and trust me, I can do that all day, or we can prove (to) them why they made a mistake. With how we were playing, I thought we were playing as good as anybody down the stretch.”

— Porter Moser, Oklahoma Head Coach

“They're going to move on, and we're going to move on. Onwards and upwards.”

— Tad Boyle, Colorado Head Coach

What’s next

The winner of the Oklahoma-Colorado matchup will face either Baylor or Minnesota in the Crown tournament semifinals on Saturday.

The takeaway

This Crown tournament provides Oklahoma a chance to prove the NCAA Tournament selection committee wrong after being left out of the field, while Colorado must quickly rebuild its roster after losing several key players to the transfer portal.